Courier Corp.

Cream Rises to the Top This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Printing Industry Hall of Fame, which is co-sponsored by Printing Impressions and the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) School of Print Media. Having played a part in the selection process these past two decades, it's a blur when I think back on all of the industry heavyweights we've honored over the years. I fondly recall former powerhouses like Frank Beddor, The Beddor Cos.; Curtis Bourland, Continental Graphics; Quebecor's Pierre Peladeau; Mark C. Pope III, of Graphic Industries fame; and, of course—among our inaugural class in 1986—the late Harry V. Quadracci, founder

By Warren Chiara Mergers and acquisitions in the printing industry over the past year resulted in some changes at the top of BookTech Magazine's annual Top Book Manufacturing listing—ranked by book manufacturing sales. One change concerns the perennial Nos. 1, 2 and 3 on the list. When RR Donnelley acquired Moore Wallace last year, it changed the way the $8 billion company breaks down its revenues. It used to report the performance of individual units, but now casts revenues into two major business components: publishing and retail services, and integrated print communications and global solutions business. The latter category accounts for 40.2 percent

Rank Company Name, Book Revenue Compared 2004 2004 Book % from Address, Phone, Website, CEO to 2003 Revenue Revenue Books 1 Visant Corp.* N/A $1,462,000,000 $731,000,000 50% St. Louis, 314-966-0909, VonHoffmann.com, Jostens.com, Robert S. Mathews, CEO 2 RR Donnelley** s $7,200,000,000 $698,400,000 9.7% Chicago, 800-742-4455, RRDonnelley.com, Mark A. Angelson, CEO 3 Quebecor World Inc. t $6,622,000,000 $695,310,000 10.5% Montreal, 514-877-5317, QuebecorWorld.com, Pierre Karl Péladeau, CEO 4 Banta Corp. s $1,523,252,000 $289,417,880 19% Menasha, WI, 920-751-7221, Banta.com, Stephanie A. Streeter, President & CEO 5 Arvato Print USA (Bertelsmann) s $293,000,000 $266,630,000 91% Dallas, PA, 570-675-5261, ArvatoUSA.com, Michael Gallagher, Dave Liess, Presidents 6 Courier Corp. t $211,000,000 $177,240,000 84% N. Chelmsford, MA, 978-251-6000, Courier.com, James F. Conway III, CEO 7 Transcontinental Inc. t $1,677,000,000 $144,222,000 8.6% Montreal, 514-954-4000, Transcontinental-GTC.com, Luc DesJardins, CEO 8 Phoenix Color t $128,000,000 $128,000,000 100% Hagerstown, MD, 301-733-0018, PhoenixColor.com, Louis LaSorsa, CEO 9 Walsworth Publishing s $110,000,000 $104,500,000 95% Marceline, MO, 800-369-2646, WalsworthPrinting.com,

Gämmerler to Build Manufacturing Plant HANOVER PARK, IL—Material handling and inline finishing equipment manufacturer Gämmerler plans to build a 80,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Palmetto, FL. Scheduled to open in April 2006, company officials say that the new facility will house the latest in automation equipment, provide roughly 35 percent of annual global production capacity and significantly improve Gämmerler's operational efficiency. "The decision to build the new plant was based on an increase in demand for Gämmerler's products in North America and a desire for a more flexible and efficient international manufacturing platform," says Gämmerler CEO Gunter Gämmerler. "The Palmetto plant will complement our existing production

Perfector Finds Home at Village Press TRAVERSE CITY, MI—A four-over-four, 41˝ KBA Rapida 105 sheetfed long perfector press is now in operation at Village Press. It is equipped with a roll-to-sheet feeder. Printer's Press Prayers Answered NAMPA, ID—A new six-color, 41˝ MAN Roland 700 sheetfed perfector with in-line coating has been installed at the Pacific Press Publishing Association (PPPA), one of the main publishers and print providers for the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. alabama HUNTSVILLE—White Tiger Graphics recently relocated to a larger facility to better serve customers in the CD and DVD industries. The expanded facility increases the size of the commercial printing plant

(Editor's Note: Company rankings for the current and previous years are based on figures reported in 2004. Therefore, companies that revised their 2003 revenues may have changed their 2003 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 ('03: 2) RR Donnelley, Chicago, IL Total Sales (Millions): $8,204.50 Previous Year's Sales (Millions): $4,754.94 Change (%): +73 Principal Officer: Mark A. Angelson Employees: 44,000 Primary Specialties: SPEC 26%; CAT/PUB 23%; BF 10%; COM 9%; BKS 8% Web Offset Press Units: N/A Sheetfed Press

By Erik Cagle Senior Editor The book printing industry in America cannot live on Harry Potter's whimsy and Oprah Winfrey's blessings to survive in an environment that's losing share to overseas competition. Hit titles such as the J.K. Rowling line of Potter tomes, and the popularity heft that the afternoon talk show queen can put behind a new or backlisted work, can create a stir in both the publishing and printing industries. What the leading book manufacturers from our Printing Impressions 400 are looking for is consistency from the educational market. Top 10 Book Printers  CompanySegmentSales(millions)TotalSales(millions) 1Quebecor WorldMontreal$704$6,400 2RR DonnelleyChicago$656$8,204 3Banta

arizona PHOENIX—Heidelberg USA has installed its Prinect Prinance Print Management System at Steve Woods Printing. The Prinance package works seamlessly with another manufacturer's digital prepress system and a trio of large- and small-format presses, as well as with its Heidelberg/Polar 137 cutter, and TD66 and TD78 folders. california Los Angeles—Sinclair Printing, owned and operated for 75 years by the Sinclair family, has stepped up its booklet production by adding a new BravoPlus saddlestitching system from Muller Martini to its full-service bindery. Roseville—Master Color is now running a two-color Heidelberg Printmaster QM 46. The new equipment is being used to produce stationery, brochures and newsletters.

By Noelle Skodzinski It's not likely a big surprise that Quebecor World held fast to its No. 1 spot among the Top Book Manufacturers—ranked by book manufacturing revenues—in the United States and Canada. With a $36 million lead over RR Donnelley, and a $273 million lead over third-ranked Von Hoffmann Corp., Quebecor World isn't likely to lose its position anytime soon. Both top seeds, however, saw book sales drop in 2003. In fact, revenues for three of the top five sank by a total of nearly $130 million. Arvato Print USA (a division of Bertelsmann) and Von Hoffmann were the only two in

NORTH CHELMSFORD, MA—Book manufacturer and publisher Courier Corp. announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Research & Education Association (REA), a privately held publisher of test preparation and study guide books and software for high school, college, graduate students and professionals. The assets of Piscataway, NJ-based REA are being acquired for an undisclosed cash amount. It publishes in excess of 800 titles spanning a broad range of academic content, most of which it owns outright. "REA has been a pioneer in the development of accessible, yet academically sound, study guides for students at all levels," notes James F. Conway III, chairman, president and CEO