Top book printers -- El-Hi, Trade Fuel Optimism

Staying Competitive

In addition to the mergers, manufacturers are streamlining their operations, producing less waste, and decreasing turnaround times to retain customers and attract new ones. The result: a competitive marketplace that may cause some manufacturers to lower prices to keep business.

"Some strong competitive pressures in the marketplace are causing us to price aspects of our product at a more competitive rate, even though we may be selling the same number of units," notes Rob Krehbiel III, president and COO of CJK: Print Possibilities, in Cincinnati. Krehbiel cites prepress as the area that has changed the most in his business in recent years.