Book Market -- Mixed Bag May Continue

"There are too many weak players that are just holding on by the grace of low interest rates and creative financing," he says. "Competitive pricing levels have dropped to the point where companies are trying to recoup marginal overhead with minimal volume; these companies will not be able to upgrade their equipment or prepress capabilities. Even if the market turned around tomorrow, these printers would need two to five years of bumper sales and profitability just to dig themselves out of debt and be in a position to upgrade or expand their operations.