Schawk Inc.

Honor Societies Merge, Induct New Members The Ash Khan Society of PIA and the Society of Fellows of GATF have merged to form The Ben Franklin Society of PIA/GATF. The officers for the new Ben Franklin Society are Robert Murphy, chairman; Kent Martin, vice chairman; William Evans, secretary; and Ted Ringman, treasurer. The Ash Khan Society and the Society of Fellows have inducted 15 new members including: Robert Brown, CEO, Goss International; Wendell Burns, president and CEO, Jones Printing; John Green, president, Automated Graphic Systems; David Langhans; Herbert Hall Provence III, former president of Provence Printing; Charles Vaughan, president, Vaughan Printing; Alfred McCulloch, retired

Daly, Frontenac Seek Specialties CHICAGO—Private equity investment firm Frontenac and Ronald Daly, former president of RR Donnelley Print Solutions, have created a business partnership to acquire and grow specialty printers and other print solutions companies. Daly worked with Donnelley for 38 years. EPI Cos., Display Printers Merge MARIETTA, GA—The EPI Companies, based here, has acquired Display Printers, a manufacturer of printed merchandising displays. EPI specializes in marketing support for corporate clients, including creative services, traditional and digital print, logistics, premiums and online solutions. Unions Pressure Schawk CHICAGO—With its Union Network International (UNI) Congress taking place here, about 100 labor delegates, union leaders and activists decided to pay an

DES PLAINES, IL—Schawk Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire prepress and creative design house Seven Worldwide, formerly Applied Graphics Technologies, for $191 million in cash and stock. Schawk, a provider of digital imaging graphic services for the consumer product and brand imaging markets, will pay $122.4 million in cash and $68.6 million in Schawk stock. The deal includes four million shares of Schawk common stock at $17.15 per share and will expand the company's global coverage. The combined companies registered approximately $630 million in 2004 sales. "This acquisition allows the combined companies to significantly broaden global coverage and increase market leadership in the creation and

Predictions for 2005 And Other Ramblings The September 11th tragedy and the growing insurgency following the U.S. invasion of Iraq have reinforced, in no uncertain terms, how difficult it is to predict the future. And while we as a collective industry cannot control world events or the state of our overall economy, I do have a few predictions about what will be in store for us in the new year. Obviously, don't expect pricing pressure to wane in 2005. There still will be further industry consolidation, with those weak, underperforming shops driving down prices for everyone as they grapple to keep work—albeit unprofitable—coming

FedEx Buys Kinko's Franchise MEMPHIS, TN—FedEx Corp. and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) have announced an agreement for FedEx to acquire Kinko's for $2.4 billion in cash. Kinko's operates approximately 1,200 stores worldwide, generating annual sales of about $2 billion. Funds managed by CD&R, a private equity investment firm, currently owns about 75 percent of Kinko's outstanding shares. Once the transaction is completed, all Kinko's locations will offer new or expanded FedEx shipping options to small- to medium-size businesses and to large corporate customers. FedEx has been Kinko's exclusive shipping provider since 1988. Scitex Selling Digital Printing TEL AVIV, ISRAEL—Scitex Corp. and Eastman Kodak have signed a

The National Council for Skill Standards in Graphic Communications has announced the retirement of W.H. "Bill" Smith, current managing director, as well as the relocation of the council from its existing Kennebunk, ME, headquarters to the Harry V. Quadracci Printing & Graphics Center in Pewaukee, WI. Edmond Kelley, immediate past board chairman, will become the managing director upon Smith's retirement. Elizabeth Meyer and Sandra Michael have joined York, PA-based Print-O-Stat as regional sales consultants to serve regional office locations for the 49-year-old firm. They both come to Print-O-Stat with strong backgrounds in sales, marketing and management. IPA, the Association of Graphic Solutions Providers, announced that Clarence

Windy City Printer Upgrades Bindery CHICAGO—Schiele Graphics, a member of the Schiele Group, has purchased a Duplo System 4000 collator bookletmaker from Best Graphics. John Schiele, president, says that what got him excited about the machine was its ability to perform "intelligent collating," an add-on computer and software system that enables complex collating functions involving multiple components. alabama MONTGOMERY—Davis Printing has reportedly become the first printer in the state to employ FM screening. Creo's Prinergy workflow, two Intigris 800 proofers and a Trendsetter 800 Quantam are being used to produce 20 micron Staccato screening. The company plans to produce 90 percent of its

Bindery workers at Quebecor World's Effingham, IL, plant will not reconsider the company's final contract offer, according to the Effingham Daily News. There are approximately 400 union bindery workers at the plant. Quebecor World management says it has growing concerns about the future viability of the plant because of the competitive magazine printing market and the high cost structure of the plant. As of presstime, Graphic Communications International Union representatives are moving to request additional meetings. Atlanta-based priNexus Inc. has announced several staff changes. Larry Klotz has been named vice president of sales and national sales manager. For the past 12 years, Klotz has

TOKYO—Following 17 years of research and development, Elcorsy announced it has sold the first production model of its ELCO 400 press, based on Elcography technology. This "electrocoagulation" process is said to turn liquid ink into gel with electric fields generated by small wires located across from the imaging cylinder. The press was installed by Toyo Ink, a technology partner of Elcorsy, and reportedly will be used to print instant newspapers at popular music shows and international sporting events, as well as personalized color schoolbooks. (www.elcorsy.com) RESTON, VA—The Committee for Graphic Arts Technologies Standards (CGATS) has defined an open, variable-data exchange standard, called

BY CHRISTOPHER CORNELL Each little drop in the bucket doesn't amount to much, but after a while it can turn into a torrent; that's the metaphor that applies to the graphic arts industry in 1999. Each individual merger and acquisition during the course of the year didn't affect the industry that much, but, in the aggregate, 1999 will likely be remembered as the year in which the number of companies in it noticeably shrunk. The biggest news story of the year was one just about everybody saw coming. Just after mid-year, following weeks of industry speculation, Quebecor Printing and World Color Press signed a