Donnelley Gets USPS Certified CHICAGO—R.R. Donnelley has become the first commercial printer to be approved for the second phase of PostalOne! certification by the United States Postal Service—for the electronic submission of postal statements. PostalOne! is a system that allows for electronic submission of postage statements and corresponding presort documentation. Gateway Installs Perfecting Unit LOUISVILLE, KY—An eight-unit Mitsubishi Diamond 3000R perfecting press has been installed at Gateway Press. The press features a centralized operator makeready and control system (COMRAC). Sheridan Books Adds Web Press CHELSEA, MI—Sheridan Books has installed a Timsons T48A arch web press at its facility here. The press, which features a simultaneous plate changing
Trend Offset Printing
ARIZONA MESA—Hogue Printing has signed a deal with CRC Information Systems to implement THE System business management software, including the Commercial Estimating module. Hogue Printing, a 38-year-old family owned business, specializes in sheetfed printing, copying, design and packaging. CALIFORNIA PALM SPRINGS—The Desert Sun newspaper, a Gannett company, has purchased two KBA Colora Tower additions for upgrading and expanding printing and color capabilities for its existing Goss Headliner offset press. SACRAMENTO—Fong & Fong Printers and Lithographers has integrated a Gerber Sector coating blanket cutter into its workflow, lowering costs and speeding production. The printer formerly outsourced its coating blankets, requiring a three day turnaround.
BY ERIK CAGLE It could be said that Doug Stone, co-founder of Odyssey Press, was a frugal man. He booked his own flights and almost always took the cheaper connecting route, no matter how circuitous. Stone was saving the company money, particularly when he was flying from his company's headquarters in Dover, NH, to Trend Offset Printing in Los Alamitos, CA, the home of his former employer. He was close to Anthony Lienau, one of Trend's founders, and still did consulting work for Lienau. So Stone would fly into Texas, where Trend has a plant, and visit there before continuing to California. Out
BY ERIK CAGLE In 1996 it was becoming increasingly clear to Anthony and Robert Lienau, co-founders of Trend Offset Printing, that the Southern California market which gave birth to their thriving business—from a $15 million printer less than 10 years previously to nearly $80 million—was just about tapped of growth potential. Before long, the Los Alamitos, CA-based printer was embarking on a national expansion plan, first in Carrollton, TX (a Dallas suburb), followed by Jacksonville, FL. It proved a prophetic move by Anthony Lienau, company chairman. "We were profitable within our first three months in Texas," notes Todd Nelson, president and COO of Trend
I'll admit it; we didn't set out to highlight industry trends and paradigm shifts, some that are occurring in response to our nation's prolonged economic slump. But, as various feature articles for the August issue came together, several themes permeated that seem to defy conventional industry wisdom. Here, in no particular order, are some of them: Since the printing industry so closely tracks GDP growth, it's impossible for a printer to be virtually recession-proof in a stagnant economy. If you believe this, you haven't read the cover story on Trend Offset Printing, which is approaching annual sales of $200 million this year—rising from $182
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: 5159J.J. Keller & Assoc., Neenah, WI$159.76$139.99+14Robert L. Keller830PUB 50%; BKS 30%; DM 10%; BF 10%2087Private1 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: 5251Serigraph Inc.,
BY CAROLINE MILLER Acquisitions, new markets and additional facilities are just a few of the ways printers grew their sales last year. Printing Impressions takes a look at how several companies established new sources of revenue. Challenge Printing, Eden Prairie, MN Most Recent Fiscal Year Sales: $50.6 million Previous Year: $42.2 million Number of Employees: 315 Number of Plants: 2 Diversity is the key to Challenge Printing's success, explains Jay Carroll, Challenge's vice president of sales and marketing. "We really point to our investments into new capabilities over the last few years as the reason for our growth," says Carroll. Challenge's investment in new
BY ERIK CAGLE Without a doubt, 2001 was both a forgettable year and a year that won't soon be forgotten. Printers spent most of the year lamenting a poor economy that seemed to be trying to outdo itself in finding new lows with each passing month. Their customers, print buyers, were feeling the pinch: ad pages and folios dwindled, print orders declined and traditional commercial work seemed to be taking a beating. Others blamed the Internet and Web-based technologies for muscling in on the already-thinning turf, but the poster child of 1999 and 2000 was crying in its own beer. Industry dotcoms found venture capitalists weren't venturing
JACKSONVILLE, FL—Jeff Sweetman fully understands if you think heatset and coldset web offset printing have no business being under the same roof. The CEO of Los Alamitos, CA-based Trend Offset Printing won't argue with anyone who feels that way. Yes, it is true that the privately held company crossed into the Top 50 of printers nationwide as ranked by Printing Impressions in terms of revenues with a lusty $150-plus million in sales. It's also true that Trend Offset expanded into a Dallas suburb fairly recently and, yes, it's expanding again with a new facility in Jacksonville, FL. Sure, Trend Offset was able to
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)
