COMMERCIAL PRINTING -- Running Lean and Mean

* client consolidation—25.2 percent;

* domestic competition from outside our area—22.2 percent;

* reverse auctions—12.2 percent;

* international competition—10.2 percent; and

* Internet auctions—8.3 percent.

Analyzing the numbers another way, Paparozzi points out that 75 percent of respondents cited at least one of these "structural" factors as contributing significantly to pricing pressure. "It shows that both the nature and source of competition in our industry is changing," he asserts. "Digitization and the Internet are transforming our industry from a local, regional industry into a national/international industry. At the same time, printers are facing new, outside sources of competition."