Finlay Printing

The term printer almost carries a negative connotation these days. Label a company a “commercial printer,” and the prevailing feeling is that the business has been painted into a corner, a dead end of sorts. Certainly, this is not the case, but a new generation of companies that derive profit from putting ink on paper for customers has all but disavowed the term “printer.” Look at 75 percent of the companies that have changed their name in recent years. The word “printer” has been stricken from the name and corporate logo. Still, the movement is less about signaling a dying art and more a

(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.) 203 ('03: 191) Conley Printing, Beaver Dam, WI Total Sales (Millions): $25.31 Previous Year's Sales (Millions): $26.68 Change (%): -5 Principal Officer: Jim Conley Employees: 170 Primary Specialties: PUB 84%; SPEC 10% (Retail reprints); CAT 5% Web Offset Press Units: 46 Sheetfed Press Units: 0 Other Press

By Mark Michelson Editor-in-Chief Don't chalk up the sprint-speed pace of buying activity reported by many Graph Expo and Converting Expo 2004 exhibitors to the Chicago Marathon that just happened to coincide with the opening day of the show. More likely, credit the desire for printers to make capital expenditures again to signs that the U.S. economy and graphic arts industry are finally rebounding, as well as the fact that Graph Expo provided U.S. printers with the first chance to see state-of-the-art Drupa introductions in action. Perhaps nowhere was this more apparent than within the booths of traditional sheetfed and web offset press