A Cautionary Tale

“It’s not just that rates may be higher—the money just isn’t available. Printers are already encountering this issue and it’s being exacerbated by current conditions. How do you buy a $2 million press if you’re a $1 million printer, and the manufacturers are tapped out?”

You could sell your company or merge with another, but these options are not available to everyone. “There are many companies available for sale, but it’s also a buyer’s market,” Zarwan explains. “Companies looking for businesses to acquire can be fairly selective because a lot of properties are up for sale. The number of printing plants is down 15 percent over the past seven years. A lot of companies that fail to be acquired will close.” To help avoid this Hobson’s choice, printers can spread their work over a diversified client base.