Printing arrived relatively late in Laos. The first printing company opened its doors in the 1920s, but in the decades which followed the quality of printing remained poor, and throughout the colonial period it was common for important books and documents to be sent to Hà Nội for printing.

The first Government Printing Office was opened in 1950 within the State Cartographic Department. Following independence in 1953 this office became the State Printing Office, under the overall management of the Ministry of Commerce. During the 1950s the State Printing Office handled the Xat Lao Daily and an increasing number of magazines and books, but overall the volume of material published under the Royal Lao Government was small.

In the immediate aftermath of the establishment of the Lao PDR in 1975, the cost of paper and printing was heavily subsidised by the Lao government and the Soviet Union, and books and newspapers were distributed free or at minimal cost. To cope with the extra demand, printing and publishing operations were set up by the Ministry of Education, the Lao People's Army, Vientiane Prefecture and several provincial governments. Meanwhile the State Printing Office continued to operate within the Ministry of Commerce until 1983, when a Publishing and Book Distribution Department was set up under the Ministry of Information and Culture and the State Printing Office became part of this Department.

However, in 1987, in accordance with the philosophy of market socialism outlined in the New Economic Mechanism (NEM), it was decided that the State Printing Office should be separated from the Publishing and Book Distribution Department and set up as a state enterprise - the State Printing Company - in order to allow it to compete more effectively in the marketplace.

As a consequence of the increase in the circulation of newspapers and journals during the late 1980s and 1990s (see Press - sectoral overview), government printing houses operated during that period at full capacity. In the years which followed, numerous private printing houses were set up, totalling 34 by the year 2000. However, competition from that source and easier access to publishing houses across the border in Thailand have never posed a significant threat to the State Printing Office and other government printing companies, since only the latter are authorised to print newspapers. Vientiane's Nakhon Luang Vientiane Printing House also holds a lucrative licence to print state passports.

Both of the government printing houses are currently seeking funds to upgrade their outdated equipment and facilities. At the time of writing the State Publishing and Book Distribution House is in the process of establishing a third government printing enterprise in Vientiane.