Consolidated Graphics to Open Cloud Data Center, Names Encore Award Winners

HOUSTON—May 19, 2011—Consolidated Graphics announced it will open a new top-tier data center on June 1, 2011. The center was designed in collaboration with HP, a partner of Consolidated Graphics, and incorporates advanced high-density HP servers, storage and networking systems needed to power the company’s advanced Hybrid Delivery cloud computing solutions. The facility is Level 4 compliant, meaning it is built to the highest security levels to secure data and ensure uninterrupted service in the event of power outages or violent acts of nature such as hurricane, tornado or flood.

“We’re committed to being an industry leader in technology, and our new data center and advanced marketing solutions combine to make cloud computing truly tangible for our customers," said Paul Garner, executive vice president and Chief Technology Officer of Consolidated Graphics. “There is a huge void in advanced technology being deployed within the printing industry, but Consolidated Graphics is changing that. We truly have evolved into being a technology-based services company supported by world-class print manufacturing.”

The new center creates an infrastructure that has the ability to store and process data in multiples of ways, depending on the requirements of customers. Designed as an on-premise cloud computing center, it provides elasticity to add processing power and data capacity in the cloud virtually on demand, meeting the fluctuating needs of the marketplace.

The center’s cloud computing hardware infrastructure supports the next-generation of technology-based marketing solutions that Consolidated Graphics is developing for its customers. These marketing solutions, bundled under the WorkSmart Suite brand, are being developed using components of the Microsoft Windows Azure platform. This cloud-based development platform enables software applications, such as those that comprise WorkSmart Suite, to run virtually through the internet.

“Our cloud-based data center is the foundation of a much larger technology-based offering that Consolidated Graphics provides to its customers," adds Garner. "This is just the start of things to come.”

Winners of the Encore Awards

The first annual Encore Awards were a new component of emerge (www.cgx.com/emerge), Consolidated Graphics’ annual customer conference and business expo that began on May 17 in Dallas. In addition, the People’s Encore Award was also announced after the winner was selected by attendees of emerge who were able to view all of the category finalists’ submissions at the conference and vote for their favorite.

The categories and winners are:

• Books & Annual Reports: Storyville Coffee Co., Seattle, WA
• Brochures: Herman Miller, Inc., Zeeland, MI
• Catalogues & Magazines: Tiffany & Co., New York
• Digital: Orion Developers, Ltd., Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
• Direct Mail: Team Detroit, Detroit
• Environmentally Friendly: Gil Shuler Graphic Design, Mount Pleasant, SC
• General: Sandbox Studio, Chicago
• Packaging: Scottsdale League for the Arts, Scottsdale, AZ
• Print & Technology Solutions: Kaiser Permanente, Burbank, CA

Herman Miller also received this year’s People's Encore Award.

“The first-ever winners of the Encore Awards showed a dedication to a new era of print, which, due to technology and innovation, requires comprehensive solutions that meet ongoing customer needs,” said Aaron Grohs, executive vice president, Sales and Marketing, for Consolidated Graphics. “Our inaugural winners represent this philosophy in their work. We look forward to many years of Encore Awards, and we are honored to recognize excellence and breakout performance within the print industry.”

The Encore Awards were created to recognize the innovative ideas of Consolidated Graphics' customers and to showcase the many ways they deliver creative and effective print and marketing solutions to support their own customers and the markets they serve. An independent panel of six judges reviewed and discussed the merits of more than 500 submissions.

About Consolidated Graphics
Consolidated Graphics Inc. (NYSE: CGX), headquartered in Houston, is one of North America’s leading general commercial printing companies. With 70 printing businesses strategically located across 27 states, Toronto and Prague, and a presence in Asia, CGX offers an unmatched geographic footprint, unsurpassed capabilities, and unparalleled levels of convenience, efficiency and service. With locations in or near virtually every major U.S. market, CGX provides the service and responsiveness of a local printer enhanced by the economic, geographic and technological advantages of a large national organization.

Consolidated Graphics’ vast and technologically advanced sheetfed and web printing capabilities are complemented by the world’s largest integrated digital footprint. By coupling North America’s most comprehensive printing capabilities with strategically located fulfillment centers and industry-leading technology, CGX delivers end-to-end print production and management solutions that are based on the needs of our customers to improve their results. Encore and emerge are trademarks of Consolidated Graphics. For more information, visit www.cgx.com.

Source: CGX.