M&A Activity -- Expect a Surge in Mergers

This surge is enabled by an improving economy, continuing low interest rates, buyers' pent-up demand for external growth, the difficulty associated with organic growth in printing and the catalytic effect of a handful of recent mega-deals.

This new period of consolidation will be driven by the industry's inexorable drive to dramatically shrink capacity; the vital need to manage and control fixed and variable expenses; the related need to improve profit margins; the increasing demands of digital and variable data technology; and smaller printers' attempts to survive as they face more intense competition from their larger and more efficient competitors that have broader offerings.