The German business began life as a family print shop in 1984, and moved into web-to-print in 2004.
The group has expanded considerably in recent years. It acquired Solopress in March 2017, and followed that with the purchase of Danish online print firm Lasertryk.
It now employs around 1,400 staff, and lays claim to being the third-biggest online printing business in Europe with sales of more than €200m (£175m) and 800,000 customers across 30 countries. Its headquarters site in Bavaria extends over 42,000sqm.
According to a Reuters report, the mooted IPO deal would involve selling shares worth around €200m, and could value the business at around €400m.
The firm has not confirmed any specifics of its plans as yet.
Patrick Piecha, head of press and public relations, told PrintWeek: “Onlineprinters assesses strategies for even stronger growth on a regular basis. With our strong partners, our network and our majority shareholder we have many options to accelerate our growth.”
The biggest shareholder in the business is currently Munich private equity Bregal Unternehmerkapital, which acquired a majority stake in the autumn of 2016.
If an IPO does go ahead, it’s not known which stock market the business will choose to list on.
Rival web-to-print giant Cimpress is listed on the American NASDAQ stock exchange.
