Catalog Printing--Presses Are Working Overtime

BY ERIK CAGLE

Even as they seem to be up to their M-3000s with jobs, catalog printers can't seem to get enough work. They're as busy as ever, yet a hunger for new applications can't be satiated.

Take R.R. Donnelley & Sons, of Chicago, North America's largest commercial printer. Donnelley amassed more than $1.3 billion in catalog printing sales, yet it is developing new market niches with Select Source, which integrates catalog merchandise into specialized Internet sites. Catalogers are matched with subject-specific editorial on high-traffic Web sites.