Mercury Print Productions

We've all been waiting pensively, hoping to spot some signals that commercial printing is in recovery. I know; much uncertainty about the future remains. Economists still keep moving their recovery forecasts back in response to a lingering U.S. economy that just can't seem to sustain itself. And, although the demented snipers have been caught, the impending war with Iraq, fear over more terrorism in our homeland and a turbulent Wall Street rocked by executive misdeeds continue to remind us that the world—and especially the American lifestyle and sense of security that we all once took for granted—may be changed forever. As such, expectations were understandably

BY MARK SMITH To be sure, the Mercury Print Productions of today has a compelling story to tell. It embodies both attributes connoted by its name: the speed of the winged messenger god and the high-tech of space exploration. Having been a strong player in the on-demand digital print arena for some 10 years, the company just completed beta testing the new Xerox DocuColor iGen 3 digital color production press and is now its first commercial user worldwide. Its sheetfed offset printing capabilities have far from suffered, though, as the shop also offers state-of-the-art computer-to-plate (CTP) production as a front end to four (two-

BY CHRIS BAUER The trade press covering the printing industry, (Printing Impressions included) makes a lot of noise about converting to digital workflows, M&A winners and losers, and keeping a healthy bottom line in these trying economic times. While this can be interesting and important from a business standpoint, the graphic arts industry is a huge employer, with many different personalities who have varied and unique interests outside of the printing world. It is time their stories were told. PI found graphic arts executives with interesting pastimes to see how some people in the industry spend their time on weekends and

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: 251217Central States Business Forms, Dewey, OK$25.84$28.88-11Kenneth G. Adams255BF 99%; SPEC 1% (Envelopes, labels,computer supplies) 7424Private2  Parent: Adams Investment, Bartlesville, OK  2001 Ranking:Previous Year's Ranking:Company:Total Sales (millions):Previous Year's (millions):Change (%):Principal Officer:Employees:Primary Specialties:Web Offset

We are the best at what we do, and we want everyone to know it. Go ahead, say it a few times. Feels good, doesn't it? Isn't that the image you want your customers to have about your company? You want clients to feel that you are the best option for their printing needs—you have the newest, most advanced equipment, the know-how and the dedication to provide a quality product.

Setting the Toner ROCHESTER, NY—This town might seem an unlikely place to be ground zero in the next big battle for dominance of the color digital printing market. That is, until one takes into account the city is the corporate hometown of NexPress Solutions LLC and Xerox Corp. PRINT 01 brought a temporary shift in the battlefield to Chicago, setting up a head-to-head bid for attention between the NexPress 2100 and FutureColor digital presses. (For its part, Xerox contends that its DocuColor 2000 Series is the true competitor to the NexPress.) In preparation, both companies decided to launch advance campaigns by inviting members of

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)

Editor's note: Company rankings for the current and previous years are based on figures reported in 2000. Therefore, companies that revised their 1999 revenues may have changed their '99 ranking as compared with the ranking that appeared in last year's Printing Impressions 500. Similarly, the percentage change in sales is calculated on the most recent information provided.2000 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:301268Midland Press, Davenport, IA$21.70$22.88-5Gene M. Blanc249SPEC 43% (Technology, educational);CAT 30%; DIR 20%; COM 5%12312Private 3  2000 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:302303California Offset Printers, Glendale, CA$21.50$20.00+8William

BY CAROLINE MILLER Digital Prinitng is poised to become one of the most powerful tools available to marketers. However, there's one problem. Many of your clients don't fully understand how digital printing can be beneficial to their businesses. It's a hurdle that any digital print provider needs to clear before it can become profitable. But an effective digital print marketing strategy can go a long way to clearing the profitability obstacle. Still, marketing digital printing services requires you to take a different approach than you might with traditional offset printing. Marketing your digital capabilities requires educating your clients about the benefits of digital and also