Consolidated Graphics

BY ERIK CAGLE Sony and Cher, Laverne and Shirley, Thelma and Louise, Tenspeed and Brown Shoe. You can now add commercial printing and the economy to the list of couples who no longer exist. For many years, the growth of the commercial printing industry walked hand-in-hand with that of the nation's economy. Recent findings indicate that other factors are having more of an influence in the growth of printing than the economy, according to Andrew Paparozzi, chief economist for the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL). "For the first time since we've been tracking data, we're finding that the print industry is growing

Philadelphia—Consolidated Graphics has signed letters of intent with three more commercial printers, in advance of their eventual acquisition. The first of the most recent batch was Piccari Press, based here. Piccari provides a full range of printing services, including electronic prepress, up to six-color printing, and complete postpress with mailing and fulfillment capabilities. The management team of Joe Trefaller, president; Carl Piccari Sr.; and Carl Piccari Jr. will remain with the company upon completion of the transaction. Joe R. Davis, chairman and CEO of Consolidated Graphics, notes that, "Piccari has distinguished itself by focusing on the service and quality issues that are important to

The commercial printing industry's leading consolidators share their criteria for the art of the deal. BY ERIK CAGLE When one of our industry's acquisitions is among the top financial stories on "CNN," it becomes readily apparent that the world of commercial printing consolidation is heating up rather than slowing down. The highly anticipated deal that saw Quebecor Printing purchase one of the industry's leading consolidators, World Color Press, for $1.4 billion in cash and stock on July 12, was met by a lot of oohs and aahs. It was an impressive post-Fourth of July fireworks display, to be sure, even though many in the

San Francisco—The Quebecor acquisition of World Color Press dwarfs any other merger and acquisition news in the printing industry, but the industry's other players have not been idle in the past weeks. Perhaps most notable was the news that yet another company has joined an increasingly crowded field of companies seeking to consolidate the still-fragmented North American commercial printing market. The new kid on the block is San Francisco-based Kelmscott Communications LLC, and its first major deal is the acquisition of three printing companies: Watermark Press in San Francisco; Printing Control in Seattle; and Commercial Printing/CDS in Medford, OR. The three boast aggregate sales

LISLE, IL—Just when the breakneck pace of commercial printing industry acquisitions was slowing, the lull came to a resounding end with yet another spate of new purchases. Perhaps the biggest news was that, after months of regrouping, Wallace Computer Services, based here, returned to its acquisition course, acquiring Commercial Press, reportedly the largest commercial printer in San Diego. Commercial Press has 200 employees and projected sales this year of $26 million. The addition brings Wallace up to 25 commercial printing facilities throughout the United States. Mike Duffield, Wallace's president and COO, says Commercial's "profitability is strong, plus there is additional capacity that can be filled by

LISLE, IL—Just when the breakneck pace of commercial printing industry acquisitions was slowing, the lull came to a resounding end with yet another spate of new purchases. Perhaps the biggest news was that, after months of regrouping, Wallace Computer Services, based here, returned to its acquisition course, acquiring Commercial Press, reportedly the largest commercial printer in San Diego. Commercial Press has 200 employees and projected sales this year of $26 million. The addition brings Wallace up to 25 commercial printing facilities throughout the United States. Mike Duffield, Wallace's president and COO, says Commercial's "profitability is strong, plus there is additional capacity that can be filled by

LISLE, IL—Looking to unload non-core businesses and raise some capital, Wallace Computer Services has announced the sale of two of its properties. Houston-based Consolidated Graphics has signed a letter of intent to acquire Mercury Printing, a Wallace-owned facility located in Memphis, TN. "Mercury Printing was acquired in December 1997 as part of the acquisition of Graphic Industries," explains Mike Halloran, Wallace's senior vice president of planning and acquisitions. "While Mercury is a solid performing operation, it was one of the lower-volume Graphic facilities, and its strategic focus and primary product line are not consistent with Wallace's target market: the Fortune 2000." Mercury Printing has served the

Consolidators, independents discuss merits of selling the business to a roll-up company. BY ERIK CAGLE To sell or not to sell? A difficult question with no easy, or clear-cut, answers. The last 15 years have been marked by considerable growth in the commercial printing industry. That growth has been bolstered by awe-inspiring advances in technology: computer-to-plate, offset press automation and digital prepress advances, which have all streamlined production processes and decreased turnaround time. By building a better mousetrap, printers large and small have made their industry highly competitive. While the National Association of Printers and Lithographers projects industry growth in the 4 percent range

BY CHRISTOPHER CORNELL If you spent any time at all in 1998 reading the quarterly reports issued by publicly traded printing companies, you are probably up to your Y2K-compatible eyeballs with the term "record-breaking." But as the year draws to an end, it's clear that the phrase will be remembered as the one that most describes it. In previous years, consolidation was an interesting sidelight to other major events in the graphic arts industry. In 1998, it was all about consolidation. More than $3 billion was spent by larger fish swallowing up smaller ones, and while a few big names led the charge, they

OK, so not everyone can be a Consolidated Graphics—exploding in sales more than 60 percent during 1998 through acquisitions. Then again, could the commercial printing industry really thrive in a sea of Consolidated clones? In an industry that is changing and consolidating, here are some leading printers from the Printing Impressions 500 on the road to riches. BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO In an industry of giants, an industry that can boast top sales in the billions for the upper echelon and an industry that can compensate top CEOs in the millions of dollars, a commercial printing operation doubling sales from $10 million to $20