Omaha Print

IMAGINE JOINING an exclusive business group that requires members to undergo a virtual audit of their finances, a club where you’re expected to share detailed information about company practices. Picture wanting to host a meeting where your facility is given a white glove inspection, followed by a brutally honest critiquing session by the other members of the group. Some people might respond, “Oh, I get the joke. This is what happens when you cross the IRS with a proctologist, right?” Nope, it’s what a company encounters when it joins the Print America peer group. Print America is a tightly knit fraternity of 12 privately

VDP ‘Masters’ Mentor on Tricks Of Printing Trade PHILADELPHIA—To help educate its clients (and prospective customers) with the latest trends in printing and variable data printing (VDP), Innovation Printing & Communications hosted a full day of seminars—billed as “The Masters of Printing and Variable Data”—in its new 67,000-square-foot facility on September 27. Innovation also invited representatives from Heidelberg, Adobe, Xerox, RIS Paper (Domtar Distribution Group), Clemson University and 23K Studios Inc. to participate in the event. Innovation’s energetic staff gave tours of the new facility during the course of the day, while several leading experts discussed various topics, including: the benefits of VDP and

PHOENIX—The weather may not have cooperated, but that didn't dampen the spirits of the 265 people who attended the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL) Top Management Conference, held here last month at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort. Even Andrew Paparozzi, NAPL's chief economist, gave a largely sunny forecast in his state-of-the-industry report that kicked off the meeting. Signs that the industry is rebounding: sales increases for four consecutive quarters among NAPL's Printing Business Panel, reports that profitability and pricing levels are up, as well as the fact that printers are hiring again. This, in part, fuels his projections that commercial printing industry sales

(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.) 303 ('03: 319) Freeport Press, Freeport, OH Total Sales (Millions): $15.30 Previous Year's Sales (Millions): $13.85 Change (%): +10 Principal Officer: David G. Pilcher Employees: 140 Primary Specialties: PUB 40%; DM 20%; ADV 20%; CAT 10% Web Offset Press Units: 24 Sheetfed Press Units: 0 Other Press

The Soderstrom Society of the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL) has named Jim Hyder, president and CEO of Fetter Printing, Louisville, KY, and former NAPL chairman, recipient of the 44th annual Walter E. Soderstrom Award. Allen Conway, executive vice president for the resale custom division of Cenveo Inc., has been appointed to the position of president of the Cenveo resale segment doing business as Quality Park. In addition, Bob Hart, current president of the resale segment, has accepted a position as special assistant to the chairman. The Worldwide Printing Thermographers Association (WPT) has announced the winners of its 7th annual Excellence in Thermography Contest—the

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.

(Editor's Note: Company rankings for the current and previous years are based on figures reported in 2003. Therefore, companies that revised their 2002 revenues may have changed their 2002 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.) 301 ('02: 193) Colonial Press Int'l, Miami, FL Total Sales (Millions): $17.40 Previous Year's Sales (Millions): $18.60 Change (%): -6 Principal Officer: Jose Gomez Employees: 131 Primary Specialties: COM 30%; PUB 20%; CAT 15%; DIR 15% Web Offset Press Units: 22 Sheetfed Press Units: 18 Other

By Caroline Miller When it comes to saddle stitching, every printer or trade finisher has a different set of needs. Some are looking for increased speed; for others, it is ease of operation or fast make-ready capabilities. And there are those in need of a stitcher that can integrate easily into a larger in-line system. Vendors of production saddle stitchers are responding to all of those needs thanks to a new generation of technology. "We've just seen a quantum leap in technology," says Chris Azbill, vice president at United Litho, a short-run publication printer that recently installed a Muller Martini Tempo saddle stitcher. When

(Editor's Note: Company rankings for the current and previous years are based on figures reported in 2002. Therefore, companies that revised their 2001 revenues may have changed their 2001 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.) 302 ('01: —) The Harty Press, New Haven, CT Total Sales (millions): $17.66 Previous Year's (millions): — Change (%): — Principal Officer: George R. Platt Employees: 110 Primary Specialties: DM 35%; COM 35%; ADV 20%; CAT 5% Web Offset Units: 0 Sheetfed Offset Units: 25 Other:

Mail-Well Sells Filing Division ENGLEWOOD, CO—Mail-Well Inc. has completed the sale of its filing products division to International Filing, a privately held company owned by IFC Filing, of Exton, PA. IFC Filing was formed by former Mail-Well Chairman Gerald Mahoney, along with management and other investors to effect the purchase. "The sale of our filing products division is another important step in the implementation of our strategic plan, narrowing our lines of business and reducing our debt load," states Paul Reilly, Mail-Well chairman, president and CEO. "International Filing Co. represents an exciting opportunity for the customers, management and employees of the filing products division." TAP