Compass Capital Partners

The past three years have been horrendously bad for the printing industry. Some industry experts say that printing market conditions were the worst in 40 years. I heard horror stories every day. I witnessed bankruptcies, I saw lost jobs and I grieved over padlocked companies. It was depressing and I considered buying an ocean-side bar in the Caribbean, or joining a traveling carnival, or running for governor of California (who cares that I reside in Pennsylvania?) or developing an online psychotherapy Website for unemployed printers. I was committed, however, to sticking it out because I had sponsored The Second Great American Print Sales Prospecting

It really chaps my cheeks when a great writer like me gets "tainted" by the unscrupulous acts of hacks like this Jayson Blair guy at The New York Times. It zaps the creativity right out of my bones. You all read or heard about Mr. Jayson "Phony Phacts" Blair in the newspapers or on CNN, Fox and MSNBC. The notoriety of his sins has slopped out of his pigpen and swamped my sty with some vile accusations. Just listen to this memo that I got from Attila the Editor and his nasty little henchmen. Dear Mañana Man (or whoever you think you are today): The recent New

This will be a two-part column. Part one will be my blockbuster predictions for the future of the printing industry. Part two will be invaluable education for print salespeople and company owners. I am truly blessed with healthy modesty. Occasionally, however (never more than once a day), I go on to the Internet to the Google search engine and type in "harris dewese." Up jumps about four pages of references to me—vitally important stuff that I've written, enormously significant stuff I've said, and places where I'm scheduled to appear where I will say even more valuable stuff. Sometimes, my wife of 41 years,

The list of winners in the Mañana Man's second Great American Print Sales Prospecting Contest can be found on the next page. We just finished tabulating all of the results prior to the deadline for this issue. My crack staff comprised of Marvelle Stump (I had to hire him to get him out of rehab) and Wanda Thrillkill, who will be contacting the winners to arrange for photographs and for their prizes. I'm not sure my doctors are going to let me travel to wash all the winning sales teams' cars. There is talk of brain surgery or shock therapy and even a radical fatectomy

This column is for women only! It is strictly private and confidential. Women should enter their user names, passwords and proceed to read my column. Men should just flip the page and read the equipment ads. About 18 years ago I wrote a column that predicted women would have a bigger role in printing management and printing sales. Didn't happen. What actually happened was that women who couldn't get a decent job in printing got jobs as print buyers. (And, by golly, female print buyers have noticed that the printing industry is male dominated and, as a result, they are irritated.) We have female

It was a few days before Christmas in 1998. A light snow was swirling in the 30 mph winds blowing off of Lake Michigan. The winter wind in Chicago seems to gain strength as it whips through the buildings and down Michigan Avenue. It was about 2:30 p.m. and a stocky businessman on the wrong side of 50 entered the hotel bar. His flight home was scheduled for 6:55 p.m. and he wanted to relax before leaving for O'Hare Airport. He was tired and chose a stool near the end of the bar. He was carrying an expensive overnight bag and a matching attaché

You remember that the Feds released my print buyer and banker hostages. They found my secret camp when a snitch revealed our whereabouts. It was probably that weasel laundry truck driver. I was holding the hostages until the printing industry raised prices by 25 percent. So much for that plan. I'll have to try something else. I'm still being held by the Feds at a brand new Executive Detention Center. It was built for all the Enron, WorldCom and Adelphia Cable executives who will soon be my cell, er, suite mates. This place is the ultimate white-collar prison. The Feds have a management contract with

CHENEQUA, WI--Harry V. Quadracci, 66, who grew Pewaukee, WI-based Quad/Graphics from a startup company, funded by taking out a second mortgage on his home, into the largest privately held commercial printer in the United States, died July 29. Mr. Quadracci's body was found approximately 3 p.m. that day in about four and a half feet of water in Pine Lake near his home here, according to Chenequa Police. His family contacted the police around 12:30 p.m. and reported Mr. Quadracci missing. The cause of death is under investigation, according to Robert Douglas, chief of police. An autopsy by the Waukesha County Medical Examiners Office concluded he

DARIEN, CT—The Printing Arts America (PAA) rollup of commercial printers, collected during the heyday of industry consolidation in the late 1990s, has been divested. Nationwide Graphics announced it has acquired Classic Printing of Nashville, TN; AIM Riverside Press of Pompano Beach, FL; and Printing Arts Houston from PAA, which had filed for Chapter 11 reorganizational protection last November. Nationwide is also now part owner of Miami-based Original Impressions, with Roland Garcia—founder of the company—as majority owner. Recently, Houston-based Consolidated Graphics acquired Baltimore-based S&S Graphics, while Printing Arts Chicago was reacquired by William J. Chmura—its previous owner—and John Ropski. The other PAA companies—Bay State Press, Framingham, MA; George

I am still holed up in this secret underground location guarding my hostage print buyers and bankers. I've made a lot of progress training the hostages to cook for themselves and clean their cells. I am also trying to teach the print buyers to use fair and balanced criteria for selecting their print suppliers. I am trying to teach the bankers the benefits of embracing the printing industry. The banks have turned their backs on us because they don't understand our industry and because a few bad apples have recently tarnished our ability to borrow. I have explained that printing companies operate on