Imprimerie nationale

History

Chronology

• 1538 : François I grants Conrad Néobar the title of "imprimeur du Roy" for Greek printing.
• 1540 : Robert Estienne was named "imprimeur du roi pour le grec". Claude Garamond created the typeface "grecs du roi".
• 1640 : Louis XIII, advised by Richelieu, created the Manufacture royale d'imprimerie in the Louvre Palace.
• 1670 : Jean-Baptiste Colbert began the collection « Le Cabinet du Roi ».
• 1749 : the first volumes of the Histoire Naturelle of Buffon were printed.
• 1790 : the Imprimerie royale became the Imprimerie du Louvre.
• 1792 : the Imprimerie nationale exécutive left the Louvre, where it had been since 1640.
• 1795 : the hôtel de Penthièvre housed two official printing establishments named Imprimerie de la République.
• 1809 : the Imprimerie impériale was installed at the hôtel de Rohan. There were printed the first 23 volumes of the Description de l'Égypte.
• 1813 : publication of the decree authorising the section of oriental compositors.
• 1870 : the Imprimerie impériale became once more the Imprimerie nationale, a name which it still bears.
• 1900 : for Ambroise Vollard the Imprimerie nationale printed the first "artist's book". An edition of Paul Verlaine illustrated by Pierre Bonnard was also printed.
• 1903 : the foundation stone of the new works on the plain of Javel.
• 1910 : the Imprimerie nationale was put in the charge of the Minister of Finance.
• 1921 : the Imprimerie nationale occupied the premises at the rue de la Convention.
• 1961 : publication of the decree of 4 December on the organization of the Imprimerie nationale.
• 1974 : the Imprimerie nationale opened its site de Douai.
• 1992 : inauguration of the works at Bondoufle by Michel Charasse, minister of the Budget.
• 1994 : the Imprimerie nationale became Imprimerie nationale SA the whole capital of which was held by the state.
• 1995 : issue of the first CDROM planned by the Imprimerie nationale.
• 1997 : acquisition of the firms Saqqarah International, Istra, and Mizeret and creation of "groupe Imprimerie nationale"; acquisition of the firm IDC.
• 1997 : creation of workshops for production of plastic cards.
• 1998 : installation of a new press, "la presse dix couleurs", on the Paris site.
• 2000 : the group member IDC, specialising in digital printing, became INumeric.
• 2001 : the group member Mizeret became J. Print.
• 2001 : installation of a KBA rotary press, 64 pages of A4 in four colours at Bondoufle.
• 2003 : dismantling, the buildings on the Convention site were sold to Groupe Carlyle for 85 million euros, they were repurchased in 2007 for 376,5 million euros, for the Ministère des Affaires étrangères. The works were resold to a French printing firm.
• 2005 : the state resold the sites at Bondoufle and Schiltigheim, closed the Paris site and installed the printing on paper works at Choisy-le-Roi.
• 2006 : prelude to its dismantling: the paper division at Choisy-le-Roi was put under the management of IN Choisy.
• 2008 : in September the paper division and the building at Choisy-le-Roi were given up. Only about 15 employees remained in the new private enterprise.