Printcafe Closes Acquisition PITTSBURGH—Printcafe Software has completed its acquisition of printChannel. Printcafe did not assume any printChannel obligations or liabilities other than in connection with certain customer contracts.Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Donnelley Exec to Head Oce CHICAGO—Ronald E. Daly has resigned as president of R.R. Donnelley Print Solutions, the company's business responsible for magazine, book, telephone directory and catalog/retail insert printing, as well as premedia services, to become the CEO of Océ-USA Holding, the North American business of Océ N.V., based in the Netherlands. Michael B. Allen, executive vice president for R.R. Donnelley Print Solutions, and Robert S. Pyzdrowski, president of operations for
Cadmus Communications Corporation
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 ERIK CAGLE Donald Belcher was groomed for success long before he was named Banta Corp.'s chairman, president and CEO in 1995. He was ready to assume the necessary leadership role even before his successful 24-year stint with Avery Dennison. Degrees from Dartmouth, Stanford business school and two years on active duty in the Army—sure, they all helped Belcher mold the core competencies that would make him a success story in the commercial printing industry, and an inductee into the 2002 Printing Impressions/RIT Printing Industry Hall of Fame. But the nuts and bolts, the morals and values Belcher required to position the Menasha, WI,
ALABAMA HUNTSVILLE—A new two-color, 28˝ Komori Lithrone press has been installed at All American Printing. TUSCALOOSA—The University of Alabama has added a new four-color, 21 1⁄16 x 19 1⁄8˝ Sakurai 474EPII press. CALIFORNIA IRVINE—The Dot Printer recently installed a Fujifilm Javelin Luxel T-9000 CTP thermal platesetter. The company is a five-facility, $36 million commercial printing operation. LOS ANGELES—Lithographix has installed its second Rollem TR die-scoring system and a Durselen/Rollem PB01 drilling system. NAPA—Label printer Jonergin Pacific has purchased CRC Information Systems' "The System" business management software. The company specializes in the production of high-quality wine labels. SAN DIEGO—Speedy Bindery has purchased a Best Osako
BY CAROLINE MILLER Building an ongoing training program, even in the best of times, tends to be at the bottom of a printer's to-do list. But, when businesses are faced with economic downturns, it often slides right off that list. However, ignoring employee development can be detrimental in the long run, stresses Greg Morrison, regional training manager for Cadmus Communications. "Several years ago, we came to the realization that we wouldn't be successful in the long term without investing in our people. Our employees are our most critical resource," he reports. So Cadmus designed a dynamic training program to address its workers' needs, according
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 ERIK CAGLE Without a doubt, 2001 was both a forgettable year and a year that won't soon be forgotten. Printers spent most of the year lamenting a poor economy that seemed to be trying to outdo itself in finding new lows with each passing month. Their customers, print buyers, were feeling the pinch: ad pages and folios dwindled, print orders declined and traditional commercial work seemed to be taking a beating. Others blamed the Internet and Web-based technologies for muscling in on the already-thinning turf, but the poster child of 1999 and 2000 was crying in its own beer. Industry dotcoms found venture capitalists weren't venturing
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
