RR Donnelley

Printing Impressions Digital Printing and Workflow News for June 2009

I nearly choked on my Coke this morning when the news came down that RR Donnelley had made a pretty straightforward offer of $1.35 billion in cash and stock to acquire Quebecor World.

Print buyers rate a printer's collateral material significantly higher than the printers themselves in terms of the importance in identifying a perspective supplier.

The Pennsylvania Convention Center has flourished with a crowd interested in the latest technology for document management and digital printing developments. Keynote speakers for both the AIIM Expo and the On Demand exposition have discussed the most pressing issues in both industries, and key factors to keeping an innovative business running smoothly in today’s rapidly evolving world of technology.

RR Donnelley absorbed another loss in its quarterly results, recording a net loss of $686.9 million in the fourth quarter. Impairment and restructuring charges, which totaled nearly $1.4 billion, were the primary culprits.

INDUSTRY POWERHOUSE Susan Kelly, CEO of San Ramon, CA-based K/P Corp., has been tapped as one of the keynote speakers at Offset and Beyond 2009. Kelly’s name is recognized throughout the printing industry as a veteran printing exec who formerly worked for RR Donnelley, Pitney Bowes and Gannett. She is also the founder of Raine Media, which was acquired by K/P Corp. in 2004. As the 2005 recipient of Printing Industries of America’s Naomi Berber Award, Kelly was honored for the many major contributions she has made throughout her career to the graphic communications industry.

 RR Donnelley plans to close its printing plant here in June because of the economic downturn, putting 374 people out of work, company officials announced Wednesday. The printer, formerly known as Spencer Press, is the largest employer in town. The plant produces catalogs and other promotional materials delivered through the mail.

Roughly 200 RR Donnelley employees from the former Von Hoffmann plant in Jefferson City, MO, have been laid off either for a few weeks or permanently, according to several media reports. Doug Fitzgerald, executive vice president of communications at RR Donnelley, declined to comment.

Several employees at RR Donnelley in Jefferson City said they were shocked Tuesday when they were told they were out of a job - some for a few weeks, others permanently. Despite numerous attempts, officials with RR Donnelley, formerly Von Hoffman Printing, have not returned phone calls or issued official information about the company's layoffs.

The On Demand Conference & Exposition, the largest digital printing and automated production event in North America, will offer three dynamic keynote presentations tackling the most pressing issues in digital printing and document production. The Conference and Expo will be taking place March 30 – April 2, 2009 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, PA.