Brown Printing

BY MARK SMITH There may not be a one-for-one correlation between the business outlook for publishers and the fortunes of publication printers, but the link is obvious. Also, the tough business environment has marketing gurus and industry executives evangelizing the need for printers of all types to "really get to know their customers" in order to succeed. On the whole, it has been a mixed year for the magazine publishing segment. According to Publishers Information Bureau (PIB) data through September, advertising revenues in 2002 have been running 1.5 percent above 2001 totals. Unfortunately, especially for publication printers, the year-to-date ad pages total was

BY MARK SMITH Judging the strength of the printed catalog market segment used to be a straight-forward proposition. Catalogers merely had to compare the total dollar value of orders placed with the cost of producing and distributing their print programs in order to determine the financial return. The rise of online shopping is beginning to skew this traditional benchmark. If a shopper initially selects items by perusing a printed catalog, but actually executes the order via a Website and online catalog, which medium gets credit for the sale? Should each get partial credit? Top 10 -- Catalog Printers   CompanySegmentSales(millions)TotalSales (millions) 1Quebecor WorldMontreal$1,071$6,300

(Editor's Note: Company rankings for the current and previous years are based on figures reported in 2002. Therefore, companies that revised their 2001 revenues may have changed their 2001 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 ('01: 1) Quebecor World, Montréal, Canada Total Sales (millions): $6,300.00 Previous Year's (millions): $6,500.00 Change (%): -3 Principal Officer: Charles G. Cavell Employees: 40,000 Primary Specialties: PUB 26%; ADV 21%; CAT 17%; DM 13% Web Offset Units: 3,156 Sheetfed Offset Units: 985 Other: 808 Ownership: Public

Editor's note: Company rankings for the current and previous years are based on figures reported in 2001. Therefore, companies that revised their 2000 revenues may have changed their '00 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. 2001 Ranking:Previous Year's Ranking:Company:Total Sales (millions):Previous Year's (millions):Change (%):Principal Officer:Employees:Primary Specialties:Web Offset Units:Sheetfed Offset Units:Other:Ownership:Plants: 11Quebecor World, Montréal, Canada$6,500.00$5,000.00+30Charles G. Cavell44,000PUB 29%; ADV 20%; CAT 17%; DM 13%3,156985808Public160  2001 Ranking:Previous Year's Ranking:Company:Total Sales (millions):Previous Year's (millions):Change (%):Principal Officer:Employees:Primary Specialties:Web Offset Units:Sheetfed Offset Units:Other:Ownership:Plants: 21R.R. Donnelley & Sons,

BY MARK SMITH It has been the best of times and the worst of times for the publication industry, with all do apologies to Charles Dickens ("Tale of Two Cities"). Top 10 -- Publication Printers   Company SegmentSales(millions) TotalSales (millions) 1 Quebecor WorldMontreal $1,885 $6,500 2 R.R. Donnelley & SonsChicago $1,208 $5,254 3 Quad/GraphicsPewaukee, WI $684 $1,800 4 Cadmus CommunicationsRichmond, VA $416 $526 5 Brown PrintingWaseca, MN $304 $376 6 Perry Judd's Inc.Waterloo, WI $206 $343 7 Banta Corp.Menasha, WI $200 $1,538 8 Vertis Inc.Baltimore $199 $1,986 9 Publishers Printing/Publishers PressShepherdsville, KY $186 $186 10 IKON Office SolutionsMalvern, PA $135 $900 Sales figures

BY CAROLINE MILLER In August, catalog printers were crossing their fingers. The long-awaited holiday season was just around the corner. It's a time when most catalog printers see an increase of both page counts and quantity orders. And an increase is just what printers needed after a lackluster year. Top 10 -- Catalog Printers   Company SegmentSales(millions) TotalSales (millions) 1 Quebecor WorldMontreal $1,105 $6,500 2 Quad/GraphicsPewaukee, WI $900 $1,800 3 R.R. Donnelley & SonsChicago $840 $5,254 4 Banta Corp.Menasha, WI $246 $1,538 5 Arandell Corp.Menomonee Falls, WI $196 $213 6 Perry Judd's Inc.Waterloo, WI $102 $343 7 Spencer PressWells, ME $94 $104 8 Continental Web PressItasca, IL $73 $121 9 Consolidated GraphicsHouston $68 $683 10 Von Hoffmann Corp.Saint Louis $64 $425 Sales figures are based on above printers'self-reported total and market segment breakdowns.At the time, early signs were beginning to indicate that catalog production would indeed increase during the

BY MARK SMITH Deadline rule the realm in the publication market segment. Even the legendary power wielded by advertisers at some point must give way to the march of the calendar, if the next edition is to get out. At the same time, gaining an extra day to sell or a little more time to get late ads in can make a world of difference in profitability. The pressure to make every moment count has provided strong motivation for publication printers to implement computer-to-plate workflows. However, having that weekly or monthly publication date on the cover decreases the margin for error. It's also been

If you know the name of a printing company that you think appears on the Printing Impressions 400 list, but you're not sure of its ranking, here's an easy way to locate that firm. Simply find the company in the alphabetical listings on this page. In addition to each company's name and headquarters location, a corresponding number appears indicating that firm's ranking on the Printing Impressions 400. ABS Graphics (Addison, IL) 400 Action Printing (Fond du Lac, WI) 353 Adams Business Forms (Topeka, KS) 96 AdPlex Inc. (Houston, TX) 102 Advance Business Graphics (Mira Loma, CA) 153 AFL Web Printing (Voorhees, NJ)

BY MARK SMITH This year's election proved to be an all too painful reminder that making predictions can be a very risky business. Dating back to the introduction of radio and then TV, a dire future has been predicted for magazine publishing time and time again. All the while, the number of titles and total page counts has continued to rise. So far, the same trend is shaping up for the warnings sounded about the impact of the Internet on printed publications. The Internet actually has had the opposite effect on the market, with Internet-related titles being one of the fastest-growing categories and Websites/companies

Editor's note: Company rankings for the current and previous years are based on figures reported in 2000. Therefore, companies that revised their 1999 revenues may have changed their '99 ranking as compared with the ranking that appeared in last year's Printing Impressions 500. Similarly, the percentage change in sales is calculated on the most recent information provided.2000 Ranking:Previous Year's Ranking:Company:Total Sales (millions):Previous Year's (millions):Change (%):Principal Officer:Employees:Primary Specialties:Web Offset Units:Sheetfed Offset Units:Other:Ownership:Plants:1 1Quebecor World*, Montreal, Canada$6,540.00$6,160.00+6Charles G. Cavell44,000PUB 29%; ADV 20%; CAT 17%; DM 13%3,156985808Public 160*Parent: Quebecor Inc., Montreal, Canada  2000 Ranking:Previous Year's Ranking:Company:Total Sales (millions):Previous Year's (millions):Change (%):Principal Officer:Employees:Primary Specialties:Web Offset Units:Sheetfed Offset Units:Other:Ownership:Plants:2