19th century
Upon the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the appeal of Zürich as a publishing location sharply diminished. As competitive pressure increased on the market in Germany, the publishing program moved back to Swiss-related topics, and the focus of the business shifted to printing.[13][18]
The evidence for the first printing of securities dates back to 1827,[19] and the first share certificates for Escher Wyss are printed in 1839. In line with the developments of industrialisation in Switzerland, Orell Füssli becomes one of the first printers to introduce a high-speed newsprint press and would use it in the production of NZZ, which from 1843 on is published daily.[13]
On 1 March 1843, the canton of Zürich released the Zürich 4 and 6 printed by Orell Füssli, the first postage stamps in Switzerland and the second series worldwide,[20] following the Penny Black issued in the UK in 1840. Upon the adoption of the Swiss Federal Constitution in 1848, the prerogative for operating postal services passed to the federal government in 1849,[20] and the company did not further pursue this line of business.[20]
The second half of the century provides Orell Füssli with enormous growth opportunities.
The establishment of Switzerland's first advertisement office ("Annoncenbüro") marked the beginning of Orell Füssli Werbe AG (OFA). Railway advertising starts at a large scale, requiring posters of all kinds alongside the emergence of tourist information offices that are looking for mass-printed travel brochures and timetables.[20] Orell Füssli is able to accommodate for these demands.[13] Upon the introduction of the 10-colour Photochrom process for colour reproductions in 1880,[13] Orell Füssli further expanded its range of product offerings to include reproductions of all kinds and, in particular, series of maps of foreign territories.[20] In quick succession, the company opens numerous branches on the European continent and in the USA.[20]
On 15 February 1870, the "bank of the citizens of Zürich", Zürcher Kantonalbank, founded by the canton of Zürich, opened its first bank counter.[21] The mandate to print banknotes is assigned to Orell Füssli, and the company begins to specialise in this field.[13]
In 1890, the current company, Art. Institut Orell Füssli, came into existence and transitioned into a public limited company. One year earlier, the advertising agency, founded in the middle of the 19th century, had already been transformed into a public limited company, which later traded under the name Orell Füssli Werbe and was sold to Publigroupe in 1998.[22]
The foundation of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) in 1907 signalled the introduction of a uniform currency system with banknotes throughout Switzerland. In 1909, Orell Füssli printed banknotes based on Swiss designs for the SNB on a trial basis for the first time. Individual denominations of OF were printed from the second series introduced by the SNB in 1911.[23]
Orell Füssli moved from the city centre to the Wiedikon district, which was incorporated in 1893, in 1923 due to lack of space. The company's headquarters has been the inconspicuous building complex at Dietzingerstrasse 3, located in the immediate vicinity of the old village centre, ever since. With the move, the printing press equipment was upgraded, which led to the introduction of the inline intaglio printing process on a broad front and determined everyday printing for decades.[24] The publishing business was given its independent market presence as Orell Füssli Verlag as early as 1925, and the name was immediately adopted as the company name in 1999 during the reorganisation and spin-off.
In 1974, the company changed its name to Orell Füssli Graphische Betriebe AG (OFGB). Around the same time, the OFGB security printing department became the sole printer for all Swiss banknotes with the design of the sixth banknote series introduced by the SNB in 1976.[25]
The 1990s were characterised by upheaval, and a radical restructuring was carried out in 1992: the commercial printing plant was sold to Zürichsee Medien, Orell Füssli Kartographie became largely independent, and the banknote printing plant was further upgraded.[26] The German book retailer Heinrich Hugendubel (Buchhandlung zum Elsässer) founded Orell Füssli Buchhandlungs AG as a minority shareholder. This transaction effectively created the present-day company in terms of its portfolio (publishing, book retailing, security printing).
Orell Füssli Buchhandlungs AG (51% OF, 49% Elsässer) moved into the prestigious Kramhof property at Füsslistrasse 4 and opened Switzerland's largest bookshop there in 1993, which has been associated with the name Orell Füssli in Zurich ever since and is often confused with the company's headquarters. In 1996, the revival of book retailing under the OF name led to the launch of online book retailing under the domain books.ch.[27]
Orell Füssli Werbe was spun off as early as 1889 and taken over in 1998 by Lausanne-based Publigroupe, which merged the assets with its own companies, such as Publicis, thus removing the names OFA and Orell Füssli from the advertising market. A new group structure was created as part of a further reorganisation in 1999. Orell Füssli Graphische Betriebe Ltd. became Orell Füssli Holding Ltd., and the core operations of Graphische Betriebe—publishing (OFV) and security printing (OFS)—were spun off into independent subsidiaries under the holding company umbrella.
Orell Füssli acquired Teledata Ltd in its entirety in 2001 and renamed it Orell Füssli Wirtschaftsinformationen Ltd in 2003. On 1 July 2008, Orell Füssli Wirtschaftsinformationen Ltd. was wholly acquired by the Axon Active Ltd. group based in Lucerne. However, the name Orell Füssli Wirtschaftsinformationen AG was retained. The risk management solutions provider CRIF acquired the company in 2014.
In July 2002 Orell Füssli acquired a 76% majority interest in the Atlantic Zeiser Group Ltd, which is based in Emmingen-Liptingen (Germany) and had subsidiaries in France, Italy, Spain, the UK, and the USA. The acquisition expanded the company's repertoire and allowed it to market its expertise globally. The company's complete takeover was finalised at the beginning of November 2005.[28]
Atlantic Zeiser Group AG was active in the telephone and credit card business, as well as passport systems and numbering boxes. With the advent of mobile phones and the decline of telephone cards, Atlantic Zeiser Group AG entered an economic crisis. In 2018, the card business was sold to Coesia (IT), while the business with components for the security printing industry remained with Orell Füssli Holding as Zeiser.[29]
In 2020, Orell Füssli Holding merged with its subsidiaries Orell Füssli Security Printing Ltd and Orell Füssli Dienstleistungs Ltd and has since traded as Orell Füssli Ltd.[30]
In 2020, Orell Füssli Ltd acquired a stake in the technology company Procivis, followed by the majority takeover in 2021.[31]
In 2022, Orell Füssli Ltd acquired hep Verlag AG, a Swiss publisher of textbooks and reference books based in Berne.[32][33]
In 2025, Orell Füssli AG acquired SKV AG, a leading Swiss provider of learning media for commercial and business education, from the Swiss Commercial Association.[34]
