BY CAROLINE MILLER It's been a very good year. The prophecies that the Internet would eventually kill off print appears not to be coming to fruition, just yet. In fact, if 2000 is any indication, the Internet appears to have emerged as a most positive development for the catalog industry. Top 10 Catalog Printers CompanySegmentSales(millions)Total Sales(millions) 1R.R. Donnelley & SonsChicago$1,350$5,000 2Quebecor WorldMontreal$1,111$6,540 3 Quad/GraphicsPewaukee, WI$705$1,500 4 Banta Corp.Menasha, WI$215$1,270 5 Arandell Corp.Menomonee Falls, WI$181$197 6 Perry Judd's Inc.Waterloo, WI$96$320 7 Spencer PressWells, ME$88$98 8 Avanti/Case-HoytMiami$77$155 9 Consolidated GraphicsHouston$62$625 10 Brown PrintingWaseca, MN$60$376 According to PIA's Vision 21 study, "As recently as the late 1990s, conventional
Brown Printing
Publication printers are rising to meet the demands of rapid technological change, competition from the Internet and the changing whims of publishers. Will 2000 carry a darker dawn for this segment? Yes and no. BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO As 1998 came to a close, the outlook for the publications segment was bright, despite the consolidation of titles that impacted the market's major players. Overall, the minds of the publications market called for continued growth for the segment throughout 1999, with particular emphasis on the hearty performance of the special-interest title. In total, while the projection for the publications market going into 1999 was conservative,
BY ERIK CAGLE In an age when the Internet may seem to be slowly eroding the print-on-paper medium, evidence suggests that a complementary relationship is being forged between the pair. This definitely appears to be the case with the catalog industry. According to a study conducted by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), catalog retailers were expected to generate 5 percent of their sales from the Internet this year, more than double the figure for 1998. This was among the findings made by "The DMA State of the Catalog Industry Report: 1999." "This report contains significant information about how catalogers are turning their direct marketing
Dan Nitz, president and CEO of Brown Printing, talks about industry consolidation, his projections for e-commerce—and Brown's formidable offset printing intentions for its Midwest territory. BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO The power of print. Dan Nitz, president and CEO of Brown Printing, believes this power will stay in place for some time, even though print will be enhanced and, yes, compromised at times, by the rise of e-commerce and Internet traffic. While conventional in some views, Nitz is also a visionary. He understands the nature of commercial printing—and its logical, likely evolution. Recently, Printing Impressions spoke with Nitz at his Waseca, MN, office. Sharing his thoughts on Brown
BY ERIK CAGLE It was around this time last year that paper buyers were being hit with an increase of $3 per hundred weight; approximately 6.5 percent on a typical 40/45 lb. No. 4 or No. 5 sheet. What a difference one year makes. As everyone else worries about whether their computers and household appliances will survive the Year 2000 (Y2K) bug scare or whether the new millennium party should start in 2000 or 2001, printers and their customers have other motivations to look toward the future with wonderment. No, call it glee. The paper market is soft to start the first quarter of
Though caution is key in what will most likely be a light ad market for certain portions of the publications segment, the powerful micro-publishing push and a moderate softening of paper prices should make 1999 one very vibrant year. BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO Get out the sunglasses—the publications segment is glowing. Sure, the consolidation of titles and, in many cases, the shutdown of titles have impacted players in the publications printing market. But overall the continued strength of special-interest and trade titles, coupled with moderate paper pricing, is allowing the publications segment to virtually beam. Top 10 Publication Printers CompanySegmentSales(millions)Total Sales(millions)1R.R. Donnelley & SonsChicago$1,261.00$4,850.002Quebecor PrintingMontrea$1,009.20$3,480.003World
