Transcontinental Inc.’s Media Sector, TC Media, announced the sale of 30 publications, including 21 weeklies in the Montréal area, the Métro Montréal weekday newspaper, as well as 8 publications in the Québec City area to a Canadian corporation of which Mr. Michael Raffoul, a Montréal-based businessman, is President. The transaction includes all web properties related to the titles sold as well as the Québec Hebdo website. In total, 119 employees of the various publications and 20 employees from TC Media’s Production team are transferred to the acquirer. TC Transcontinental also concluded a multi-year agreement for the printing of all of these titles, as well as for the distribution, with the exception of Métro Montréal, which is already under contract with Mr. Raffoul’s print media distribution company. In addition to the Métro Montréal newspaper, the Montréal-area publications included in this transaction are: Ambiance/Rendez Vous, L’Avenir de l’Est, Cités Nouvelles, Courrier Ahuntsic, Courrier Bordeaux-Cartierville, Corriere Italiano, L’Express d’Outremont – L’Express Mont-Royal, Le Flambeau Mercier-Anjou, Le Guide Montréal-Nord, Le Magazine de l’Île-des-Soeurs, L’Informateur de Rivière-des-Prairies, Journal de Rosemont, Messager Lachine & Dorval, Le Messager LaSalle, Le Messager Verdun, Nouvelles Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Les Nouvelles Saint-Laurent News, Le Plateau, Progrès Saint-Léonard, Villeray–Parc-Ex Petite Patrie and La Voix Pop. For the Québec City area: L’Actuel, L’Appel, L’Autre Voix, Beauport Express, Charlesbourg Express, Le Jacques-Cartier, Journal Habitation and Le Québec Express, as well as the Québec Hebdo website. Click Read More below for additional information.

“We welcome Spectrum Printing & Graphics to the growing Two Sides network and look forward to working with them to promote the unique sustainable features of print and paper. Our membership now includes several commercial printers from family-owned businesses to large operations – they have been instrumental in educating their stakeholders about the great environmental story of print,” said Two Sides North America President, Phil Riebel. "Getting the facts straight about the positive story that the paper and printing industries have related to the environment and the economy is very important to us – it has been misunderstood for years. We are excited to help Two Sides convey an accurate message to the marketplace, our customers, employees and vendors," says Andrew Berman, President, Spectrum Printing & Graphics.

LSC Communications has embarked on a new strategic relationship with international academic publisher Taylor & Francis Group, a division of Informa plc, to provide print, fulfillment and distribution services. According to Dave McCree, President of Book Sales at LSC Communications, “We are very excited about the opportunity to work with Taylor & Francis. LSC has been diligently focused on creating a scalable, customizable and fully integrated supply chain model for publishers that brings efficiencies to the next level, and we will continue to innovate new ways to support Taylor & Francis and our other global publishing clients.” Click Read More below for additional information.

First Quarter 2018 Highlights • Revenue increased 0.8% year-over-year, driven by Small Business Services growth of 2.7% which includes the results of several small tuck-in acquisitions. Financial Services revenue was flat compared to the prior year. • Gross margin was 61.6% of revenue, compared to 63.2% in the first quarter of 2017. The impact of product and service mix and increased delivery and material costs this year, as well as acquisitions, was only partially offset by previous price increases and continued improvements in manufacturing productivity. • Operating income increased 3.2% year-over-year. Adjusted operating income, which excludes restructuring, integration and transaction costs, as well as asset impairment charges, in both periods, increased 0.9% year-over-year primarily from price increases and continued cost reduction initiatives, partially offset by the continuing decline in check and forms usage. Click Read More below for additional information.

Luxury packaging printer JohnsByrne has installed the Eagle Systems Cold Foil system to better serve their client base and increase their ability to innovate. Founded in 1959, the organization remains a family-owned operation, with founder, John B. Gustafson’s four sons: Corey, Jack, Mike and Pate, running the business as President, COO and Executive Vice Presidents, respectively. “We are a very client-centric, customer-focused operation,” said Corey Gustafson. “We look at the marketplace, and look for ways to provide solutions to problems our customers are having, and new ways to enhance their current product lines. We try to be very proactive about getting in front of our clients’ needs and the available technology, and the Eagle Systems Cold Foil system proved to be a great compliment to our offering; it was the right fit, at the right time.” He noted that while they have, and continue to offer, hot stamping technologies, there were some applications where that process wasn’t a perfect fit. They could find a way to get it done, but Cold Foil, said Corey Gustafson, “gives us a great deal of flexibility, now, and nuance to our offerings. We can provide different solutions to the same problem, to find the one that best suits the project, product and customer. It’s a different tool in our belt.” Click Read More below for additional information.

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company announced the release of its SuperDoc web statement enhancement. This technology transforms static business statements into interactive dynamic customer communications. Developed by RRD’s Business Communications Solutions (BCS) unit, the SuperDoc enhancement acts as a secure website add-on that embeds customer-facing PDF statements, bills, policies, letters, and other transactional communications with entirely new dimensions of interactivity and activated content. This latest offering from RRD is designed to help organizations across a variety of industries increase their eAdoption rate. The SuperDoc enhancement provides consumers with a variety of widgets that grant a higher level of interactivity than paper statements, such as: • Compare balances month-to-month, quarter-to-quarter, and year-to-year • Search transactions by date, vendor, amount paid, and more • Use payoff and financing calculators • Access local data like weather history, property values, and more • Model future bills • Learn about upgrade details and special offers. Click Read More below for additional information.

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company announced new financial reporting segments to align with recent changes to its global operating structure. Effective with the first quarter of 2018, RRD will report its results under two new segments: Marketing Solutions, a preeminent provider of multichannel marketing activation programs, and Business Services, a premier global provider of business communications services. RRD Marketing Solutions leverages an integrated portfolio of data analytics, creative services and multichannel execution to deliver comprehensive, end-to-end solutions that drive marketing ROI. RRD’s key capabilities include: • Data Management • Advanced Analytics • Creative Services • Online Channels • Offline Response • Onsite Services. RRD Business Services provides customized solutions at scale to help clients inform, service and transact with their customers with reduced complexity and increased efficiency. RRD’s key capabilities include: • Commercial Print Services • Customized Customer Communications • Product and Brand Communications • Business Process Services. Click Read More below for additional information.

Komori America recently completed the installation of a six-color Lithrone GX40 (GLX640) at Nosco, a full-service packaging solutions provider serving a roster of household brands in a variety of industries. Headquartered in Gurnee, IL, Nosco is a subsidiary of Holden Industries, Inc., which is a 100 percent employee-owned company. Nosco became familiar with the advanced technology and reliability Komori presses deliver when the company acquired two companies that were already operating Komori presses. Understanding value, total cost of ownership and product lifecycle management are important to Nosco when investing in conventional print technology. Through its recent company acquisitions, Nosco gained an enlightened first-hand experience with Komori’s low maintenance, minimal downtime and productivity performance, leading to the selection of the GLX640 over competitive machines being considered. “We have aggressive growth targets and with this press we are able to meet them,” said Russ Haraf, president of Nosco. “We looked at several options, even some used options. We chose a new Komori Lithrone GX40 because Komori’s value proposition is aligned with an industry where the product lifecycle is changing rapidly." Click Read More below for additional information.

Arandell Corp. announced that Stephen Sanfelippo has joined the Executive Management team as the company’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. He will oversee the development, implementation and execution of Arandell’s sales growth strategies, product and service offerings, and new business opportunities. “Steve is a terrific addition to the company, bringing extensive multi-plant industry experience as an accomplished catalog and retail sales executive,” said Bradley J. Hoffman, president and chief executive officer of Arandell Corporation. “He is uniquely qualified to help us introduce our customers to the expanded capabilities enabled by our new Kentucky facility and our strategic partnership with Continental Web Press.” Click Read More below for additional information.

With increasing demands for colour equity across ever wider geographies and packaging substrates, it is essential that every provider from brand owner specifier, to print and packaging supplier, contribute to establish a consistent and robust colour communication workflow. Flint Group’s Paper & Board business has entered into an exciting new partnership with X-Rite, the global leader in colour science and technology to deliver a colour solution that leverages the X-Rite eXact and NetProfiler to reliably meet the colour management needs of each stakeholder in the package print value and supply chain. Click Read More below for additional information.

Inkjet isn’t like other printing processes, and trying to sell it on anything other than its own terms is a recipe for failure with it. Three inkjet adopters who have learned to sell inkjet the right way freely shared the lessons they’ve learned in a heavily attended panel discussion that kicked off the second day of the 2018 Inkjet Summit. Under the moderation of Barb Pellow (Pellow & Partners), the trio emphasized that properly educating and motivating the sales force is what primarily drives success in a market where the old norms of selling - particularly selling on price - aren’t meaningful in the value proposition that inkjet presents to customers. They also noted that if a printing company wants its customers to get excited about inkjet, the service provider must communicate its own passion for the process in every pitch it makes. Click Read More below for additional information.

What print technology is enjoying double-digit growth while it enables mass customization and changes the entire print business model? Asked at the opening session of the 2018 Inkjet Summit, the question had what may have seemed to be an obvious answer. But keynote speaker and conference chair Marco Boer (I.T. Strategies) wanted the event’s hand-picked audience to be completely clear about why the rise of production inkjet has been so remarkable and what its growth portends for the industry over the next few years. According to Boer, inkjet is coming into its own at a time when the commercial print segment is undergoing a profound structural change because of worsening labor shortages, a “precipitous drop” in revenues and profits, and what are probably permanent changes in the way people consume and buy print. The good news, he said, is that inkjet can help to remedy all of these ills with its automated productivity and its broadly acceptable print quality. Click Read More below for additional information.

Allen Press, Inc. is pleased to announce the addition of Art Vargas as an Account Manager. Vargas brings expertise in direct mail, premedia, digital and offset printing, customer service and account management. With his vast experience in direct mail project management, Art will be a valuable resource to our clients, advising them through best production processes and continuing to position Allen Press as a premium direct mail provider. Click Read More below for additional information.

When Tonya Kowa-Morelli took over the reigns at Huston Patterson, her family’s privately owned package printing business in August 2013, the industry as a whole was still rebounding from economic and digital challenges. But in those past four years, she has re-shaped and re-invigorated the company to compete effectively and efficiently posting double-digit sales and demonstrating that the next generation within the family has the leadership chops to continue its fast-paced growth. Kowa-Morelli, the third generation to operate the business, was named president of the firm after serving in various sales, marketing and leadership roles for nine years. In her first year as president, her sales team notched a 30% increase while reducing spoilage and seeing increased efficiency in the pressroom. Under her guidance both Illinois facilities---Huston Patterson in Decatur and Sigma Graphics in Ottawa---continue to add the latest technology to benefit their clients. This month under her watchful eyes, Kowa-Morelli signed a contract for a new Koenig & Bauer Rapida 164 64-inch eight-color press with coating to be installed later this year at its 110,000 sq ft Decatur facility. Click Read More below for additional information.