BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor Catalogs and publications typically are linked operationally and managerially, at least to some degree, within major printing organizations. This is reflected in the high degree of crossover among the Printing Impressions Top 10 Printers rankings for the mag/cat or pub/cat categories, as some call them. The markets these printers serve also share a common outlook in that change is the operative word for catalogs, as well. Online shopping continues to be the dominant market force reshaping the interest in and use of printed catalogs. Top 10 Catalog Printers CompanySegmentSales(millions)TotalSales(millions) 1*RR DonnelleyChicago$1,887$8,204 2Quad/GraphicsSussex, WI$1,040$2,000 3Quebecor WorldMontreal$1,024$6,400 4Arandell Corp.Menomonee Falls, WI$224$244 5Banta Corp.Menasha, WI$156$1,418 6Perry Judd'sWaterloo, WI$98$297 7CenveoEnglewood, CO$86$1,728 8Brown PrintingWaseca, MN$80$400 9Spencer PressWells, ME$75$83 10Consolidated
Brown Printing
Xerox Mourns Loss of Hatch ROCHESTER, NY—Gilbert J. Hatch, president of the Production Systems Group at Xerox Corp., died Aug. 26 after a long battle with cancer. During his 35-year career with Xerox, Hatch held a number of senior technical and general management positions in the United States and Great Britain. Allied Buys First "Drupa" Press MANCHESTER, CT—Allied Printing Services earned the distinction of purchasing the first Drupa-version large-format sheetfed press from KBA North America. The six-color, 56˝ KBA Rapida 142 press with aqueous coating is slated to be installed and running at Allied by the end of this month. Freedom Acquires MetroWebb MILTON, WI—Direct mail
BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor There's always a danger of any promising new technology or big idea becoming just so much hype. As expectations are built up, so too can be a sense that it all sounds too good to be true. All the talk of computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) and Job Definition Format (JDF) is approaching, or already reached, the point where some in the industry are tempted to tune out. Skeptics believe there are a number of reasons to doubt that implementation of CIM/JDF will bring the promised benefits or, at a minimum, they question the ROI. For that reason and others,
BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor To paraphrase Albert Einstein, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the result to change. File preparation for print almost fits that definition, except no one has really expected the results to change. For going on 20 years, the graphic arts community has been vexed by missing fonts, RGB images, inadequate image resolutions and other issues that result in "bad files." What has made this situation all the more frustrating is that the problems and remedies are commonly known. The disconnect between the design/creative and production stages of the process
(Editor's Note: Company rankings for the current and previous years are based on figures reported in 2003. Therefore, companies that revised their 2002 revenues may have changed their 2002 ranking as compared with the ranking that appeared in last year's Printing Impressions 400. Similarly, the percentage change in sales is calculated on the most recent information provided.) 1 ('02: 1) Quebecor World, Montréal, Canada Total Sales (Millions): $6,242.00 Previous Year's Sales (Millions): $6,300.00 Change (%): -1 Principal Officer: Jean Neveu Employees: 38,000 Primary Specialties: PUB 26%; ADV 23%; CAT 16%; BKS 12% Web Offset Press Units: 3,156 Sheetfed Press Units: 985 Other Press
BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor Consumer spending was the only positive note on the economic front for some time, but that doesn't mean the numbers still couldn't stand some improvement. Now that the recovery has broadened to include business spending as it continues to gain steam, catalog printers have reason to be more upbeat about business prospects going into 2004, thanks to the trickle-down benefits of all this spending. "Positive economic trends bode well for the catalog industry in 2004," agrees Dan Knotts, president of Magazine, Catalog and Retail Industries at RR Donnelley. "As consumer confidence builds, catalogers will see growth again—albeit at
BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor Looking back, 2003 has shaped up much the same as 2002 for magazine publishers and publication printers. Both are still holding out hope for a rebound in advertising spending but, at the same time, are wary of to what extent the competitive standing of magazines has permanently changed. Consider one measure of industry activity: the Publishers Information Bureau (PIB) index of consumer magazine ad pages. Through October, advertising revenue was up 8.7 percent, but ad pages were down 0.2 percent compared to the same period in 2002. The comprehensive numbers only tell part of the story, since the
VERNON HILLS, IL—Scheduling flexibility is what sets Aim Business Printers apart from other printers, asserts Richard Sussman, vice president and general manager. To support production of run lengths that vary from 500 to 1 million sheets, the shop installed a PlateRite 4000II thermal plate recorder and Trueflow PDF workflow from Screen (USA). It also implemented Screen's Spekta hybrid AM/FM screening technology. (www.screenusa.com) NORFOLK, VA—The Virginian-Pilot (daily circulation of 200,000 copies) has purchased two Polaris X violet-laser computer-to-plate platesetters from Autologic, an Agfa Co. (www.pilotonline.com/www.agfa.com) HOUSTON—Champagne Fine Printing is adding an HP Indigo digital printing press to assist clients in
BY MARK SMITH Two truisms seem to come up in most discussions of computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) in the printing industry. One, print is a custom manufacturing process. Two, it may be the only manufacturing environment in which the customer provides—or at least controls—so much of the raw materials. Striving to build a Smart Factory and implementing CIM-based production are worthwhile goals, but the full benefits only come when the definition of workflow is extended beyond the walls of a printing plant. Connecting to customers' upstream processes is required to achieve true integration. That's a tall order. The range of print customers and applications
Howard Fenton has joined the staff of the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL), Paramus, NJ, as a senior consultant of digital technologies. Previously, Fenton served for six years as the senior consultant of digital technology for the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation. The Print and Graphics Scholarship Foundation (PGSF) has granted $275,000 in scholarships to a total of 202 students pursuing careers in the graphic communications industry. PGSF awarded 99 of the scholarships to women and 103 to men. Also, Brown Printing, Waseca, MN, recently pledged $50,000 to establish the Wayne "Bumps" Brown Honorary Scholarship. After the fund matures, the scholarship will be awarded
