Vistaprint

A possible bomb threat has prompted Ontario Provincial Police to evacuate the Vistaprint building on Advance Drive in Lakeshore (ONT). Sgt. Rick Tonial of the Essex County OPP detachment said a letter was found in the print shop on Thursday morning suggesting that an explosive device could be on the premises.

“We’re dealing with a possible bomb threat,” Tonial said. “People have been evacuated. And we’re currently responding to the situation.”

About 300 employees were led out of the facility on Thursday.

Vistaprint employees scheduled for the 2 p.m. shift at the business have been instructed not to report to work.

This is a big industry with room for lots of printers. But we need to remember that we all live in glass houses. Some might be bigger than others, but no one should be throwing rocks.

VENLO, NETHERLANDS—Vistaprint N.V. announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Albumprinter, a privately held Dutch photo book and photo product company, for €60 million (US$85 million) payable at closing and up to an additional €5 million based on a performance based earn-out. This acquisition is in line with Vistaprint’s recently announced strategy to be more proactive in its evaluation of acquisition opportunities in adjacent markets.

Vistaprint’s revenue in the first quarter of its fiscal year grew to $212.4 million, a 25 percent increase over the $170.5 million reported in the same quarter a year ago. Its operating income totaled $9.7 million, a 21 percent decrease compared to $12.3 million in the same quarter of fiscal 2011.

Vistaprint has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Albumprinter, a privately held Dutch photo book and photo product company, for €60 million payable at closing and up to an additional €5 million based on a performance based earn-out.

When you think of the art of branding, what comes to mind? The art or the science? Those are two very different disciplines, yet if you don’t have both firmly thought through and driving your key brand messaging, you will find it difficult to score attention and the results you’re seeking.

Vistaprint’s revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011 grew to $208.8 million, a 27 percent increase over revenue of $164.3 million reported in the same quarter a year ago. It acquired approximately 1.8 million new customers in the quarter.

Effective this fiscal year, Vistaprint has altered its investment approach, resulting in a trade off of near-term earnings growth in favor of significant up-front investment to fuel greater customer value, longer-term scale advantages, higher organic revenue growth and operationally based competitive advantage.

There’s such a widespread lack of knowledge among consumers when it comes to printing. In my mind, every businessperson and independent professional could use personal printed materials. Online printers are the natural go-to resource, but so are small commercial printers.

ColorQuick had accused Vistaprint Ltd. of infringing on U.S. patent 6,839,149, related to systems and methods for processing files and directed to preparing production data for a print job. After a five-day trial, the jury found that Vistaprint did not infringe ColorQuick’s patent.