Major Translations printed in China?

[Semper Fidelis]

OK, this is a bit lazy of me to ask you all instead of doing research, but a Chaplain asked me if I know of any of the major Bible translations that are not printed in China. I didn't realize that any of them were.

Is there some story there about why Bibles are printed there? Is it that printing has been outsourced there for years in all publishing? Do you know if there are any translations that avoid printing there?

 

[retroGRAD3]

It's not really by translation, its by vendor, but also you can tell by price. If the bible is below $30 it is almost certain it was printed in China. If it is between $30-$70 it could go either way. Above $70, it is likely printed somewhere other than China. I recently got a NKJV cambridge bible which was printed in the Netherlands, but it was $150. I also got a Thomas Nelson pocket NKJV which was printed in China.

Unfortunately, you may have to check per Bible where it was printed.

 

[JimmyH]

A number of years ago I read that China is the largest printer of English BIble translations in the world. This has been going on for some time. Since the pandemic public opinion may have shifted to the point where companies such as Crossway may reconsider Chinese blocks. Jongbloed in the Netherlands, LEGO in Italy do stellar printing and binding. I have Bibles printed in the '90s that were printed here in the USA, but as far as I know they are few and far between for the past 20 years. https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/coe/china-is-worlds-largest-producer-of-bibles.
https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/coe/china-is-worlds-largest-producer-of-bibles/

 

[Jack K]

Most books published today, including Bibles, contain a note usually near the bottom of the copyright page telling where they are printed. A quick check of the five Bibles currently occupying my desk shows an NIV and CSB both printed in China, an ESV printed in Italy, and two other ESVs (one older) printed in the USA. But I imagine that depending on the quality desired for the particular edition, the publishers of each translation might get printing done in several different places, so that it isn't necessarily a matter of a certain translation being printed in a certain country.

Also note, it's currently a bit hard to get a book printed in the US and Canada, period. Supply-chain problems have created a backlog with printers. Publishers, including Christian publishers, have had to look far and wide to get jobs done, as demand for books remains strong. If I'm reading correctly between the lines, and your chaplain friend is uncomfortable with the global economy, he should be prepared to do without new books for a while.

 

[Andrew35]

When I lived in China there was the little side street in the major city. It had dozens of shops full of bins of books--academic books, textbooks, architecture books, all kinds of books--that were factory rejects for small imperfections. It was insane. Must have been hundreds of thousands of them.

I know for some of you guys that sounds like heaven, but I honestly didn't go there very much because it was overwhelming and you could literally spend days looking through them all without necessarily finding anything you actually wanted.

Don't know if it's there any more.

 

[Stephen L Smith]

I understand the LSB is printed in the Netherlands.

 

[pmachapman]

If you want a KJV not printed in China, Church Bible Publishers and Local Church Bible Publishers both print their bibles in the US. They have low cost and premium options available.

I believe The Gideons International still print their bibles (ESV, KJV, non-English) in the US, too - your local Gideons branch will happily work with the Chaplain to get bibles to those who need them.

 

[Jake]

I have 4 Bibles sitting next to my reading chair at the moment. All four were printed in the US according to the copyright page!

Reformation Study Bible ESV, Nelson Study Bible NKJV, Reformation Heritage Study Bible KJV, and New English Bible were printed in the US.

They're not all current editions.