Upfront
Worldcolor Facility Closing
OBERLIN, OH—A direct mail and magazine insert plant owned by Worldcolor here will shut its doors by May 21, the Elyria (OH) Chronicle-Telegram reported. A total of 119 jobs will be lost. Tony Ross, vice president of communications for Worldcolor, told the paper that work from the plant would be shifted to other facilities within the organization.
Acme Assets Are Acquired
WESTWOOD, MA—Universal Millen- nium, a portfolio company of Calvert Street Capital Partners, has acquired the assets of Wilmington, MA-based Acme Printing from parent company The MATLET Group. According to Universal CEO Bill Fitzgerald, the deal provides customers with a powerful suite of tools, from web and sheetfed printing to Web-to-print and digital printing capabilities, across three facilities.
Smith Litho Closes Doors
ROCKVILLE, MD—Smith Litho, a commercial sheetfed, web, coldset and mailing operation, has closed its doors. The company ceased operation at the end of March, ending a nearly 37-year run. In arriving at the decision, CEO Charlie Smith cited revenue-decreasing factors such as the economy, increasing postal rates and the move by marketers toward digital alternatives for print.
Trustee Says Assets Shielded
ALBANY, NY—As much as $1.2 million was allegedly taken from Tech Valley Printing by shareholders. The Albany Times Union reported that the trustee overseeing the defunct printer's Chapter 7 proceedings filed a complaint in U.S. Bankruptcy Court alleging that payments were made while the firm was insolvent during a one-year period leading up to its April 2008 filing. It is illegal to shift assets to shield them from creditors, even prior to a bankruptcy filing.
Quad Nails Catalog Pact
SUSSEX, WI—Quad/Graphics has inked a multimillion-dollar extension to become the exclusive print provider for all Talbots catalogs. The new contract covers premedia services, printing and distribution of all catalogs annually for Talbots, a multi-channel retailer of women's apparel, shoes and accessories based in Hingham, MA. The catalogs will be printed at Quad/Graphics' Lomira, WI, plant, and distributed via its fleet of trucks. Quad had been sharing the work with a competitor.
New Goss Web for Signature
BOULDER, CO—Signature Offset, a coldset web offset publication printing specialist with seven U.S. locations, has ordered a new Goss press to anchor a soon-to-open eighth site. The four-tower Community SSC press and N-40 folder with quarterfold capabilities will be installed at an undisclosed East Coast location this summer. Signature Offset serves publishers, producing a complete range of product formats and sizes on newsprint and uncoated stocks.
Printer Charged with Dumping
AURORA, CO—A printer here and a Denver man who purchased a semi-trailer from him have been indicted for allegedly violating Colorado's hazardous waste disposal laws, according to the Denver Post. Maurice Rockney Weiss, who operated Accupress Printing, and Richard Wilner have been accused of ditching the hazardous materials via a roll-off Dumpster. Weiss sold Wilmer the trailer while it still contained hazmats.
RRD Reaps Education Contract
CHICAGO—RR Donnelley (RRD) has been awarded a $375 million, multiyear agreement to provide college textbook printing, graphic management and other services to Cengage Learning. RR Donnelley will help the publisher deliver highly-customized learning solutions for colleges, universities, instructors, students and libraries under brands that include Brooks/Cole, Course Technology, Delmar, Gale, Heinle, Schirmer, South-Western and Wadsworth.
Bennett Nets Debut Installation
TUCKER, GA—The first U.S. implementation of Heidelberg's Prinect interface with EFI's Monarch print production and management solution from EFI recently went live at Bennett Graphics here. The company is using the linkage to facilitate fast, accurate machine setups and harness real-time production data from its Heidelberg presses, based on the bidirectional exchange of JDF/JMF presets and job costing information between the company's existing Prinergy workflow, Prinect Pressroom Manager and its Monarch MIS.
Domtar Closing MI Paper Mill
MONTREAL—Domtar Corp. announced it will permanently close its coated groundwood paper mill in Columbus, MI. The mill currently has 219 employees. Operations are expected to cease by the end of April. The Domtar coated groundwood paper mill has an annual production capacity of 238,000 tons of coated groundwood.
Courier Adds Ink-jet Web Press
NORTH CHELMSFORD, MA—Courier Corp. has installed an HP T300 color ink-jet web press to expand into manufacturing digital books. With the T300, Courier can drive growth via 1,200x600 dpi imaging in a speed and size combination that produces 2,600 letter-size pages per minute. PI
