Upfront 6-01

Roger Perry: Web Offset Pioneer
WATERLOO, WI—Roger L. Perry, 78, who transformed his father's newspaper publishing business into a bustling commercial printer of magazines, catalogs and advertising, died April 14. Mr. Perry purchased an interest in his father's firm, Perry Printing, in 1956. He updated his father's antiquated letterpress with a web offset press, a bold move at the time, but Mr. Perry saw a trend toward higher quality, larger volume and increased color reproduction capability. He sold full ownership of the company to Journal Communications in 1974, but remained there until 1990, when he retired as chairman and CEO of Perry Printing and as a vice president of Journal Communications.