Global print consumables manufacturer Flint Group has solidified its reputation as the sustainable ink supplier of choice after announcing that all its Sheetfed process ink series are now mineral oil free. The full range of Flint Group’s K+E process series is now exclusively made from more sustainable formulations, under plans to increase the use of environmentally friendly raw materials and make packaging easier to recycle. From July, mineral oil will also be phased out as a raw material during Flint Group’s Sheetfed bulk manufacturing processes, meaning Flint Group will eliminate the substance across its operations. The announcement follows an internal review by Flint Group after the company acknowledged that mineral oil use does not contribute to a sustainable future.

Recent Highlights • Reported Net Sales of $703 million and Net Loss of $6 million in the second quarter of 2023, or $0.12 diluted loss per share. • Increased Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities by $24 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, compared to the same period in 2022. • Increased Free Cash Flow by $12 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, compared to the same period in 2022, including $34 million of Free Cash Flow generation in the second quarter of 2023. • Reduced Net Debt by $80 million over last 12 months to end the second quarter with a Debt Leverage Ratio of 2.34x, which is within the company’s long-term targeted leverage range of 2.0x – 2.5x.

The Book Manufacturers' Institute (BMI) is proud to announce its participation in Tomorrow’s Workforce Coalition, a visionary alliance dedicated to driving innovation and cultivating a highly skilled workforce in the printing industry. By joining this esteemed coalition, BMI reaffirms its commitment to shaping the future of the book printing sector, and fostering a sustainable and competitive ecosystem for years to come. Tomorrow’s Workforce Coalition serves as a powerful platform that unites industry leaders, trade associations, educational institutions, and government agencies. Together, we will address the challenges of the ever-evolving landscape of printing and adapt to the dynamic needs of the modern workforce.

Q2 2023 • Revenue of $1.75 billion, up 0.4 percent, or 0.5 percent in constant currency. • GAAP (loss) earnings per share (EPS) of $(0.41), down $0.36 year-over-year. • Operating cash flow of $95 million, up $180 million year-over-year. • Free cash flow of $88 million, up $186 million year-over-year.

North America’s newest high-speed web offset press doesn’t have a gas dryer. Thanks to a pioneering purchase by Bradford & Bigelow of a Manroland Goss Lithoman IV press equipped with an advanced LED-curing system from Baldwin Technology’s AMS Spectral UV brand. This combination of companies has brought a new leading edge to the high-speed web offset market. Bradford & Bigelow, based in Newburyport, Massachusetts, is one of North America’s leading printers of 8.5 x 11-inch textbooks and workbooks used for K-12 education. The new press is its second Lithoman. According to the printer, after producing books for years on a Lithoman, it was an easy decision for B&B to choose another Manroland Goss press. B&B has been a pioneer in the use of UV inks. Several years ago, the printer converted its sheetfed and Timsons web presses to AMS Spectral UV’s LED UV ink technology successfully. However, the technology had not been perfected for higher-speed webs like the Manroland Goss that run north of 30,000 impressions per hour.

Congratulations are in store for Scott Pierquet, who was named CFO of the Year by In Business magazine in the large business category. At the inaugural CFO of the Year Awards, In Business magazine celebrates top financial professionals for their role in their organizations' growth, vitality, and future in the Madison market. This award and honor for Scott could not be more well-deserved. Scott has been with Royle for the last 21 years, serving as the Director of Finance and, in 2022, was promoted to CFO.

Sun Chemical received a silver rating for its sustainability efforts across all business units and regions from EcoVadis, the world’s largest provider of business sustainability ratings. The silver rating places Sun Chemical in the top 25 percent of rated companies within its business sector and was earned through EcoVadis’ assessment in four categories—environment, ethics, labor and human rights, and sustainable procurement. “Recognition from EcoVadis is an exciting milestone in Sun Chemical’s journey toward sustainability,” said Mike Simoni, Global Sustainability Director, Sun Chemical. “This award is a strong reflection of our dedication to improving eco-efficiency and providing industry advancements in sustainability as we work with DIC Corporation toward our goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.”

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company released its 2023 (Un)Packaging Reality Report, revealing how brands navigated last year’s market pressures and shortages to ease certain supply chain challenges and meet eCommerce demands. The second edition of RRD’s annual report now includes complementary input from label decision makers, in addition to the original audience of packaging decision makers. According to the report, those citing product-related concerns dropped to 20% from the previous 34% while concerns surrounding packaging materials and transportation also mellowed. Meanwhile, eCommerce orders rose for 60% of respondents. Despite this challenging environment, 77% claimed their organizations moved closer to sustainability goals.

Lane Press is pleased to announce to its customers and the magazine publishing industry that it has upgraded its inkjet bindery line to the new CME HAWK M7 4.25-inch head UV inkjet addressing system provided by Capital Mailing Equipment. This upgrade will enable Lane Press to offer its customers even more coverage options for addressing as well as increased speed and efficiency. The new CME HAWK M7 inkjet addressing system is a state-of-the-art technology that combines high-speed printing with advanced UV curing and addressing capabilities. The system’s UV curing technology enables faster drying times. Using multiple head combinations, the CME HAWK M7 can print variable addressing information in any direction on a wide range of substrates. “The CME HAWK M7 increases the speed of production in our bindery,” says Chris Armstrong, Executive Vice President. “As such, the system helps to support Lane’s plans for growth. Maintaining high quality while increasing capacity and production speed is our goal, and the CME HAWK M7 is an investment that helps us achieve it.”

The spirit of family-owned businesses is the heart of Wisconsin's vibrant economy, a testament to resilience, innovation, and shared values passed from generation to generation. The Wisconsin Family Business of the Year award recognizes this extraordinary spirit, shining a spotlight on the positive impacts that family businesses bring to their communities and the state's economy. Since its inception in 2004, the award program has recognized over 100 family-owned businesses, each unique, but all united in their commitment to community, innovation, and the enduring values of family enterprise. To be included among these outstanding businesses is an immense honor that highlights the exceptional journey of SPI. Being nominated for the 2023 Wisconsin Family Business of the Year award is a testament to our dedicated team that works tirelessly to uphold our founding principles.

Last week, Advertisers Printing, a commercial shop in St. Louis, Missouri, celebrated an impressive milestone: 100 years in business. Alex Fechner, the fourth generation of the family to be stepping into the business, noted that since 1923, the company has seen "one Great Depression, two world wars, a booming economy, two recessions and last but not least…. COVID. In other words, lots of ups downs and everything in between." Bill Fechner, the third generation and Alex's father, noted at the event as the next generation begins to truly make its mark that, "There’s a saying that even a blind squirrel finds a nut eventually. After 44 and one-half years on the Advertisers' team, my title has officially changed from CEO to blind squirrel."

In honor of World Refugee Day, Worzalla, an employee-owned book printer specializing in printing high-quality children’s books, cookbooks, and hardcover bestsellers, donated books to the Refugees and Immigrant Support and Empowerment (RISE) program. The local book printer made the donation at CAP Services’, a nonprofit with programming in 5 Wisconsin counties including Portage aimed at transforming people and communities to advance social and economic justice, World Refugee Day event which celebrated Central Wisconsin’s refugee community with cultural performances, storytelling, a potluck, activities and more. “Celebrating World Refugee Day in Central Wisconsin is an opportunity for the community to learn and understand the needs of refugees,” said Patrick Kabangu, Worzalla Associate and Refugee Support Coordinator for CAP Services. “I am grateful for the contribution Worzalla made to our community’s refugees and know families will enjoy reading these books together.”

Heeter, a full-service provider of secure print, direct mail, and fulfillment solutions, announced that it acquired Laurel Print & Graphics of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The combined company broadens its offerings in large format print and signage, which couples well with one of the largest assortments of commercial print and digital solutions in the Mid-Atlantic region. Scott Heeter, CEO of Heeter, said “Laurel’s leadership, skilled team and capabilities in large format print and signage are excellent additions to Heeter’s capabilities. This acquisition allows both companies to offer customers a broader portfolio of services to meet their marketing and sales needs.” Keith Jones, president of Laurel, commented, “We’ve enjoyed a strong business partnership with Heeter for many years. As we look to the future, it made sense to join forces to better serve our client base with an extended set of products.”

VIVA, Virginia’s academic library consortium, has signed an agreement with KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd. (KGL), the industry leader of transformative content solutions, to provide publishing services for its Open Grant program. This innovative partnership ensures the production of high-quality grant-supported open textbooks, open monographs, and other Open Educational Resources (OER) for use in Virginia higher education institutions. The VIVA consortium is comprised of 71 nonprofit higher education institutions and includes both public and private colleges and research universities from across Virginia. Since 2016, VIVA’s Open and Affordable Course Content Initiative has supported sustainable educational resource and access models that enable equitable and inclusive learning, give faculty control over instructional materials, and lower the costs of higher education for Virginia students. To support the creation of open monographs and OER, KGL will provide VIVA with a host of content solutions, including interior and cover design, typesetting, EPUB conversion, artwork/graphics processing, copyediting, proofreading, indexing, accessibility remediation and testing, research and permissions clearance and management, animations, project management, other related services, and print on demand through sister company, Sheridan. With this agreement, individual member institutions also have the opportunity to contract directly with KGL to support their own publications.

TC Transcontinental Printing announces a $15 million investment in its book printing platform at its Transcontinental Beauceville (Interglobe) plant in Quebec, to better meet demand in the North American market. This is in addition to a $10 million investment in 2019-2020. With these investments, including an additional press in operation since early June, the plant has doubled its hardcover binding capacity and increased its production capacity by approximately 15%, all while improving manufacturing efficiency. Moreover, the new equipments will help alleviate the labor shortage in the region thanks to their high degree of automation and robotization.

Graphco, distributor of the leading eight-up sheetfed press in North America, delivered an RMGT 9 Series, four-color sheetfed press to MCI Printing, Inc.’s production facility in St. Louis, MO, this past February. Up and running now for three months, the 25x36.75” (maximum sheet size) machine is conserving paper/spoilage waste during press makereadies between MCI’s jobs. It is also opening up new opportunities, including larger page volumes of publication printing. The 924 model outputs 16-page signatures, allowing MCI to add full-size capabilities to the direct mail, packaging, brochure, booklet and presentation folder printing that the firm reproduces. The family-owned business has 14 employees and is counted among the area’s top 20 commercial printers, according to St. Louis Post-Dispatch rankings.

Lane Press is delighted to announce that Christopher (Chris) Armstrong joined the Company as Executive Vice President on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. Chris is based at our facility in South Burlington, Vermont. Chris brings a wealth of business expertise, including sales, operations, and client service, to Lane, having spent more than 25 years in dynamic, print-based businesses in roles of increasing complexity. Prior to joining Lane Press, Chris was Marketing Solutions Executive at Quad, where he worked with large strategic accounts. Prior to Quad, Chris spent six years at Universal Wilde, a full-service printer and production facility, where he held multiple positions, culminating in Vice President Operations and Client Engagement. In this role, Chris owned operational process, delivered strategic support for clients, and directed a staff of 360 across three locations.

Printing industry leaders gathered in Newburyport, Mass., to celebrate the startup at Bradford & Bigelow (B&B) of the first manroland Goss Lithoman 48-page, 4-color web offset press utilizing the most advanced LED/UV technology that eliminates all VOC emissions, substantially reduces energy consumption and paper waste, and provides operational efficiency with a press length 40 feet shorter than a traditional heatset web offset press. In addition to the environmental benefits, Baldwin’s LED/UV technology, with minimal heat, provides a better quality product with no web growth and runs at top-notch speed, according to Jonathan Fore, Baldwin’s Director of Product Management. “This successful launch has been a team effort and we are very grateful to our partners who made this startup a great success,” stated John Galligan, B&B CEO. It marks the company’s second manroland Goss web offset press install within the past four years, according to Rick Dunn, B&B EVP. “The manroland Goss engineering team did a terrific job adjusting the press design to integrate the LED/UV technology. And the on-site support of manroland Goss, AMS/Baldwin, and Universal Color was terrific,” Dunn said. “Challenges came up and our partners worked together and promptly addressed and resolved the issues,” added Mike Daugherty, B&B Press Manager.

Graphco, one of North America’s leading print & finishing equipment distributors last November delivered a Horizon SmartStacker to Blooming Color’s 30,000-square-foot production plant in Lombard, IL. Operating near-line to keep up with rapidly growing B2-size sheet output, the SmartStacker dynamic cut & stack capabilities eliminate manual sorting and helps the commercial printing firm produce many thousands of shorter-run jobs each workday. Founded as a Minuteman Press franchise in 1988, approximately 85% of Blooming Color’s work now is printed digitally. The firm also offers wide-format printing services (both flatbed and roll-fed) as well as conventional six-color 40-inch sheetfed-offset for larger volumes, such as the 40,000 catalogs recently produced for a local college. “We process thousands of orders every day,” reports Brian Scott, CEO of Blooming Color. This month, the company adds its third B2-size (20x29”), HP Indigo Digital Press -- a second 100K device -- to its fleet of five Indigos.

Monomoy Capital Partners, a middle-market private investment firm focused on operational value creation, announced that it has acquired Japs-Olson Company, a family-owned national leader in innovative direct mail marketing solutions. Founded in 1907, Japs-Olson is a full-service, custom print and direct mail provider for the financial services, nonprofit, insurance, healthcare, retail and other markets. Headquartered in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, the company manufactures and distributes over one billion personalized mailings annually. Japs-Olson’s commitment to exceptional service, unrivaled client satisfaction and superior production has earned the company widespread industry recognition and a loyal customer base nationwide. Monomoy recognized Japs-Olson as a valuable partner due to its leading position in the direct mail sector. As a marketing channel, direct mail generates the highest return on investment among omnichannel marketing strategies and represents a stable sector with a robust total addressable market.

Highlights *Increase in adjusted operating earnings before depreciation and amortization(1) of 5.2% for the quarter, including organic growth of 18.5% in the Packaging Sector. *Revenues of $747.2 million for the quarter ended April 30, 2023; operating earnings of $43.8 million; and net earnings attributable to shareholders of the Corporation of $22.2 million. *Launched the new innovative flyer raddar™ in Montreal on May 15, 2023. *Won the "Company of the Year - Large Business" award at the business competition of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec (FCCQ). *Appointment of Thomas Morin as President and Chief Executive Officer of TC Transcontinental on June 7, 2023.

*Thomas Morin named President and Chief Executive Officer *Isabelle Marcoux named Executive Chair of the Board *Donald LeCavalier named Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. The Board of Directors of Transcontinental Inc. announced the appointment of Thomas Morin as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective immediately. Mr. Morin previously served as President of TC Transcontinental Packaging, beginning in 2019. He replaces Peter Brues, who is leaving the Company. The Board also announced expanded roles for Isabelle Marcoux and Donald LeCavalier.

Ennis, Inc. announced its acquisition of the operating assets of UMC Print in Overland Park, Kansas. UMC Print has been a leading trade-only printer and provider of commercial printing services since 1936. As one of the largest sheet-fed commercial printers in the area, UMC Print’s capabilities serve a wide range of distributors and trade sales organizations throughout the Midwest and beyond. “The addition of UMC Print continues our commitment to adding strategic locations and capabilities to drive growth with our distributor partners,” said Keith Walters, Chairman, President & CEO of Ennis, Inc.

Last week the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) approved the proposed price increases to take effect on Sunday, July 9th 2023. The new rates include a three-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp from 63 cents to 66 cents. See below for percentage changes by class of mail: *PERIODICALS – 8.1%; *MARKETING MAIL LETTERS – 5.2%; *MARKETING MAIL FLATS – 7.4%; *BOUND PRINTED MATTER FLATS – 3.5%. Please note the USPS recently approved the 2024 USPS Promotions Calendar; these offerings are a great way to offset postage costs and increases. The 2024 calendar will be released online in the coming weeks.

Lakeside Book Company announced that it has acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of Marquis Book Printing, Inc. (“Marquis”). Lakeside is the leading book printing and distribution company in the United States and has been creating quality crafted books for more than 150 years. Marquis is a premier book manufacturer in Canada providing high quality print services to the publishing and communications industries in Canada, the United States and Europe. With this acquisition, Lakeside will enhance its service offering with access to the Canadian market, while improving lead time and overall service capabilities for small and large publishers alike. Marquis will operate as a division of Lakeside. Dave McCree, Lakeside’s Chief Executive Officer, will lead the business. Serge Loubier will continue to manage Marquis, continuing in his capacity as president.

Schumann Printers is proud to announce the acquisition of the Muller Martini Primera Pro Saddle Stitcher, an advanced piece of equipment that promises to revolutionize our bindery. This cutting-edge machine is designed to meet the demands of modern printing, offering superior efficiency, speed, and quality. As Muller Martini states on their website: "The Primera Pro Saddle Stitcher is an investment in the future. Its unique features make it the most efficient and flexible saddle stitching solution available. Whether you are producing books, brochures, or magazines, the Primera Pro will help you to achieve the highest quality products, quickly and efficiently."

Ennis, Inc. announced its acquisition of the real estate and operating assets of Stylecraft Printing Company in Canton, Michigan. Stylecraft is a trade only printer since 1967 specializing in business forms, integrated products and commercial printing. “We are thrilled to bring Stylecraft and its experienced employees into the Ennis family of companies,” said Keith Walters, Chairman, President & CEO of Ennis. “The addition of Stylecraft expands our product lines and geographical footprint, as well as adds a well-known brand that has been serving the distributor channel for more than 50 years. The acquisition of Stylecraft continues our strategy of adding quality companies to serve our customers and create return for our shareholders.”

TC Transcontinental is proud to have won the "Company of the Year – Large Business" award at the 43rd edition of the prestigious business competition organized by the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec (FCCQ) held yesterday at the Palais des Congrès in Montréal. This recognition is awarded to companies that have distinguished themselves by their excellent performance and ability to maintain their position among the best. TC Transcontinental also won the "Entrepreneurship – Large Business" award. “I’m extremely proud that TC Transcontinental has received this recognition from the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec," said Isabelle Marcoux, Chair of the Board, TC Transcontinental. “The Corporation is driven by a long-term vision. Over the years, we have constantly adapted to the industry in which we operate to reinvent ourselves and ensure that our company is built to last."

The Great Lakes Graphics Association (GLGA) is proud to announce the recipients of its third annual Women in Print Excellence Award. The Women in Print Excellence Awards supports GLGA’s ongoing quest to recognize the contributions of women in the Midwest print, graphic arts, finishing and print packaging community as well as those women who support the print industry in a vendor or supplier capacity. Any woman working directly in print or in a vendor role supporting print who was in good standing with her company in Illinois, Indiana or Wisconsin was eligible to be nominated. The nominations were reviewed by a panel of female print professionals outside of the Midwest, who selected one recipient per state.

Now in its 13th year, the Power of Print seminar has established itself as the must-attend event. Jonathan Tame, Managing Director of Two Sides, says, “Print has always played an essential communications role. Even in the current landscape, the power of print remains unassailable and this year’s seminar will highlight the opportunities, and indeed challenges, for print in this ever changing world.” Thought leaders from the industry, including direct mail, publishing, agencies, brands, and packaging, will enlighten, inspire, and inform the audience with their take on what the future holds.

Sun Chemical has launched Lumina® HD, a new family of high-definition effect pigments based on fine fraction synthetic mica that was developed to expand the color space for automotive stylings and other coatings applications, including aerospace, general industrial and powder coatings. The first two pigments in the Lumina HD family are Lumina HD Blue and Lumina HD Russet. Both deliver the highest performance properties including exceptional chroma, enhanced distinctness of image and subtle sparkle. Lumina HD pigments provide designers new latitude to create unique shades in the red to maroon and blue color areas.

First Quarter Financial Highlights and Recent Events • Total revenue increased by 39.8% to $88.4 million, from $63.3 million in the first quarter of 2022. • Envelope segment revenue was up 44.4% to $64.5 million, from $44.6 million in the first quarter of 2022. • Packaging and specialty products segment revenue rose by 28.7% to $24.0 million, from $18.6 million last year. • Net earnings increased 50.7% to $9.5 million, from $6.3 million in the first quarter of 2022. • Acquisitions of Impression Paragraph Inc. (“Paragraph”), on January 16, 2023 and of Graf-Pak Inc. (“Graf-Pak”) on May 8, 2023

March 2023 printing shipments came in at $7.18 billion, up from February’s $6.46 billion and in line with annual seasonality—even if it is below the previous two Marches. Still, after one quarter, 2023 has marched in pretty close lockstep with both 2021 and 2022. We entered 2023 with the best start to the year since 2020 (yeah, yeah, yeah) but we’re holding our own. If regular seasonality continues, we’ve already hit the high point of the year until October. January-to-March shipments for 2023 are at $20.39 billion, a scosh higher than last year’s $20.25 billion. April will give us a clearer idea of whether we are in for a tough or good year.

*Reported revenue decreased 1.9% due to anticipated impact from divestitures, and comparable adjusted revenue increased 0.5% *First quarter GAAP diluted EPS was $0.06 and adjusted diluted EPS was $0.80 *Net income was $2.8 million, down from $9.7 million in the prior year *Adjusted EBITDA increased 0.8%, and comparable adjusted EBITDA increased 2.1%

*Increased Net Sales 3% in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2022, primarily due to higher print product sales in the United States and in Mexico, and also increased Agency Solutions sales as clients continue to embrace Quad’s unique integrated marketing offering. *Reported Net Loss of $25 million compared to Net Loss of $1 million in the first quarter of 2022, while growing Adjusted EBITDA by $11 million or 24% to $60 million in the first quarter of 2023, compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $49 million in the first quarter of 2022. *Increased capital expenditures to fortify investments in innovations that enhance the Company’s integrated marketing offering and drive profitable, long-term growth. *Returned value to shareholders by repurchasing over 5% of our total outstanding common stock since the second quarter of 2022 for $10.3 million.

Midland recently presented a case study for a 10th consecutive year at the Inkjet Summit 2023 located in Austin, TX April 24-27. The messaging of the Case Study was well received by the audience as exemplified by Midland being nominated along with 3 other presenters for “Best Case Study for General Commercial Print”. Midland has won this category on 3 other occasions in past years. Other companies presenting Case Studies included Canon, Fuji, Screen, Landa, Kodak and HP. “Ten years ago, Midland made an important commitment to understand the role of paper in the inkjet printing process, “said David Field, General Manager of Midland’s Specialty Paper & Film division. “Receiving this recognition again in 2023 recognizes how much progress Midland has made in that regard and more important, further exemplifies how important paper is with this fast-growing and complex technology”. David Field presented the Case Study for Midland Paper. “David has a broad understanding of the papers available in the market and their compatibility with the OEM press technology. He is in high demand from printers across the country that have purchased or are looking at purchasing High Speed Inkjet equipment,” said Mike Ratcliff, Midland’s President, Specialty Paper & Film Division. For further information on Midland Paper’s Quick Jet! line of high speed inkjet papers, you may contact Mike Ratcliff at Michael.Ratcliff@midlandpaper.com or David Field at David.Field@Midlandpaper.com.

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company announced a new solution designed to streamline the product recall communication process for medical device companies. Seamlessly integrating RRD’s highly refined capabilities in content creation, production management, and multichannel distribution, this solution aims to ensure end-to-end support throughout this complex notification process. HIPAA and SOC II compliant, this solution for medical device recall notices leverages a multi-location production network for speed and scale. Additional features of this solution include: *Recall-specific content platform *Proprietary automated fulfillment process *Response capture platform (i.e., reply mail, FAX receipt, web capture, and call center) *Multichannel distribution (i.e., print, email, FAX) *White glove production management service

Q1 2023: • Revenue of $1.72 billion, up 2.8 percent year-over-year or up 5.5 percent in constant currency. • Operating cash flow of $78 million, up $12 million year-over-year. • Donated Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) to SRI International in April, providing Xerox greater capacity to pursue innovation projects in Print, IT, and Digital Services. • Repaid $450 million of debt during the quarter.

Graphco, distributor of the leading 8-UP sheetfed press in the Midwest and Southeast, has delivered another fully automated RMGT offset press to Hagg Press in Elgin, Illinois. This time an RMGT 970ST+LED installation continues the Graphco/Hagg Press relationship which began in 2018, when a new 40-inch RMGT 10 Series press was purchased as the first step in modernizing the firm’s print platform. “We knew we needed to change out our old presses,we just weren’t sure what brand was the best for our business,” states Jordan Hagg, President of Hagg Press. The first RMGT 10 Series press picked up the volume formerly produced by one 28” and two 40” presses from Komori and Manroland. Hagg’s print volume grew significantly during the first few years after the new press came online. “Half of our RMGT years took place during the pandemic, but growth has basically been thrust on us by our existing customers and several new major accounts that came our way. I think our print quality, fair pricing, and the fact we rarely miss a deadline makes Hagg Press an attractive source,” Hagg comments. “We’re glad we picked the RMGT press from Graphco.”

Gannett expects to have all its print sites utilize the NewsWayX cloud production workflow system from ProImage in the near future, building on a 20-year partnership. The publisher has already implemented the system in 10 print locations and will add others in the coming months. Gannett seeks to streamline its technology and support to press locations by having the NewsWayX system deliver plate-ready TIFFs directly to local PCs which drive their CTP imagesetters.

Worzalla's new book mascot will now be known as Paige Turner thanks to Mrs. Schleifer's 3rd grade class at Washington Elementary School in Stevens Point, WI. The class's name Paige Turner was chosen in a round of public voting through Worzalla's Facebook Page, receiving over 800 votes. "We congratulate Mrs. Schleifer's class for coming up with such a creative name that the community loved," said Brianne Petruzalek, Vice President of Human Resources of Worzalla. "We look forward to having Paige Turner out and about in the community to spread the love of reading." At the beginning of the competition, classrooms throughout the Stevens Point area were invited to submit a name along with a rationale for why their entry was the best.

Quad is now the sole printer of the U.S. edition of Reader’s Digest, America’s fourth largest-circulation magazine. The new, multi-million-dollar contract spans the next three years. One of the best-known magazines on American shelves, Reader’s Digest’s move to Quad streamlines its annual U.S. print run of almost 20 million copies. Quad’s through-the-line solution, including a capital investment in two-up binders, gives it all the resources needed to manufacture and distribute the magazine. This end-to-end process includes Publishers’ Studio, Quad’s proprietary workflow solution for issue mapping, which Reader’s Digest has been using since 2021.

TC Transcontinental announced that it has developed an innovative leaflet for Montréal that will reduce the volume of paper from flyers by nearly 60% and eliminate plastic entirely. This new product is a thin leaflet folded in four that combines flyers from various retailers into a single printed product with a limited number of pages. It will be accompanied by a digital platform that will include a wider set of promotional offerings for consumers. “Our new solution for Montréal is designed to meet the evolving needs and expectations of consumers and retailers, maintain healthy competition on prices, and bring environmental benefits exceeding the City of Montréal’s stated source reduction objectives,” said Patrick Brayley, Senior Vice-President, Premedia, Distribution and In-Store Marketing at TC Transcontinental. “Research shows that most consumers continue to rely on printed flyers to plan their visits to local stores. Flyers help Montrealers fight inflation and save up to $1,500 a year. We have paid close attention to the dialogue surrounding our offering in recent years and trust this innovation, together with our new digital platform, will deliver on the expectations of all stakeholders.”

Modern Litho, a publication and commercial printer and mailer headquartered in Jefferson City, Missouri, with production facilities in St. Louis and Kansas City, announces the ownership group has wholly sold the company to two of the existing shareholders, Jeff and Jenny Davidson as of December 31, 2022. The event marks the successful transition of the mostly family-owned company to the third generation as part of its planned ownership succession. “On behalf of the outgoing ownership group, it has been our highest honor and privilege to steward the company (Modern Litho) with a firm long-term vision. We’ve made decisions large and small based on what’s best for the business, our employees, and our customers. It’s this conviction combined with truly exceptional employees, industry partners and vendors that have made Modern Litho the world-class print organization it is today. Jeff and Jenny Davidson having been part of the ownership for the last five years, will continue with the same goal and vision. We couldn’t be more proud and excited for the future of Modern Litho,” commented Darrell Moore, CEO.

HP Inc. unveiled its new HP Indigo 200K Digital Press, designed to give digital flexible converters the competitive edge with better productivity, on-demand delivery, no minimum orders, unique designs, reduced energy consumption, and minimal waste. The new press is based on the only field-proven digital technology for digital flexible packaging and on a successful install base of over 300 HP Indigo 25K digital presses, series 4, worldwide. The new, series 5, HP Indigo 200K digital press, prints up to 56 m/min (183 ft/min) and dramatically increases the productivity of high-margin, sustainable short runs of digital flexible packaging, to be delivered in days, not weeks. “The HP Indigo 200K is a mid-web digital press especially designed for converters addressing the needs of brands in flexible packaging, but it also serves the growing requirements of the label and shrink sleeve industries for higher productivity and wider format,” said Noam Zilbershtain, VP & General manager of HP Indigo & Scitex. “Flexible Packaging is a growing market, and as HP Indigo customers are growing much faster than the market, I have no doubt that the HP Indigo 200K digital press will open the door for more flexo converters who want to join the success, and reign in industry 4.0.”

The year-end data for 2022 is not yet final, but from all indicators it was a great year for production inkjet printing. A confluence of variables amplified the inherent flexibility benefit of digital production printing, chiefly among them the rising cost of paper and labor, which drove demand for smaller run lengths, faster turnarounds, and more versioning with relevant content — effectively stealing volume from what remains a very large offset printing market. Print providers faced slightly less challenges in obtaining paper, but paper pricing continued to increase. Bigger challenges were finding and retaining qualified labor, which drove up labor costs, a challenge that is not expected to abate. While no one likes rising costs, the majority of print providers were able to pass along those cost increases to their customers, while quietly taking a little extra for themselves.

Royle Printing is pleased to announce they will be implementing a new training program for all employees and prospective employees at the end of this month. The program is called Advanced Careers in Print (ACP). Like many manufacturers in this country, the printing industry is experiencing a wide-spread shortage of skilled labor. Additionally, there has been a major reduction of government and higher education sponsored programs promoting and supporting the trades, leaving younger generations with little or no exposure to careers in manufacturing. To offset this trend and continue to grow and develop Royle's talented team of associates, the company has developed the ACP initiative. The program is designed to educate and train existing associates while exposing new generations to the world of print. “Our goal is to play a hands-on role in developing our team while encouraging younger generations to consider a career in print,” states Chris Carpenter, President, and Owner of Royle Printing. “Like other significant investments we’re making in our manufacturing platform, this could be the most significant considering our plans for growth and hiring needs for talented associates.”

Cheryl Kahanec has keenly watched the development and maturation of Benny Landa's Nanographic printing technology since 2011 — dating back to her digital printing executive leadership roles at Sandy Alexander, followed by EarthColor. Now, as CEO of the Quantum Group, Kahanec was convinced the availability of the seven-color, 41" Landa S10P digital perfecting press could be a "game-changer" for the 30-year-old commercial and direct mail printing operation that she's led the past five years. As such, in November 2022 Morton Grove, Illinois-based Quantum Group became the first printer in the Chicago area to install a Landa S10P digital offset press. It was demonstrated running four different live jobs during an open house event held March 14 that was hosted by Landa Digital Printing at Quantum for prospective Landa printer customers, both locally and from across the country.

Classrooms in grades kindergarten through fourth grade at any Portage County School are invited to submit an entry to the Worzalla Mascot Naming Competition. The classroom/student that submits the winning entry will be awarded a pizza party and a $250 donation for supplies for their classroom. A teacher representing a classroom can submit entries to the Worzalla Mascot Naming Competition by emailing the following criteria to readmore@worzalla.com: 1. The classroom's name suggested name for the mascot along with a brief explanation of why it's the best name for the book mascot 2. The full name of the teacher for the classroom 3. The teacher's grade and name of the school. Nominations will be accepted through 11:59 p.m. Central Time on March 31.

In Celebration of Dr. Seuss' 119th birthday, Worzalla, an employee-owned book printer specializing in printing high-quality children's books, cookbooks, and hard-cover bestsellers, is donating 500 books to nearly two dozen Free Little Libraries throughout the Stevens Point community. For 130 years, Worzalla has been committed to printing high quality products and books, as well as helping residents of all ages discover a love for reading. “Dr. Seuss Day is celebrated across the country to acknowledge the impact of reading and to inspire children to explore new worlds and ideas," said Kendra Robinson, Human Resources Program Coordinator at Worzalla. "It is part of Worzalla's mission to create opportunities for children to have access to books within their communities, especially on Read Across America Day."

A study released today by R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company revealed how consumerization and COVID-19 have contributed to increased demand for diagnostic test kits delivered to consumers’ homes. Nearly all of the relevant supply chain decision makers surveyed (97%) noted an increase in demand for at-home testing over the last two years. Of that group, a vast majority (95%) feel fairly confident about meeting this demand and most (95%) are looking for the right outsourcing partners to do so. RRD surveyed 200 supply chain professionals with decision-making power to understand what’s fueling the increase in at-home testing diagnostics and how well equipped organizations are to accommodate that growth on the heels of global supply chain disruption. Findings from the Diagnostic Drivers Report show heightened consumer expectations such as faster delivery timelines and the convenience of testing from home are driving growth in the at-home testing market.

Worzalla, an employee-owned printing company specializing in high-quality custom products including popular children's books and movie tie-in books, announced it has appointed Rich Letchinger Vice President of Sales and Chief Marketing Officer. With 38 years of combined experience in sales and sales management, and nearly 8 years of experience working with Worzalla, Letchinger adds the title of Chief Marketing Officer to reflect the adaptation of his role in the constantly changing book industry. Moving forward, Letchinger will continue to lead Worzalla's sales and marketing team to situate Worzalla in the best possible position locally and within the broader industry, which will ensure future success for every associate with Worzalla. "I'm looking forward to new opportunities and growth for Worzalla. In my new role I plan to continue to grow sales and marketing while maintaining the company's value preposition to the market," said Rich Letchinger, Vice President of Sales and Chief Marketing Officer.

"Increased profit in our Packaging Sector for the quarter was more than offset by the impact of lower volume in our Printing Sector, said Peter Brues, President and Chief Executive Officer of TC Transcontinental. In this context, I appreciate the speed with which both sectors implemented cost saving measures. "Our Packaging Sector recorded solid growth in adjusted profit, continuing to build on the momentum of the previous quarters. All our segments delivered improved profit in the quarter except our Latin American operations which experienced continued volume pressures. We expect that our focus on developing sustainable products and commitment to an improved cost position will support continued improvement. "In our Printing Sector, volume decreased significantly in the quarter. Our team has a solid track record of adjusting our cost structure and has already implemented measures to mitigate the impact of lower demand. We are seeing the early benefits of our actions and we will continue to adjust as necessary.

Appleton, WI based JP Graphics has been acquired by BR Printers of San Jose, CA. JP Graphics serves the print market with an array of services such as offset, digital, large-format printing, and robust packaging capabilities. JP Graphics is a leading manufacturer of custom folding carton packaging and packaging accessories serving clients in food and beverage, health and wellness, and consumer goods markets. BR now maintains two facilities in the Appleton region: National Graphic Solutions (NGS) and JP Graphics Inc. “JP Graphics and BR share the same passion for providing creative solutions to our customers,” says Adam DeMaestri, President and CEO of BR Printers, “The addition of JP Graphic’s product lines, personnel, and equipment will allow us to continue to leverage our scale to offer enhanced solutions for our clients in digital print and expand to provide specialty packaging solutions. Together, we will better serve our customers with added reach, capacity, and high-end, design-forward product offerings.”

In late 2020, HP MPS was certified CarbonNeutral® in accordance with the CarbonNeutral Protocol, and was the world’s most comprehensive carbon neutral Managed Print Service offering. In 2021, HP extended CarbonNeutral product certification to HP Component MPS, which provides partners a mechanism to make their contractual obligations carbon neutral using the same stringent requirements and standards as HP MPS. “HP are delighted to become a member of Two Sides. We aim to be the world’s most sustainable and just tech company, taking urgent action to combat climate change, protect human rights, and accelerate digital equity. As sustainability is an important factor for many of our customers and consumers, the library of facts that we have access to by joining Two Sides, will be of great use in our own customer communications, helping to promote our print and paper products.” says Peter Jolly, UK and Ireland HP Industrial Country Manager.

CJK Group, Inc. announced that an agreement has been completed to acquire the assets of McNaughton & Gunn in Saline, Michigan. This acquisition will bring additional capacity to Sheridan’s printing operations and will be renamed Sheridan Saline, bringing the number of Sheridan’s print locations across the country to a total of eleven. Founded in 1975 on the principle that “people make a difference,” McNaughton & Gunn has been continuously producing books for publishers and self-publishers around the world. Many of its original customers print there to this day because the company stayed true to their core value of delivering quality books that meet their customers’ individual needs.

Full Year Key messages: GAAP net sales, including the impact of foreign exchange, increased $403 million or 8.1%; GAAP net income from continuing operations was up $153 million versus the prior year period. Net sales in the fourth quarter were $1.39 billion, up $8.0 million or 0.6% from the fourth quarter of 2021. Income from operations was $229.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to $41.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. Net income from continuing operations was $130.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to a net loss from continuing operations of $9.8 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Brown Printing of Jefferson City, Missouri and a subsidiary of Modern Litho, Inc., announces Brian Mutert has been named President of the company following the retirement of outgoing President Darla Porter. Mutert joined the company in 2013 when Brown Printing acquired Show Me Printing, which he together with his father Gary Mutert owned and operated. Since then, Mutert, serving as General Manager, has been integral in the daily sales and production management of Brown Printing. He has expanded the product and service offerings of the company including wide format, signage and display graphics, matched mailing and high-speed inserting, and variable data and imaging. Other highlights include leading the company through the integration of operations and customer onboarding that have resulted from several acquisitions of regional commercial printing companies along with sole-service contracts with shuttered in-plant print facilities.

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company announced that it has entered into a share purchase agreement with DATA Communications Management Corp. Under the terms of the Purchase Agreement DCM will acquire RRD’s Canadian operations. DCM will acquire all the issued and outstanding shares of Moore Canada Corporation. “Combining our business with DCM is a strategic opportunity to broaden our existing offering to customers across a variety of industries,” said Rael Fisher, President, RRD Canada. “We look forward to this new chapter in our longstanding history in Canada as part of DCM.”

Fourth Quarter Financial Highlights and Recent Events • Total revenue increased by 19.0% to $78.8 million, from $66.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. • Envelope segment revenue was up 30.1% to $60.7 million, from $46.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. • Packaging & specialty products segment revenue declined by 7.6% to $18.1 million, from $19.6 million last year, largely as a result of the wind down of Durabox and the relocation of folding carton operations. • Net Earnings increased 36.0% to $6.7 million, from $4.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. • Acquisitions of Royal Envelope Corporation (“Royal Envelope”), on November 1, 2022, and Impression Paragraph Inc. (“Paragraph”), on January 16, 2023.

Results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2022, include: • Net Sales — Net Sales were $885 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, an increase of 4% compared to the same period in 2021. • Net Loss — Net Loss was $9 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, an improvement of $12 million compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, which had a Net Loss of $21 million. Results for the year ended December 31, 2022, include: • Net Sales — Net Sales were $3.2 billion in 2022, up 9% from the same period in 2021, or up 11% year-over-year excluding the impact of the QuadExpress divestiture. • Net Earnings — Net Earnings were $9 million in 2022 as compared to Net Earnings of $38 million in 2021.

Modern Litho, a full-service commercial printer and mailer based in Jefferson City, Missouri with additional production facilities in St. Louis and Kansas City, has announced the appointment of Mark Gerling to Vice President of Sales. Hired for this role in 2020, Gerling was on special assignment for the past three years through the disruption and aftermath of the pandemic. He will now lead the Modern Litho sales teams on a local, regional and national level while continuing to focus on developing catalog and publication reseller relationships.

Supremex Inc., a leading North American manufacturer and marketer of envelopes and a growing provider of paper-based packaging solutions, announced the acquisition of the shares of Impression Paragraph Inc., an integrated provider of paper-based packaging, print and point of sale products for a broad range of commercial markets. The transaction was concluded for a total consideration of approximately $26.6 million, on a cash-free and debt-free basis, subject to customary adjustments, financed through the Company’s existing credit facility. Founded more than 35 years ago, Paragraph operates two facilities located in Ville-Saint-Laurent and Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec. Its offering consists primarily of folding carton packaging and point-of-sale displays for the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, food, confectionary and retail sectors. It also provides an array of commercial, digital and wide-format printing. For the 12-month period ended October 31, 2022, Paragraph generated sales of approximately $38.6 million.

The print and paper advocacy group, Two Sides, is excited to announce its newest member, KNP Litho, a sustainable print partner delivering wide ranging print and mailing solutions. “We’re delighted KNP Litho are now a member of Two Sides. We know what we do as a business, and what our customers do, impacts on the environment. And that responsibility is something we take seriously. Which is why we’re always considering the impact of our actions – whether that’s the raw materials we use, the suppliers we work with, or our energy sources – and constantly seek greener solutions that minimise our impact and that of our customers. Joining Two Sides now gives us a number of new ways we can communicate to our customers just how sustainable print as a communications method really is.” says Graham Taylor, Director of Sales for KNP Litho.

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company announced the extended portfolio of end-to-end services to support at-home testing. These services enable diagnostic device, at-home healthcare, health insurance, and point-of-care testing companies in their efforts to keep pace with the evolution of healthcare. As the pandemic disrupted supply chains, it also shifted consumer preferences and accelerated adoption of at-home and digital healthcare. For many test manufacturers and healthcare companies, a number of challenges (e.g., labor constraints, infrastructure limitations, inventory visibility, supply irregularity, compliance, complex IT requirements, etc.) continue to stand in the way of bringing innovative new products and solutions to market.

One of the great things about my job is I get to spend time talking to people with strong insight about the printing industry. And from a couple of recent exchanges with a couple of the PRINTING United Alliance’s subject matter experts, I’ve concluded that printing is a better industry to work for than it previously has been. Inherently Safer - A couple of months ago, I spoke with Gary Jones, the Alliance’s vice president, environmental, health, and safety affairs. In that discussion, Gary outlined some of the ways printing businesses often fall short of OSHA requirements, and how they can take steps to do what’s required and provide a safe workplace for their employees. More Attractive - Within a soon-to-be released article in Printing Impressions by Adriane Harrison, the Alliance’s vice president of human relations consulting, she says the generation of workers just now coming into our workforce – those known as Gen Z – are most interested in working for employers that care about their physical and mental well-being. This is according to a 2020 Gallup survey.

Sandy Alexander, Inc., a high-end commercial graphic communications firm and Snow Peak Capital portfolio company, today announced it has acquired Abbott Communications Group (ACG). Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. This is the first strategic add-on acquisition for Sandy Alexander since Snow Peak Capital, a Broomfield, Colo.-based private equity firm that invests in middle-market businesses, acquired it in April 2022. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida and founded in 1977, ACG is a premier provider of comprehensive printing, mailing, and print management solutions to customers in the entertainment, hospitality, and advertising markets.

As we step into 2023, promoting the sustainability and attractiveness of print, paper and paper packaging becomes more important than ever. Our guest speakers at the 2023 Two Sides Partner Meeting, Philip Ricketts, Wholesale Commercial Director, Royal Mail Marketreach and Lucy Swanston, Chair of The Strategic Mailing Partnership, together explained: The evolving value of mail in an omni channel and digital world. This session showcased the value of mail and the range of freely available support and insights that Marketreach provides brands, agencies and co-suppliers in helping them understand where best to use mail in their customer journey to drive positive commercial outcomes.

Leading global print consumables manufacturer Flint Group reveals strong early success of its Dual Cure ink range, EkoCure® ANCORA F2, following its launch in Europe at the end of 2022. The company’s UV LED Dual Cure ink range builds on the original winning formula of its EkoCure ANCORA range, specifically designed for food packaging and labelling. Flint Group’s Dual Cure inks and coatings are uniquely designed to cure using a traditional UV lamp or low-energy UV LED. These products are compatible with any curing system on any narrow or mid-web press, enabling printers still using traditional mercury-based UV lamps to smoothly transition to more sustainable UV curing processes at their own pace. With optimised curing speed, improved rheology, and lower viscosity, EkoCure ANCORA F2 delivers better press performance for long runs in chambered doctor blade systems. Furthermore, these inks provide enhanced adhesion to a wide range of substrates, such as coated & uncoated papers, PE (polyethylene), top-coated PE, PP, BOPP, and other films. Importantly, EkoCure ANCORA F2 offers reduced energy consumption, reducing the total cost to print. A clear value proposition for narrow web printers and converters.

*Full year revenue increased 10.7%, and comparable adjusted revenue growth was 5.2%, delivering the second consecutive year of sales-driven revenue growth, with all four segments showing year-over-year increases *Full year net income was $65.5 million, up 4.3% from the prior year and adjusted EBITDA margin rate was 18.7% *Fourth quarter revenue declined 1.2% on a reported basis driven by business exits, while comparable adjusted revenue increased 1.2%, led by Payments, Data, and Promotional Solutions *Fourth quarter net income was $19.0 million and adjusted EBITDA margin rate was 19.9% *Recently announced the divestiture of the Company's North American web hosting and logo businesses, and the name change of the Cloud Solutions segment to Data Solutions

The SGP officers for 2023-2024 include: Theresa Vanna, Primex Plastics Corporation, Chair; Birdley James, Miller Zell, Chair-Elect; Marci Kinter, Secretary & Vice Chair Technical; Doreen Monteleone, Ph.D., D2 Advisory Group/FTA, Treasurer; Jonathan Graham, Past Chair; Will Mansfield, Eastman Kodak Co., Vice Chair Marketing; Calvin Lakhan, York University, Vice Chair Academic; George Fuchs, NAPIM, Vice Chair Technology; Jodi Sawyer, FLEXcon, Vice Chair Engagement. The new board members, all professionals dedicated to supporting the journey to a more sustainable future, include: Julie Brannen, Monadnock Paper Mills, Inc., Bennington, NH; Thomas Dahbura, Hub Labels, Inc., Hagerstown, MD; Todd Ebersole, Forge Graphic Works, Portland, OR; Michael Dillon, Meyers Printing, Minneapolis, MN; Mark Howard, Syracuse Label & Surround Printing, North Syracuse, NY; Gary Jones, PRINTING United Alliance, Fairfax, VA; Kristine Peterson, 3M, St Paul, MN.

TC Transcontinental announced that Metroland Media Group is outsourcing to TC Transcontinental the printing of all its newspapers currently taking place at its Tempo facility in Toronto. In addition to these two daily newspapers and 49 community publications, the deal extends the current printing agreement of two daily newspapers, including the Toronto Star, and four community publications, to the end of 2027. The gradual transfer will occur over the next few months. TC Transcontinental will rely on its national integrated platform, mostly in its Vaughan, Ontario facility. This new business will require only minimal investment given TC Transcontinental Printing's scale, highly efficient and flexible platform, and its skilled workforce.

Q4 2022 - Revenue of $1.94 billion, up 9.2 percent year-over-year or up 13.9 percent in constant currency. GAAP earnings per share (EPS) of $0.74, up $4.71 year-over-year. Prior year Q4 GAAP EPS includes an after-tax non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $4.38 per share. Operating cash flow of $186 million, down $12 million year-over-year. Free cash flow of $168 million, down $14 million year-over-year. FY 2022 - Revenue of $7.11 billion, up 1.0 percent year-over-year, or up 4.8 percent in constant currency. GAAP loss per share of $2.15, up $0.41 year-over-year. Both the current year and prior year include after-tax non-cash goodwill impairment charges of $2.54 and $4.08 per share, respectively. Operating cash flow of $159 million, down $470 million year-over-year. Free cash flow of $143 million, excluding a one-time product supply termination charge, down $418 million year-over-year.

As the printing industry’s need for new talent intensifies, its most thoroughly conceived partnership for workforce development is making steady progress on multiple fronts. Mariano Rivera, a legend in Major League Baseball and a philanthropist in private life, is working with printing companies and suppliers in Florida, Texas, and the Northeast to expand a vocational training program aimed at equipping underserved young people with sets of certified and highly employable job skills.

Prinovis management informed the 545-strong workforce at Prinovis Ahrensburg, near Hamburg, last Thursday that it would cease operations at the site by 31 January 2024. Ulrich Cordes, managing director of Prinovis and CFO of Bertelsmann Printing Group, described the decision to close the loss-making site as a difficult but unavoidable due to market conditions. The company blamed the structural decline in the European gravure printing market over the past decade driven by falling demand for high-volume magazines and catalogues.

Supremex Inc., a leading North American manufacturer and marketer of envelopes and a growing provider of paper-based packaging solutions, announced today the acquisition of the shares of Impression Paragraph Inc. (“Paragraph”), an integrated provider of paper-based packaging, print and point of sale products for a broad range of commercial markets. The transaction was concluded for a total consideration of approximately $26.6 million, on a cash-free and debt-free basis, subject to customary adjustments, financed through the Company’s existing credit facility. Founded more than 35 years ago, Paragraph operates two facilities located in Ville-Saint-Laurent and Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec. Its offering consists primarily of folding carton packaging and point-of-sale displays for the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, food, confectionary and retail sectors. It also provides an array of commercial, digital and wide-format printing. For the 12-month period ended October 31, 2022, Paragraph generated sales of approximately $38.6 million.

Tweddle Group is pleased to announce that Todd Headlee has been named the new President of the company. An experienced executive with a background in digital transformation technology, Mr. Headlee succeeded the retiring Mark Berkey in the role on January 9, 2023. Headlee most recently served as Head of Products and Platforms at 1898 & Co., a global business and technology consultancy. His 30-year career includes work across the automotive and energy sectors, a unique combination that will help Tweddle Group assist its OEM partners as they increasingly pivot toward electric vehicles.

People are tired of looking at screens. Since February 2020, the number of weekly virtual meetings has risen around 150%, with the amount of time people spend in those meetings up around 252% — that is a lot of time staring at screens all day long. For marketers looking to reach that same audience, online or mobile ads are losing their effectiveness as people seek to step away from the digital world when they end their workday. This is where direct mail comes in — a medium that has never gone away, but is seeing a resurgence post-pandemic. “There has been a permanent change in how mail is being used as a marketing channel,” Gary Masse, CEO of IWCO Direct, points out. “Now mail is the channel that breaks through the digital clutter to gain your prospects’ attention, while being coordinated with online channels to drive greater response in all channels.” Deloitte’s “2021 Connectivity and Mobile Trends Survey” found that the average household now has an average of 25 connected devices, with 38% of households connecting additional devices in the past few years.

Nearly 20 printing companies are interested in hiring at least some of the 656 LSC Communications workers who are set to be laid off by March 31. Many of those jobs, however, are not in the Lancaster area. LSC announced last week it planned to shutter its two Lancaster city plants amid a decline in demand for catalogs and magazines. “Sixteen printing companies have reached out to us directly so far,” Melissa Noebes, senior vice president LSC Communications, told LNP | LancasterOnline. “At least a half dozen are in the greater Lancaster area. A few more are located just across the Maryland border. In addition, we have inquiries coming in from printing companies around the country, many of whom are offering generous relocation packages.” She did not respond to a request to provide names of the companies.

It looks like rough going for the commercial printing industry in 2023, with labor shortages, cost inflation, supply chain disruptions continuing, and the American economy slowing appreciably. But even the harshest business climates bring opportunity. Some industries hold up well, creating pockets of growth, and market share and quality employees become available as the unprepared retrench or fail. Keys to capturing the opportunity include acting on leading indicators, marketing for the times, and superior focus and execution. The 162 commercial printing companies that participated in the “2022-23 PRINTING United Alliance State of the Industry Survey” (SOI) spoke frankly about their expectations for the coming year. Just 25.3% expect business conditions to be better than this year, 40.4% about the same, and 34.3% worse.

CJK Group, Inc. is pleased to announce that it has completed an agreement to acquire the assets of venerable print and publishing services company Allen Press, located in Lawrence, Kansas. This acquisition is unique for CJK Group in that it will supplement and expand services and capabilities to both the Sheridan print operations in addition to its KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd. (KGL) content solutions company. Allen Press originated in 1935 as a family-owned company serving a local print market and grew to incorporate a wide variety of editorial, production, marketing, and digital services tailored to the needs of independent society and association publishers. The print facility will be renamed Sheridan Kansas, bringing the number of Sheridan’s print locations across the country to a total of ten.

LSC Communications is closing both of its printing plants in Lancaster County. More than 650 employees will be out of work when the plants close on March 31. LSC spun off from R.R. Donnelley in 2016. R.R. Donnelly, based in Chicago, has a history in Lancaster dating back to 1960. It was one of the world's leading printing companies. LSC operates printing plants on Harrisburg Pike and Greenfield Road. The plants printed department store catalogs and telephone directories and later moved into online mapping.

Mittera has acquired Atlanta-based commercial printer, Geographics, Inc. Geographics is the leading web, sheetfed, digital printing, and fulfillment company in the greater Atlanta region. With nearly 100 employees, Geographics has a well-known track record of providing superb print solutions to clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies. “With this acquisition, Geographics customers will now have access to one of the most robust manufacturing platforms, and complete suite of creative, marketing, data, and technology solutions in the country”, said Jon Troen, CEO of Mittera, “all delivered by a group of knowledgeable professionals with the core focus of providing the best customer experience in the industry.”

Modern Litho-St. Louis, a full-service commercial printer and mailer, announces it has acquired Scotts Printing of Rolla effective December 31st, 2022. Serving similar clientele, Scotts Printing operation pairs well with the business model of Modern Litho’s St. Louis facility, located on The Hill at 5111 Southwest Ave. “Scotts Printing has had a successful presence in the regional print industry for many years with well-established customer relationships and high standards of service. We are grateful to have them on board and look forward to a bright future,” commented Skip Bray, Modern Litho- St. Louis President.

Sheridan is excited to announce the development and implementation of Sheridan Academy, a proprietary training program structured to support and sustain the continuous learning and performance improvement of the next generation of workers. Sheridan Academy provides senior level employees the opportunity to impart their knowledge, wisdom, and best practices – via a comprehensive standardized training program – to those that have a desire to grow their career with Sheridan. It is not just for new hires. Once fully developed, Sheridan Academy will outline both vertical and horizontal career development paths for operators, staff, and leadership, so that employees can grow their skills in multiple areas of the business.

Highlights: *Increase in revenues and earnings in the Packaging Sector and the Media Sector. *Revenues of $802.2 million for the quarter ended October 30, 2022; operating earnings of $85.3 million; and net earnings attributable to shareholders of the Corporation of $60.4 million ($0.70 per share). *Significant contributions from the acquisitions completed during the fiscal year to the earnings of the Corporation.

Color Ink announces the purchase of HM Graphics of Milwaukee, WI. HM Graphics ranks among the nation’s elite, full-service commercial printing companies. For over 50 years, they have provided their clients with the highest caliber of services and craftsmanship that the printing industry has to offer. This will allow Color Ink to expand their business with the addition of highly skilled employees and the ability to offer more creative printing services…to include sheet-fed commercial printing, packaging, wide-format visual displays and fulfillment.

It is no secret that the U.S. printing business had been battered for years as the popularity of digital formats significantly reduced demand for magazines, catalogs, and other printed materials. While sales of books held up better than those of their print counterparts, many of the largest printers worked across multiple product lines. And as a result, some of the industry giants (R.R. Donnelley, Quad Graphics) underwent wholesale makeovers, while smaller companies either closed or merged to cope with the plunge in demand. At a spring webinar presented by PW and Westchester Publishing Services, Jim Fetherston, president and CEO at the printer Worzalla noted that when the pandemic hit and book sales unexpectedly surged, North American printing capacity was at “historic low levels,” which led to demand exceeding capacity for the first time in years.

Ennis, Inc. announced its acquisition of School Photo Marketing in Morganville, New Jersey. School Photo Marketing provides printing, yearbook publishing and marketing-related services to over 1,400 school and sports photographers servicing schools around the country. Keith Walters, Chairman, President & CEO of the Company, stated, “We are delighted to have the opportunity to bring School Photo Marketing, their employees, and their customers into the Ennis family. This addition brings with it many exciting possibilities to service this new channel with products produced through Ennis manufacturing operations.” School Photo Marketing operates through a similar wholesale manufacturer-distributor-end user channel as Ennis currently operates.

KGL PubFactory, the online hosting division of KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd. (KGL), has announced another longstanding customer contract renewal, this time with international social science publisher, Brill. Having doubled its web business over the past six years, Brill will continue to take advantage of the latest enhancements of the PubFactory platform in an extended relationship. Brill publishes more than 2,000 books and reference works per year, in addition to almost 600 journals—including 42 fully Open Access titles—mainly in the humanities, social sciences, and international law. Brill has expanded in recent years through acquisitions of Dutch biological sciences publisher, Wageningen Academic Publishers, and German humanities publisher, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Verlage.

Worzalla, an employee-owned book printer specializing in printing high-quality children's books, movie tie-in books and cookbooks, raised nearly $50,000 for the United Way of Portage County's Live United, Give United campaign. Money raised for the campaign will go to United Way programs that help Portage County families in need. "Worzalla associates know that when we all come together, we can have a great impact on our community. For at least the third year in a row, Worzalla associates raised funds for the United Way of Portage County" said Kendra Robinson, Worzalla's United Way Campaign Coordinator. "With a mission of bringing people and resources together to achieve measurable results that improve people's lives and strengthen our community, the United Way continues to support the new and ongoing challenges the less fortunate face."

It’s the end of an era for publication gravure printing in the UK with news that the last remaining exponent – Prinovis in Liverpool – is to close. The news, which had been the subject of increasing industry speculation since Prinovis lost the DMG Media contract just over a year ago, was confirmed this afternoon (7 November). Prinovis said the decline in the gravure market since 2019 had rendered the business unsustainable, despite support from parent company Bertelsmann and some new customer wins in recent months, including TV Choice for Bauer.

Third Quarter Financial Highlights and Recent Events * Total revenue increased by 23.9% to $67.9 million, from $54.8 million in the third quarter of 2021. * Packaging and specialty products segment revenue of $18.8 million, up 5.8% from $17.8 million last year. * Envelope segment revenue up 32.6% to $49.1 million, from $37.0 million in the prior year. * Net Earnings increased significantly to $8.1 million, or 11.9% of revenue, from $3.4 million or 6.1% of revenue, last year. * Earnings per share of $0.31, up sharply from $0.13 a year ago. * Recorded no assistance from the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (“CEWS”) and Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (“CERS”) programs in the third quarter of 2022, compared to $0.6 million in the equivalent quarter of 2021. * Purchased 96,600 shares for a total consideration of $0.3 million as part of NCIB program. * Acquisition on November 1, 2022 of Royal Envelope Corporation (“Royal Envelope”) located in Chicago.

The Johnson Newspaper Corp., publisher of the Watertown Daily Times, Courier-Observer, St. Lawrence Plaindealer and Ogdensburg Journal, is closing its printing operations in Massena, New York. The company will move all of its printing to Watertown, according to North Country Now. The Massena press will probably be sold, and the building in Massena eventually closed. Some layoffs are expected.

*GAAP net sales, including the impact of foreign exchange, increased $113 million or 8.9%; *GAAP net income from continuing operations was up $26 million versus the prior year period *Cash used in operating activities during the nine months ended September 30, 2022 was $221 million compared to $29 million in the prior year period; current year results reflect working capital investments due to increased volume and inflation in addition to $80 million of merger related payments *Gross leverage ratio of 3.2x improved 0.5x from September 30, 2021; net leverage ratio of 2.7x improved 0.4x from the same period last year

Ultimate TechnoGraphics, leader in imposition and finishing automation software, is proud to work with SG360°, one of the top Direct Mail printing companies in North America. In a recently filmed customer testimonial by Inkish.tv, SG360° explains how they impose and produce thousands of print-ready files daily for their entire digital printing division across multiple plants using Ultimate Impostrip®. By implementing Ultimate Impostrip®, SG360° has grown their print business and now runs approximately 13-20 million clicks per month in total and 98% is variable data printing (VDP). As with anything, there are a range of variables that influence growth potential. For over 65 years, SG360° has thrived by responding to the changing needs of their diverse client base. What started as a regional commercial printer is today a national, industry-leading provider of direct marketing solutions. John Zawisza, Director of Digital Operations at SG360°, implemented Ultimate Impostrip® years ago when they started receiving larger variable jobs. Since then, he has witnessed the impact of this breakthrough technology in all areas of the business. The solution has grown and scaled with the company throughout the years and plays a key role in their print workflow.

Heeter, a full-service provider of secure print, direct mail, and fulfillment solutions, announced the formal opening of its next-generation Digital Print Center, a $4M investment that signifies the impact its growing digital print operation is delivering for its customer base. Serving industries such as healthcare, insurance, gaming, retail, pharmaceutical and education, Heeter has successfully transferred 60% of its operations to digital over the past 5 years. This has resulted in: *A 65% increase in capacity *35% reduction in turnaround times *25% more energy efficient *Over 80 new customers in the last 4 years

Printing Industries Alliance (PIA) and the Graphic Arts Association (GAA) have announced a consolidation that forms one of the nation’s largest regional trade associations for the printing industry. The combined organization will launch officially on January 1, 2023 as the Print & Graphic Communications Association (PGCA). PIA represents printing companies and related businesses in New York State, northern New Jersey, and northwestern Pennsylvania. GAA’s region spans Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware. Combining the two bases gives PGCA 430 members in one of the world’s top markets for print and graphic services. Several years in the making, the merger was approved this summer by the two groups’ boards of directors and finalized by a vote of the members in the fall.

Recent Highlights *Achieved sixth consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth as Net Sales increased 18% in the third quarter of 2022 compared to the third quarter of 2021 due to print segment share gains, increased pricing in response to inflationary cost pressures, and increased sales in the Company’s international locations. *Recognized Net Earnings of $14 million in both the third quarter of 2022 and 2021, with 2021 Net Earnings including non-recurring gains of $18 million, net of tax, from a property insurance claim and a sale and leaseback of a production facility. *Repurchased 3.1 million shares of Quad Class A common stock for $10 million year-to-date, representing more than 5% of Quad’s outstanding shares.

Modern Litho, Inc., a publication and commercial printer based in Jefferson City, Missouri announces Jeff Davidson has been named President of Modern Litho-Print Co. as of November 1, 2022. As a member of the ownership group, Davidson has served as the Vice President of Corporate Strategy over the past six years and previously as General Manager of Brown Printing, a subsidiary of Modern Litho, Inc. He has been integral to the overall growth strategy of the company taking the lead on the last three major acquisitions: James Printing in Kansas City (2018), Mulligan Printing in St. Louis (2020) and Watkins Lithographic in Kansas City (2021). Another significant component of his role has been managing special projects which have included: new technology and equipment evaluation, human resources and employee relations, as well as product and service expansions and diversification. In 2014, he was recognized as a Top 20 under 40 printing executive by Printing Impressions. Since then, he has served on printing industry advisory boards and local nonprofit boards, most recently as the Chairman for the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce.

Komori announced that Nosco®, a full-service packaging solutions provider, has purchased a nine-color Lithrone GX40RP advance (GLX940RP advance) dedicated two-sided press, with coater and LED-UV curing. Headquartered in Gurnee, Illinois, Nosco is a subsidiary of Holden Industries, Inc., which is a 100% employee-owned company. Investment in the new press is part of Nosco’s bold growth plans to scale up folding carton production at its Wisconsin-based Packaging Innovation Center by 125 million units in 2023. In support of that goal, the GLX940RP advance is uniquely configured to meet the specific needs of the company’s rapidly expanding pharmaceutical packaging business, which serves more than 450 of the major pharmaceutical companies across the United States. The GLX940RP advance, a recipient of the industry-renowned InterTech™ Technology Award, is a dedicated two-sided printing press that makes it possible for Nosco to provide up to eight-color printing on the outside and one color on the inside of the package that many pharmaceutical packaging applications require.

Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. (Konica Minolta), a leader in industrial and commercial printing and packaging solutions, today announced a new digital embellishment press, the JETvarnish 3D 52L. Its B2 format targets a wide range of customers such as commercial and package printers. As the successor model to the JETvarnish 3D, this new digital embellishment press provides sensory print applications for printers of every size. The JETvarnish 3D 52L will allow printers, finishers and converters to have an in-house full production and prototyping print embellishment system without screens, dies or plates. The all-purpose patented varnish formula allows both flat 2D Spot UV highlighting and sculptured 3D raised special effects on a wide range of substrate stocks and up to 600gsm, from offset and digital inks to lamination films and aqueous coatings.

Moore, a leading constituent experience management company, announces the acquisition of Communications Corporation of America, an industry innovator of direct mail printing, data processing, personalization, finishing and mail processing. Moore has made the investment in CCA to add to its supply chain strength across printing, production and envelope manufacturing in the mid-Atlantic region. “As CCA celebrates our 51st anniversary and five years of successfully rebuilding after our catastrophic fire, we are ready to move forward. We see becoming a Moore company as a synergistic step that is the best fit for our clients and our CCA team,” said Linda Fisher, president of CCA and Direct Marketing Association of Washington Hall of Leaders member. “Through our partnerships with our clients, we create cutting-edge solutions that set us apart from our competitors. With Moore's well-known investment in innovation, we're excited to see what we can accomplish together."

Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. (Konica Minolta), a leader in industrial and commercial printing and packaging solutions, is pleased to announce the installation of its AccurioJet KM-1 LED UV Inkjet Press at More Than Ink, celebrating 17 years as a family-owned and operated business providing quality printing to the North Florida market. More Than Ink is an eco-friendly print shop focused on digital printing which includes booklets, catalogs, envelopes, pads, brochures and folders. It offers direct and bulk mailing and design services as well as a large format department for signs, storefronts and trade show items. More Than Ink has used Konica Minolta presses for ten years, most recently purchasing the AccurioPress C6100 Digital Printing Color Press in 2020 and the bizhub PRESS C1085 Digital Printing Press in 2018.

The Print Industries Wage + Benefits Survey, which annually captures labor costs and human resource practices from nearly 500 print manufacturers and 15,000 employees across North America, is now available to members of Americas Printing Association Network (APAN,) an independent group of associations representing nearly 5,000 North American print manufacturers and their equipment and technology partners. “In today’s hyper-competitive labor market, access to up-to-date compensation trends are critical tools for those charged with managing a print workforce,” commented Teresa Campbell, program director and President of PIA MidAmerica. Sponsored by LB Carlson (lbcarlson.com), a financial and business management consulting firm, the Wage + Benefits 2022 Survey captures wages and benefits for nearly every industry position in sixteen different categories, all segmented by geographic region and company size.

The Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP), the leading certification authority in sustainable printing, announced today that Hatteras, Tinton Falls, NJ, has become the most recent facility to attain SGP certification. “Sustainability is very important to us as a company. We’re making every effort to be environmentally responsible and we’re also seeing more of our clients ask us about our sustainability initiatives,” said Bill Duerr, president, Hatteras. “Achieving SGP certification demonstrates to them that we’re following industry best practices and taking a leadership role in helping to protect the environment through green printing practices.”

Nahan, a full-service, direct marketing and print solutions provider, announced today it has won the Digital Printing/ Direct Marketing Best in Category Award at the PRINTING United Alliance Premier PRINT Awards for the South Dakota Department of Tourism “Your Guide to Great Finds” campaign. The mini-catalog campaign was created in collaboration with client Lawrence & Schiller to promote South Dakota’s unique travel destinations. “We’re honored that our collaboration with the South Dakota Department of Tourism and Lawrence & Schiller has been recognized by Printing United Alliance this year. It demonstrates the agility of the Nahan print platform and our ability to produce highly unique, and personalized print pieces,” said John Klumb, VP, Sales.

Tecnau builds on its expertise in online cutting and stacking for sheet-fed print with the introduction of BookReady, offering the converting of SRA3+ (~13” x 19”) sheet sizes printed in 2up and 4up into final size book blocks such as A4 and A5 (letter and 5.5” x 8.5”) ready for nearline perfect binding. BookReady changes applications on-the-fly without any manual intervention at full printing speed, enabling book printers to manage short runs and book on demand with exact page separation and no guillotine processing. The new cut-sheet finishing solution may be equipped with an automatic 90-degree turning station to rotate 2-up imposed sheets from long-edge leading to short-edge leading, so that printer speed is maximized and book of one is made possible.

Sun Chemical will increase prices effective immediately across its entire portfolio of packaging, commercial sheetfed, and screen inks, coatings, consumables, and adhesives in Europe, Middle East and Africa, effective October 1, 2022. The current geopolitical situation in Europe continues to upset the unprecedented inflationary trends further, with severe impact onto operating costs—including utilities and labour costs—through the entire supply chain. Sun Chemical continues to strive to find ways of mitigating these costs, but the magnitude and speed of cost increases requires the company to further increase prices. “Sun Chemical’s priority has been to keep supplying our customers, allowing them to keep their facilities operating,” said Mehran Yazdani, President, Global Packaging and Advanced Materials. “Sun Chemical’s global reach has helped secure the sourcing of raw materials and maintain production, however, the costs to secure those materials, manufacture our products, and deliver them to our customers have continued escalating to a level that requires us to raise further prices and surcharges effective immediately for all products. This will ensure we can continue a steady flow of our quality products to customers. Without signs of stabilisation so far, the situation will need to be adjusted as it goes, and no price guarantee can therefore be given for any period.”

Effective 1st January 2023, Flint Group will implement a global price increase in order to respond to continued inflationary pressures across multiple cost drivers. Following an extended period of volatility and cost escalation during the global coronavirus pandemic, it is clear that we are now witnessing a fundamental shift in global economic conditions. Markets around the world are grappling with extreme inflationary pressures and the disruption of global supply chains. Flint Group has continued to endure extraordinary cost increases in raw materials, packaging and freight which are now being exacerbated by additional inflationary pressures across a variety of other overheads - labour costs in particular.

HP showcased the HP Indigo V12 Digital Press to the labels and packaging industry for the first time alongside the HP Indigo 6K Digital Press and a wide range of solutions for sustainable packaging, automation and applications propelling new business opportunities. Many HP customers and partners, both longstanding and new, visited the HP booth. In total, 74 demonstrations of the HP Indigo V12 and 34 demonstrations of the HP Indigo 6K took place, giving attendees the chance to experience the capabilities of each press up close, and learn more about new business opportunities, including brand protection, smart packaging, sustainable packaging and diversification to flexible packaging.

Worzalla, an employee-owned book printer specializing in high-quality children's books, cookbooks, and hard-cover best sellers, recently hosted 12 associates from some of the nation's most prominent book publishers at its "Print University". The program is a 3-day long intensive workshop designed to educate those who work in the publishing industry about the book manufacturing process. "Worzalla was pleased to welcome our publisher partners to Stevens Points and to our facilities. I enjoy sharing the book printing process and my team also learns a lot about what's new in publishing from our participants," said Richard Letchinger, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Worzalla and the organizer of Print University. "Especially since books sales have grown in the last few years, it is invaluable to able to exchange ideas with our partners about the future of our industries." This year's graduates included Madison Oxx and James Neel of HarperCollins Publishers, Vincent Perez and Luke McCord of Penguin Random House, Emily Kleinburg, Chris Leonowicz, and Carolyn Telesca of Macmillan, Rosalie Khan and Jennette Cross of Hachette, Maggie Moore and Rachael Marks of Abrams and Kenneth Burnett of Ramsey Solutions.

Sun Chemical’s Color Materials division opened a state-of-the-art, energy-efficient mixing plant in Cologne, Germany. Sun Chemical Color Solutions, the masterbatch business of the Color Materials division, is responsible for the development, manufacture, and distribution of masterbatches to the plastics industry. The new mixing plant enables Sun Chemical to produce more efficiently and meet the plastics industry’s increasing quality requirements. Digitalized and automated processes, along with optimized internal transport routes, allow Sun Chemical to react more quickly to changes in customer requirements. The facility comprises over 1,700 square meters of floor space to ensure an increase in production capacity.

The Company’s revenues for the second quarter ended August 31, 2022 were $111.2 million compared to $100.5 million for the same quarter last year, an increase of $10.7 million, or 10.6%. Gross profit margin was $35.2 million, or 31.7%, as compared to $28.9 million, or 28.8%, for the same quarter last year. Net earnings for the quarter were $12.2 million, or $0.47 per diluted share, as compared to $7.5 million, or $0.29 per diluted share, for the same quarter last year. The Company’s revenues for the six-month period ended August 31, 2022 were $218.9 million compared to $197.4 million for the same period last year, an increase of $21.5 million or 10.9%. Gross profit margin was $69.2 million, or 31.6%, as compared to $58.1 million, or 29.4% for the six-month periods ended August 31, 2022 and August 31, 2021, respectively. Net earnings for the six-month period ended August 31, 2022 were $23.8 million, or $0.92 per diluted share compared to $14.8 million, or $0.57 per diluted share for the same period last year.

Midland invites you to PRINTING United Expo with a FREE Expo Pass. Use our Code: 240851 and visit our Booth #N1510. Visit our booth to chat with Specialty Media product specialists and see Midland’s newest products. Discover what’s next for your organization – infinite opportunities await you! Digital Sheet Fed Media + Specialty Offset Substrates + Production Inkjet Paper + Wide Format Inkjet Media. Register Now at: https://www.compusystems.com/servlet/ar?evt_uid=480&InvitesVIP=240851

The Occasions Group, a Taylor Corporation company, is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement to acquire the assets of Accu Copy of Greenville, Inc. Headquartered in Greenville, N.C., Accu Copy does business under the AccuLink name to deliver commercial print, direct mail and promotional marketingproducts while its AccuFlex division focuses on the production of flexible packaging products. The acquisition of both AccuLink and AccuFlex expands Taylor’s reach and offers immediate growth opportunities in multiple core categories. "AccuLink is an ideal fit for The Occasions Group. It complements our business model perfectly and strengthens our capabilities for our distributor and reseller partners," says Nate Mullikin, enterprise leader at Taylor. "Like us, AccuLink has invested heavily in the digital print space. They operate one of North Carolina’s leading white-label e-commerce fulfillment facilities as well as a wide range of binding, finishing and direct mail services in-house, something we believe to be a long-term growth area."

Larry Martin is the plant director for Quad’s print-production plant in The Rock. As plant director, Martin oversees all plant and employee operations, strategy development, growth-planning initiatives, and more. He is a Georgia native and was named plant director at The Rock in March 2021. Martin’s career in printing began at Quad 28 years ago. He has worked in management for the last 18 years, and prior to being promoted to plant director, served as the plant’s finishing operations manager for 10.5 years. Martin credits much of his success to his cousin Trent Jones, who served as a mentor to Martin throughout his upbringing and worked 32 years as a saddle stitch operator at Quad. Finishing is one of Quad’s largest departments, with quality-assurance and exceptional customer service as top priorities. Martin says he gained immense insight on teamwork and relationship building as a leader in finishing. It provided him opportunities to interact with teams and individuals in every area of the plant, and to engage with clients from around the world, according to Quad officials.

Midland invites you to PRINTING United Expo with a FREE Expo Pass. Use our Code: 240851 and visit our Booth #N1510. Visit our booth to chat with Specialty Media product specialists and see Midland’s newest products. Discover what’s next for your organization – infinite opportunities await you! Digital Sheet Fed Media + Specialty Offset Substrates + Production Inkjet Paper + Wide Format Inkjet Media. Register Now at: https://www.compusystems.com/servlet/ar?evt_uid=480&InvitesVIP=240851

HP Inc. announced the new HP PageWide Advantage 2200 series press. Designed to meet the needs of print service providers of all sizes, this revolutionary press offers industry leading productivity with quality, and media versatility for those in publishing, direct mail, and commercial print, to help grow their business. “This new PageWide Advantage platform is a game changer for the commercial print industry,” said Annette Friskopp, Global Head and General Manager at HP PageWide. “HP has listened to our customers, and we realize ease of use and up-time are critical success factors. This new press offers configurations to enable customers to optimize the press for their quality, productivity, versatility, and economics to grow their digital production businesses.”

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company will spotlight its end-to-end, single-source paperboard packaging services at PACK EXPO (Oct. 23-26, 2022; McCormick Place; Booth W-22000). Offered to brands of all sizes and industries, the capabilities can streamline folding carton design and production, minimizing material waste, transportation, and associated costs. RRD's consultative service model encapsulates paperboard materials selection, best-fit manufacturing, enhancements, finishing, and other services like creative development and design, kitting, distribution optimization, warehouse and inventory management, and print collateral and labels. A team of RRD packaging experts identify opportunities for standardization, production, and near-site production and supply chain efficiencies. They also provide guidance on right-sizing, material reduction, component substitution, and treatment or decorative options that help brands reach their sustainability goals while connecting with their customers.

The Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP), the leading certification authority in sustainable printing, announced today that the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS), a non-governmental organization (NGO) working with policymakers, utilities, and others around the world to improve the policy climate for renewable development, has joined the SGP community as a Resource Partner. SGP Resource Partners are non-profits, NGOs and educational institutions engaged in promoting, teaching or researching in the areas of graphic arts and/or sustainability. Resource Partners are subject matter experts that assure the entire print community is empowered to advance sustainability in the printing industry supply chain.

Highlights *Significant increase in revenues and net earnings, including organic revenue growth in all three operating sectors. *Revenues of $747.8 million for the quarter ended July 31, 2022; operating earnings of $52.1 million; and net earnings attributable to shareholders of the Corporation of $34.1 million ($0.39 per share). *Acquired ERPI (Éditions du renouveau pédagogique inc.), an educational publisher, on June 13, 2022, to pursue the growth strategy for educational products, both print and digital. *Acquired Banaplast S.A.S., a flexible packaging company based in Armenia, Colombia, on June 22, 2022, which enables the Corporation to pursue its growth strategy with an expanded offering, in particular with banana tree bags and agro-mulches. *Unveiled the 2025 Corporate Social Responsibility Plan, on June 15, 2022, which includes ambitious targets, in particular with respect to the creation of a circular economy, the reduction of greenhouse gases and diversity.

TC Transcontinental announces the retirement of Brian Reid, President of TC Transcontinental Printing, following an outstanding career of 41 years with the company. He will be leaving his position October 30 and staying on until the end of January 2023 to facilitate the transition. Effective October 31, Senior Vice Presidents Nick Cannon, Patrick Brayley and Pierre Deslongchamps will take on expanded roles, reporting to Peter Brues, President and Chief Executive Officer. “It has been a great ride, more than 40 amazing years at TC Transcontinental. I leave with confidence in the future of the Printing Sector, a solid business with long-standing customers, large and small, and a highly talented, engaged and experienced team”, said Brian Reid, President, TC Transcontinental Printing. “I am grateful to our employees who, day in and day out, through their relentless work, make a difference for TC Transcontinental and its customers. It has been a privilege to be part of such a great company during all these years, and I thank our customers, the Board of Directors and the Marcoux family for their confidence.”

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company supported Siemens Healthineers to accelerate the delivery of rapid COVID-19 antigen self-tests to the U.S. market during a time of dire need. RRD, a Chicago-based company with nearly two decades of experience helping medical device clients optimize their supply chain, leveraged its ISO 13485 accredited facilities and ability to scale quickly to facilitate Siemens Healthineers’ time-sensitive project. Amid the peak of the COVID-19 Omicron variant outbreak in January 2022, Siemens Healthineers stepped up to make tens of millions of tests available to the U.S. population through state, federal, and local partnership efforts. The company sought to expand its warehouse space to meet growing demand to help accommodate the massive volumes of product. Siemens Healthineers collaborated with RRD, who had the ability, experience, and flexibility to upscale with uncertain demand. “It was critical to find a supplemental supply chain and warehouse solution that could help us supply high-quality test kits that would provide accurate COVID-19 results to the U.S. population. RRD’s ability to flex and adapt to changing demand helped address some of these needs,” said Joerg Berner, Acting Head of Point of Care Diagnostics at Siemens Healthineers.

Midland invites you to PRINTING United Expo wtih a FREE Expo Pass Use our Code: 240851 and visit our Booth #N1510. Visit our booth to chat with Specialty Media product specialists and see Midland’s newest products. Discover what’s next for your organization – infinite opportunities await you! Digital Sheet Fed Media + Specialty Offset Substrates + Production Inkjet Paper + Wide Format Inkjet Media. Register Now at: https://www.compusystems.com/servlet/ar?evt_uid=480&InvitesVIP=240851

Worzalla, an employee-owned printing company specializing in high-quality children’s books, movie tie-in books and cookbooks, for the fourth year in a row collected 600 pounds of school supplies as part of Project Fresh Start, a United Way of Portage County Volunteer Center program. Last year Project Fresh Start provided free school supplies to over 1,050 fourth to twelfth graders in Portage County who qualify for free and reduced lunch through their school district. “Project Fresh Start depends on the support of our community to help provide school supplies to students in need," said Brianne Petruzalek, Vice President of Human Resources at Worzalla. "Worzalla and its associates are proud to help prepare the students in Portage County schools for the upcoming school year and support United Way in their efforts to build a stronger community for all of us." Worzalla associates were incentivized to contribute to the school supplies drive through an internal contest. For each item donated, the employee received entry into a drawing to win paid time off or one of five $50 gift cards.

The Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP), the leading certification authority in sustainable printing, announced today that Dscoop, known as the world’s largest and most collaborative digital print and design community, has joined the SGP community as a Resource Partner. SGP Resource Partners are non-profits, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and educational institutions engaged in promoting, teaching or researching in the areas of graphic arts and/or sustainability. Resource Partners are subject-matter experts that assure the entire print community is empowered to advance sustainability in the printing industry supply chain. “Sustainability is important to the members of the Dscoop community and SGP is the leading authority on providing a data driven approach to achieve carbon neutrality for the print industry in North America. Together, we can create a blueprint for HP Graphics Arts users to achieve carbon neutrality and work toward drawdown for the digital print on a global basis,” said Rick Bellamy, Dscoop Executive Chairman.

Sun Chemical has launched Paliocrom® Satin Gold EH 3600 (L 2131), a mid-shade golden aluminum-based effect pigment with distinct satin character, high chroma and extremely smooth appearance. As Sun Chemical’s first Paliocrom grade offered in a dry supply form, Satin Gold delivers unique color travel, excellent gloss levels and allows for thin film thickness of automotive basecoats due to the small particle size of the passivated, iron oxide coated, aluminum flake substrate. With a proven track record extending over a quarter of a century, Paliocrom aluminum effect pigments are the ideal choice for modern automotive and high-performance industrial coatings. They provide excellent hiding and extreme saturation suitable in thin film applications for yellow-to-red premium colors.

Worzalla, an employee-owned company specializing in printing high-quality children’s books, movie tie-in books and cookbooks, hosted its second annual month-long event titled “WorzallaPalooza” to show appreciation to its associates. Throughout the month of July, Worzalla offered daily giveaways, including several grand prize packages. “WorzallaPalooza is one of Worzalla’s ways of thanking our employee owners and it’s great to see everyone come together to celebrate the contributions we each make,” said Brianne Petruzalek, Worzalla Vice President of Human Resources. “We were excited to do daily giveaways again this year along with a BBQ lunch for all team members.” In addition to each associate receiving a $20 Kwik Trip gift card and appreciation lunch catered by Smokehouse BBQ, every day in July featured a unique giveaway opportunity for Worzalla associates, including drawings for $25 to $500 gift cards from Fleet Farm, Target, Amazon as well as Portage County Business Council gift certificates to support local businesses. Three grand prize packages were awarded to Worzalla associates, including Wil Smith and Duane Kieliszewski.

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company announced it has increased its capacity for direct thermal linerless label production by approximately 40% as a direct response to client demand. With the recent installation of an additional linerless press at its plant in Monroe, WI, RRD is positioned to provide an innovative and readily available labeling solution that answers calls for both heightened productivity and sustainability. In the early 1990s, RRD was the first to develop, utilize commercially, and patent linerless labels. Today, this solution continues to improve profitability for RRD clients through operational effectiveness due to the elimination of the backing paper (liner). Conventional labels have a liner, where the label is pulled off a silicone-coated backer which is typically non-recyclable. This is one of the biggest drivers of waste in a label’s lifecycle. RRD’s linerless labels, however, deliver: *Up to 60% more labels per roll, reducing the downtime required to change rolls *Greater sustainability by eliminating liner waste *Minimized costs through reduced freight, warehousing, and liner disposal *Improved workplace safety through the elimination of slick silicone liners

Midland invites you to PRINTING United Expo wtih a FREE Expo Pass Use our Code: 240851 and visit our Booth #N1510. Visit our booth to chat with Specialty Media product specialists and see Midland’s newest products. Discover what’s next for your organization – infinite opportunities await you! Digital Sheet Fed Media + Specialty Offset Substrates + Production Inkjet Paper + Wide Format Inkjet Media. Register Now at: https://www.compusystems.com/servlet/ar?evt_uid=480&InvitesVIP=240851

Ennis, Inc. announced its acquisition of certain assets including customer lists and intellectual property of Gulf Business Forms, in San Marcos, TX. Gulf Business Forms is a trade printer specializing in custom-printed documents including business forms, laser cut sheets, brochures, pamphlets, in-line glue booklets, and variable short-run solutions. Keith Walters, Chairman, President & CEO of the Company stated, “Gulf has been a strong competitor and leading brand throughout the country with customers spanning from California in the southwest to Massachusetts in the northeast. We are excited about adding the Gulf brand and their customers to the Ennis family.” Gulf Business Forms has been serving distributors from its operations in Texas for more than 50 years since its founding in 1968.

To get the facts on the supply chain crisis, PRINTING United Alliance recently launched the Printing Industry Supply Chain Conditions Survey. Nearly 200 companies, including commercial printers, graphic and sign producers, apparel decorators, functional printers, and package printers/converters, have participated to date. Our survey confirms that the crisis is getting worse. For every substrate covered, reports that availability has decreased over the past 60 days far exceed reports of the opposite, with the highest percentages reporting declines in the availability of coated paper (84.8%), uncoated paper (79.2%), vinyl (62.6%), and plastics other than vinyl (55.7%). Moreover, majorities ranging from 96.7% for coated paper to 74.4% for textiles/fabrics and newsprint report prices continue to rise (see Figure 1). details at: https://www.piworld.com/article/survey-sheds-light-supply-chain-crisis-substrates-consumables/

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company unveiled five trends expected to shape financial services institutions for the second half of the year. RRD is the leading trusted advisor to securely deliver communication and transactional documents for the financial services industry, giving the company unique insight into the challenges and opportunities. RRD has identified five trends leading the transformation of the financial services industry, including: Trend #1: Growing Consumer Demand for Mobile, Self-Service Transactions Drives Tech Investment - The pandemic increased the appeal of self-service offerings, with customers expecting a minimal touch, mobile-based solution to meet their financial needs. Trend #2: Attracting Customers in a Competitive Banking Space Means Meeting Them Where They Are - A crowded banking industry creates tough competition for attracting and retaining customers, therefore knowing your customer and their channel preference is critical to reaching them successfully.

Using the theme “Power of Labels,” Sun Chemical will showcase and present its complete portfolio of solutions for the packaging and narrow web, tag and label markets to converters across North and South America during Labelexpo Americas 2022 from September 13-15 in Rosemont, Ill. “Our commitment to sustainability continues to be a fundamental part of our innovation and product development at Sun Chemical,” said Dennis Sweet, Vice President NWTL, Commercial, Rycoline and Distributors. “We’re excited to be back at Labelexpo Americas 2022 to highlight our sustainable product offerings and provide an opportunity to reconnect with the narrow web industry.” Using its ‘5Rs’ framework (Reuse, Reduce, Renew, Recycle and Redesign) as a guide, Sun Chemical invests significantly in R&D to improve the eco-efficiency and sustainability of the packaging that utilizes its inks, coatings and adhesives to support a circular economy.

Darwill, Inc. is a national, integrated marketing company that offers proven direct marketing solutions for companies of all sizes. Founded in 1951, it is a family-run business with a commitment to deliver the highest quality solutions that drive ROI for its customers. Today, Darwill circulates over 500 million pieces of direct mail per year, executing every aspect of a direct mail campaign for companies in nearly every industry. Several years ago, Darwill decided to transform from its roots as a sheet-fed commercial offset printer to using white paper continuous feed inkjet production. Driving this move was the fact that customers were beginning to ask for more sophisticated, personalized direct marketing applications. “We saw that we couldn’t compete efficiently when it came to certain types of direct marketing applications because of the equipment configuration that goes with being a sheet-fed operation. We first looked at possibly getting a web press for these applications and then we decided to go straight to continuous high-speed inkjet because it was the cutting-edge technology and offered what our customers were requesting.” Mark DeBoer – Senior Vice President, Darwill

Quantum Group, a trusted expert in direct marketing and business communications services has made a major investment in marketing on demand with the purchase of a Landa S10P Nanographic Printing Press. The press, which complements Quantum’s extensive line of digital and offset equipment, will be installed by the end of the year and will enable Quantum to meet increased customer demand. The company, supporting customers in industries such as pharmaceuticals, healthcare, retail, insurance, and more, is seeing a 5-fold growth in personalized mailings since 2018. Along with the equipment investment, Quantum increased its manufacturing footprint by 50% to support this exponential growth. “We are excited to add the Landa S10P to our production fleet,” said Cheryl Kahanec, Quantum Group’s, Chief Executive Officer. “Our customers will be able to more effectively and efficiently communicate to their audiences. With the format size, substrate range, speed and quality, the Landa will expand our current offset and digital platform to ensure successful execution of timely and targeted projects. We look forward to empowering our clients with efficiency, flexibility and quality all while offering increased personalization and decreased speed to market.”

The first thing one notices upon approaching Paolo Olbi’s bookstore from Ca’ Foscari bridge in Venice is the intricate patterns and vibrant colors. His carefully displayed selection of handmade books, notebooks, and stationery look like an old postcard. Olbi himself, an impeccably dressed and groomed 78-year-old native Venetian, is as much a caretaker as an artisan. “I started learning handmade bookmaking at 18,” he says. “And 60 years later I am still loving it.” The books for sale at Olbi’s store are traditionally hand-bound, using techniques that can only be learned through apprenticeships with masters of the form. When he started in this trade, there were around 20 traditional bookbinding shops in Venice. Today, he is one of just three.

For the eighth consecutive year, Midland recently participated as a Sponsor of the thINK 2022 Inkjet Printing Conference. This exclusive industry event took place in Boca Raton, FL and is one of the largest invitation-only summits designed for printing executives who want to understand how Canon Solutions America’s production inkjet printing technology, software and solutions can help them grow their business now and in the future. At thINK 2022, Midland’s booth exhibit saw a steady stream of leading printers from across the country asking for Midland’s guidance on how they can navigate the turbulent waters of a market fraught with supply chain and paper mill allocation challenges. Discussions were centered on “positioning for the future supply chain” for various paper categories including coated, uncoated, inkjet treated, inkjet coated, specialty inkjet media and more. “We are honored and excited to once again participate as a founding partner of this incredibly important independent user group and industry event. Our goal at Midland is to help Canon customers across the country address their most challenging inkjet media needs with new products and solid solutions”, said David Field, Midland’s General Manager, Specialty Paper & Film Division.

David Henkel’s path in life — his ultimate trajectory — really began after his father’s service in World War II, when his family moved to the suburbs of Chicago. While Henkel willingly admits he “didn’t have a strong sense of direction” in his early life, he was distinctly interested in sales and marketing, and attended the University of Illinois (B.A. in economics) and Indiana University (MBA in marketing). Following post-college positions in marketing research and medical supply sales, the family business, Johnson & Quin, beckoned. Henkel’s father, Robert, had purchased Johnson & Quin in 1960. Johnson & Quin, in Niles, Illinois, has a long history in the printing industry. Henkel highlights that the company is 145 years old, based on records. He believes the business may even be older than that — the true age perhaps unknowable — due to the loss of city records during the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

SG360°, an industry-leading provider of performance-driven direct marketing solutions, announced that effective immediately, the SG360° Board has appointed Edward (Ed) Carroll permanent President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Carroll assumes these responsibilities from Interim CEO James (Jim) Andersen. Prior to his appointment as CEO, Mr. Carroll was Chief Financial Officer at SG360°, having joined SG360° in September of 2021. Prior to SG360°, Mr. Carroll held positions as CEO and CFO in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, distribution, and technology. He began his career as an officer in the United States Navy. Mr. Carroll is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and earned his MBA at the University of Chicago. He is a CPA and a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.

*Revenue for the second quarter was $84.8 million higher than the previous year. Excluding incremental revenue from the First American acquisition, which closed on June 1, 2021, and business exits during the quarter, revenue increased $31.2 million, or 6.6% year-over-year. *The Payments segment delivered revenue growth of 65.7% over the previous year to $171.2 million. Excluding incremental revenue from the First American acquisition, Payments grew 6.7%. *Net income of $22.1 million included gains of $17.5 million from the sale of the Australian web hosting business and a call center facility, and also included an $8.0 million increase in First American acquisition amortization and an increase in interest expense of $11.9 million resulting from the acquisition transaction. Prior year net income included $15.9 million of acquisition transaction costs. *Cash flow from operations for the first half of the year was $72.2 million and capital expenditures were $45.3 million. Free cash flow was $26.9 million, a decrease of $10.3 million compared to the first half of 2021, and included increased interest payments of $28.8 million.

In the 30-plus years that Chris Carpenter has been in the industry, there are two themes that have guided his career: You must be flexible to change, but to do so, you must also stick to your beliefs. Carpenter, president and owner of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin-based Royle Printing, and his team have seen their share of change over the years, with the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing moves toward the digital world, and current paper shortages and hiring challenges being the most recent. But you don’t accumulate 30 years on your resume by giving up. Carpenter’s illustrious career — which has earned him a spot as a 2022 inductee into the Printing Impressions/RIT Printing Industry Hall of Fame — is shaped around hard work, passion for the graphic arts industry, and constantly working to build relationships with employees and customers.

Under Adam’s leadership, SPC has grown into an industry leader with over 400 employees working with many of today’s most respected brands. The SPC family could not be more proud of this recognition. Adam joins his father Paul LeFebvre as only the second father-son inductees in the history of the award!

Net sales in the second quarter were $1.29 billion, up $143.2 million or 12.5% from the second quarter of 2021. Net sales were negatively impacted $14.9 million due to changes in foreign exchange, while the majority of the increase relates to higher client demand for most of the Company’s products and services, and price increases to mostly offset inflationary cost increases. The Company experienced significant growth in Commercial Print, Direct Marketing and Labels products. Organic net sales increased 13.8%. Income from operations was $60.7 million in the second quarter of 2022 compared to $28.2 million in the second quarter of 2021. During the second quarter of 2022, net restructuring, impairment and other charges of $19.8 million increased $10.1 million from the prior year period due primarily to a $12 million asset impairment charge related to an equity investment.

Results for the six months ended June 30, 2022, include: Net Sales — Net Sales were $1.5 billion in the six months ended June 30, 2022, up 7% from the same period in 2021, or up 12% excluding the QuadExpress divestiture. Net Sales growth was achieved across all of our offerings due to increased pricing in response to inflationary pressures, print segment share gains and onboarding new clients in Agency Solutions. Net Earnings — Net Earnings were $4 million in the six months ended June 30, 2022, as compared to Net Earnings of $45 million in the six months ended 2021. The decrease is primarily due to $35 million ($26 million, net of tax) of gains in 2021 on the sale of QuadExpress, and sale and leaseback of the Chalfont, Pennsylvania, facility. Net Cash Provided by (Used in) Operating Activities and Free Cash Flow — Net Cash Used in Operating Activities was $24 million in the six months ended June 30, 2022, as compared to Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities of $89 million during the same period in 2021. Free Cash Flow decreased $119 million from last year to negative $57 million in the six months ended June 30, 2022.

Welcome back to school, students, faculty, and staff! With the pandemic past us, it seems as if the world is returning to normal, classes are in-person, and campuses and universities across the U.S. are full of energy once again! Higher Education marketing and communication are crucial to engaging students and staff while giving them a sense of community and belonging. It’s just as important to make those external networks of alumni, donors, and corporate partners feel included and valued, whether that be through digital communications or print. Through our experience printing and representing universities for over 50 years, we compiled some insights to consider incorporating into your marketing plan for the upcoming school year and how you can elevate your university’s magazine(s).

We all wish we had a crystal ball to see the future. The paper market continues to be difficult to predict due to ongoing fundamental stresses at the mills and along the supply chain. We do, however, see initial signs of hope the paper market could improve in 2023 and have balance largely restored within the next two years. Our recommendations for marketers for Q3-Q4 remain the same: Plan your campaigns well ahead and be prepared for unexpected delays. We are predicting additional price increases for the back half of the year due to still rising input costs – pulp, labor, energy, chemicals, and freight. With the country experiencing 9% inflation in June, it’s no surprise these costs remain unstable. In fact, pulp prices are up 20% in just the past five months.

The installation of new presses at two of Sheridan’s book printing locations this summer are the latest in a series of continued equipment investments made by parent company CJK Group. Sheridan’s Chelsea, MI facility installed a new Heidelberg XL106-8 P press which began producing live work in June. With speeds up to 18,000 impressions per hour, this press features 8 units that print 4-color over 4-color in a single pass along with auto-color scanning and ink control to improve color consistency throughout the print run. Notably, the Prinect Workflow technology used with this press enables it to move automatically from job to job – changing plates and washing blankets on the fly, which significantly shortens make-ready times and increases productivity. An increase in productivity and color consistency was also brought to Sheridan’s Wisconsin facility with the July arrival of a HP Indigo 12000 digital press. The high throughput of the Indigo press for both single-and double-sided printing will provide needed capacity for quick turnarounds for short-run perfect bind and mechanical bind customers served by Sheridan Wisconsin.

As of July 1, 2022, Sun Chemical has assumed responsibility for home and personal care colorants, which were previously distributed by BTC Europe GmbH. As a part of this business transfer, all future sales, samples and literature will be managed by Sun Chemical. This includes the popular tradenames Puricolor®, Iragon® and Pigmosol®, which contain a variety of dyes, pigments and preparations. “We are excited to continue expanding our color portfolio and grow in the home and personal care market,” said Bart Vanderbiest, Global Business Director of Cosmetics, Sun Chemical. “We are committed to making the world a more colorful place and look forward to leveraging our rich expertise and diverse portfolio to better serve our new and existing customers.”

Scott Zimmermann, our Press Room Manager, is celebrating a BIG milestone with us this month – he's been with Royle Printing for over 35 years! You mean you've spent 35 years with the same company? In today's workforce, that can be unheard of at times! We stumbled upon a past newsletter from May of 1993; a throwback to the newsletter seemed like a must to celebrate Scott's tenure with us. He's spent his entire career working in print as a press operator. Hear what Scott or "Zimmy" (that's what we call him around here) had to say about his 35 years in print and why he's found so much success. We feel it's more important now than ever to tell prosperous and successful stories of people in our industry. We hope we can potentially urge younger and future generations to consider a career in print – there are endless possibilities for growth! read more at: https://www.royle.com/news/a-prosperous-35-years-in-print

Modern Litho announces long-time General Manager, Skip Bray has been named President of Modern Litho-St. Louis as of July 1, 2022. Under Bray’s leadership, Modern Litho-St. Louis, a division of Modern Litho-Print Co., has grown in every measure of the word in revenue, employees, facility space and significant expansion of product and service offerings to its customers. This growth is a result of both organic customer attraction/retention and strategic acquisitions of several St. Louis Metro based printing companies including Midtown Printing (2013), Trio Printing (2018) and Mulligan Printing (2020).

Cenveo Worldwide Limited announced the successful completion of a management buyout of the business led by Chief Executive Officer, Rob Burton, Jr., President, Mike Burton, Chief Financial Officer, Mark Hiltwein, and Chief Strategy Officer, Ayman Zameli. As a result of the transaction, Cenveo is now 100% owned by its management with the Burton family being the majority shareholder. Rob Burton, CEO of Cenveo said: “I am grateful for this opportunity and proud to have gained the trust of our shareholders to accomplish this buyout. We have all worked very hard on rationalizing our platform and divesting non-strategic assets all while delivering superior returns to our shareholders.” With this buyout, Cenveo is now exclusively an envelope focused business and the largest envelope converter in North America. Through this transaction, the existing Cenveo management team will remain in place and will continue to focus its efforts on serving the Company’s diverse and extensive envelope customer base. Rob continued, “Cenveo is an established brand with a rich history and long experience in delivering innovative solutions to our customers. This deal represents the next chapter for the brand and the ambitious team members who have helped build it over many years.”

Graphic Village announced that it has purchased Sunrise Hitek Group, LLC, a variable print and specialty large format company in Chicago, IL. This strategic move further strengthens Graphic Village’s capabilities and expands the company’s presence to the Chicago, Illinois, region. Sunrise Hitek is located in the Norwood Park East neighborhood of Chicago since its founding in 1988. As a specialist in high-quality printing, packaging, display fabrication and branded environments, Sunrise Hitek serves a broad array of industries including, healthcare, hospitality, packaged goods and manufacturing. It will continue to operate out of their Chicago-based facility. The current team of 25 employees, including the leadership team, will remain in place and continue to deliver excellent value and customer experiences. Over time, Sunrise Hitek will be rebranded as Graphic Village.

July 1st is National Postage Stamp Day, and Royle will feature mailing content all month long! Mail plans seem complicated at times. Which mailing method is suitable for your brand? What's the most cost-effective? What will hit my in-home date on time? Well, we're here to help! see details at: https://www.royle.com/news/whats-the-best-mail-plan-for-me

The United States Postal Service (USPS) announced new postage rates starting July 10, 2022. You can see the full breakdown in this recent blog post. The average rate increases 6%, which is quite a hike, but by using any of the following USPS marketing mail promotions, you can get 2%-4% off your postage cost. see details at: https://specialtyprintcomm.com/blog/utilize-usps-discounts/

Quad/Graphics, Inc. announced that it has been added as a member of the U.S. small-cap Russell 2000® Index pertaining to the 2022 Russell indexes reconstitution, effective June 27, 2022. The Company’s membership in the Russell 2000® Index, which remains in place for one year, is based on membership in the broad-market Russell 3000® Index. The stock also was automatically added to the appropriate growth and value indexes. “We are pleased to be a member of the Russell indexes, and look forward to continuing to share how we are accelerating and scaling our strategy as a marketing experience company,” said Tony Staniak, Chief Financial Officer of Quad. “We continue to build on positive sales growth momentum from clients embracing our integrated marketing platform, while focusing on financial objectives to drive shareholder value.”

They all love to read! This past month Thomson Reuters partnered with the Minnesota Vikings to bring back the Scholastic Book Fair to Highwood Elementary and Barack and Michelle Obama Elementary schools. There was lots of fun to be had at the book fair. Viktor, the Viking mascot, made an appearance and signed copies of Where’s Viktor’s Mustache that the children could take home along with three other books of their choice. Alongside the players and coaches, Steve Zweber, Director of Manufacturing & Fulfillment at Core Publishing Solutions, was there. Steve was grateful that he was able to attend and help further a love of reading in the community.

Worzalla, an employee-owned printing company specializing in high-quality children’s books, cookbooks, and hard-cover best sellers, is working with the Portage County Library to support their summer reading programs with the goal of inspiring the community to reach their summer reading goals. Worzalla has donated 500 children's books for the Library to use as summer reading rewards and is also donating 500 bags that the Library will use for their Lit Loot program. “We love to get children and teens reading, learning, and participating at the library each summer, and then reward their hard work with prize books, but incentives like these are quite costly. We are thrilled that Worzalla has offered to help us cover some of these expenses so that we can expand our programming and reach even more community members,” said Nicole Ozanich, Youth Services Librarian at the Portage County Public Library.

HP Inc. announced its commitment to PRINTING United 2022 as a title sponsor of the event, along with its plans to build its own elaborate show hall encompassing 21,000 sq. ft. at the Expo — over three times the size of any previous HP booth space. PRINTING United Expo 2022 takes place October 19-21 in Las Vegas and will be the most comprehensive printing event in the world. The event spotlights companies bringing the latest industry solutions to market spanning the industry across all segments. HP joins over 500 exhibitors currently signed up to showcase its latest products on the expansive show floor.

The Company’s revenues for the first quarter ended May 31, 2022 were $107.7 million compared to $96.9 million for the same quarter last year, an increase of $10.8 million, or 11.1%. The increase includes revenue contribution of approximately $1.9 million from AmeriPrint, an acquisition completed on May 31, 2021. Gross profit margin was $34.0 million, or 31.6%, as compared to $29.2 million, or 30.1%, for the same quarter last year. Net earnings for the quarter were $11.6 million, or $0.45 per diluted share, as compared to $7.3 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, for the same quarter last year.

April 2022 shipments came in at $6.67 billion, down from March’s $7.03 billion. The general trend in all but two of the last seven years has been for April shipments to decline from March’s. That’s not really good news but suggests we’re at least getting back to normal. April 2022 shipments came in at $6.67 billion, down from March’s $7.03 billion. As we remarked last month, it looks like 2022 is closely mirroring 2021—which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Year to date, we are only slightly off 2021—January to April shipments for 2022 are at $26.16 billion, a bit under 2021’s $26.45 billion.

The Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP), the leading authority in sustainable printing certifications, announced today that Ultraflex Systems Inc. has become part of the SGP Community as a gold SGP Patron. Ultraflex’s action to become involved in SGP helps to ensure the long-term endurance of sustainable product offerings. “We believe sustainability is integral to our industry, present and future,” said Kylie Schleicher, director of product development & product manager, Ultraflex. “As a leader in the industry, we are responsible for taking the required measures to contribute to the sustainable development of digital print materials. Our company’s research and development are the foundation for superior products and performance. We are excited to grow within the community and market new solutions that limit the use of natural resources, reduce waste, and promote the reuse of materials.”

TC Transcontinental is proud to announce the release of its new 2025 Corporate Social Responsibility Plan, Building our Future. Recognized earlier this year as the 16th most sustainable corporation in the world in the renowned Corporate Knights’ Global 100 Sustainable Corporations ranking, TC Transcontinental strives to build a future that is green, inclusive, innovative, sustainable, united, and responsible. The new plan focuses on five major themes that will guide the Corporation’s actions over the next four years: greener growth, an inclusive and safe environment, innovative and sustainable products, community involvement, and responsible governance and business practices. “As a family business, we are building for the long term,” said Isabelle Marcoux, Chair of the Board. “Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been engrained in TC Transcontinental's DNA since its beginning and is an integral part of our growth strategy, particularly in terms of developing sustainable products. It is underpinned by rigorous governance, as well as our values and culture of diversity and inclusion. As such, we are meeting our customers’ needs and our investors’ long-term value creation objectives while also contributing to the welfare of our communities.”

Syracuse Label & Surround Printing, Macaran Printed Products and W.N. Van Alstine, have announced that their respective boards of directors have approved a merger agreement. According to the companies, the new organization will provide enhanced development and manufacturing capabilities, incorporating state-of-the-art label technologies along with improved economies of scale. The new business will be led by industry veterans Nick Van Alstine (Macaran / Van Alstine) and Kathy Alaimo (Syracuse) operating as co-CEOs, with Tom Sargent as president. The merger brings together three strong, industry leading label and packaging companies who share common cultures, common cause and common goals. Both companies are 100% employee-owned each with rich corporate legacies.

The Great Lakes Graphics Association (GLGA) has announced that Julie Lopezlena has joined the association as their new Sales and Member Engagement Director for Illinois and Indiana. Ms. Lopezlena, a native of Minnesota, grew up in her family’s printing business. Before joining GLGA, she served as the director of sales for Navitor, Inc., overseeing the management of sales operations for multiple products and print technology. Her deep background also includes experience in international business development both with Taylor Corporation in Mexico City and with Euromonitor International in Chicago. In GLGA’s newly created Sales and Member Engagement Director position, Ms. Lopezlena is responsible for identifying and cultivating new strategic relationships toward the development of new members for the association. She also will assist current members in strategic use of GLGA’s services and benefits to maximize their return on investment.

Two Sides, the print and paper advocacy group, is excited to announce its newest member, CFH Docmail Ltd, the multi-site, multi-channel innovative communications company. Starting as a print company supplying lithographic printed forms, CFH Docmail Ltd have transformed into a multi-site, multi-channel innovative communications company. For more than 40 years, they have been helping customers achieve the results they need with innovative, impactful communications on every channel. CFH Docmail Ltd’s industry-leading multichannel communication solutions include hybrid mail, print & post, and online services. All delivered with a practical sensibility, focused on driving outcomes – and powerful results.

Revenues increased by $92.2 million, or 14.8%, from $623.3 million in the second quarter of 2021 to $715.5 million in the corresponding period of 2022. Operating earnings before depreciation and amortization decreased by $6.1 million, or 5.6%, from $108.9 million in the second quarter of 2021 to $102.8 million in the second quarter of 2022. Net earnings attributable to shareholders of the Corporation decreased by $7.3 million, from $35.6 million in the second quarter of 2021 to $28.3 million in the second quarter of 2022.

Electronics For Imaging, Inc. announced that it has acquired Inèdit Software S.L., a developer of raster image processors (RIPs) and related software for digital industrial textile printing. The acquisition extends EFI’s strategy to accelerate digital transformation in industrial print through investments that advance the company’s presence and capabilities in Packaging & Corrugated, Display Graphics, Textile, and Building Materials/Décor applications. Inèdit will be integrated into the Reggiani textile business. “Digital represents the biggest transformational opportunity we have ever seen in industrial printing,” said EFI CEO and Executive Chairman Jeff Jacobson. “We are committed to driving innovation and expanding our offerings through all economic cycles as we address our customers’ critical need to digitize and automate their workflows.”

In honor of World Environment Day, Xerox today announced a partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation to plant nearly 23,000 trees — one for each Xerox employee — contributing to the nonprofit’s global reforestation efforts while also educating employees on how they can make a meaningful difference for the environment. The partnership coincides with this year’s World Environment Day focus on the continuation of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a global mission to revive billions of hectares, from forests to farmlands. “Partners like Xerox help us achieve the scale needed to drive meaningful impact through trees," said Dan Lambe, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “It’s going to take organizations of all types and sizes coming together to make a difference. We are grateful for their commitment.” The Arbor Day Foundation has worked to plant nearly 500 million trees over the past 50 years through efforts that improve forests and communities of greatest need worldwide.

In March 2022, all printing employment was up +0.6% from March. This time, it was production employment that was up (+1.6%) and non-production employment that was down (-0.9%). One gets the sense that the industry’s attempts at recruiting production staff are generally succeeding: in April 2022, all printing employment was up +1.6% from March, with non-production employment down -0.9%. This is the reverse of what we saw in March. Publishing employment had been improving slightly over last summer, took a turn for the worse in the fall, and started to plateau at the end of the year. It was up a modest +0.6% in March, and now up another +0.4%.

Bristol University Press, and its imprint Policy Press, have gone live on a new, integrated scholarly portal on the KGL PubFactory platform. Bristol University Press Digital now hosts its full collection of books and journals with global and social impact in a single site, searchable across all content types. A leading social science publisher committed to making a difference, Bristol University Press champions evidence-informed, bold thinking, from anywhere in the world that aims to address the global social challenges. In 2021, the publisher celebrated 25 years since Policy Press was established and 5 years since the creation of Bristol University Press. Via bristoluniversitypressdigital.com, the new platform provides access to over 1,400 books, 6,000 articles from 18 peer-reviewed journals, and eBook collections from across the social sciences that address global social challenges and support the UN Sustainable Development Goals, with exclusive access to the new, non-profit, Open Access Global Social Challenges Journal. As a rapidly expanding Press approximately 300 books and several new journals will be added each year.

The Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP), the leading authority in sustainable printing certifications, announced that the Primex Plastics Corporation facility in Reedsburg, WI is the first supplier facility to become SGP certified. SGP has been certifying print facilities since 2008, but recently expanded the program to include supplier facilities. “Primex Reedsburg has been a dedicated supplier of printable plastics since inception in 1986 and a long-time supporter of SGP’s sustainability mission,” said Blake Pace, General Manager, Primex. “Having had a front row seat to view continuous improvement on the part of companies that participate in SGP, when the opportunity arose to seek certification ourselves under the expanded supplier certification, we jumped at the chance.”

Sun Chemical will increase prices across its entire portfolio of packaging, commercial sheetfed and screen inks, coatings, consumables and adhesives in North America, effective immediately or as contracts allow. The inflationary environment in North America has continued to impact the ink industry. Global geopolitical events have caused sustained pressure on logistics availability and have increased the costs to unprecedented levels. The constrained accessibility to labor in the market has driven significant wage inflation while contributing to inefficiencies at manufacturing facilities.

Back in February, Dan Marx had the pleasure of speaking with three commercial printing providers to see how they were experiencing, and what the were doing to mitigate the effect of, the ongoing paper shortage. That piece, “Printing Companies Share Their Experiences with Paper Shortages and What They're Doing in Response”, was featured in Printing Impressions. As the paper crisis is much more a moving target than a moment in time, he reached back out to one of the printers, Christina Esparza, VP of operations for InfoIMAGE, a transactional printer (locations in Coppell, Texas, and Brisbane, California), to see how that company’s experience and approach has changed over the last three months.

Sun Chemical and the DIC Corporation will increase prices across select parts of its color materials portfolio, effective July 1, 2022 or as contracts allow. The price increase affects all market segments. Without signs of relief, the cost increase for key raw materials and packaging components as well as the inflationary pressure on manufacturing operations persist. Energy and logistics costs remain at historically high levels, and the uncertainties due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis and COVID-19 related lockdowns in China, are negatively affecting global value and supply chains. The ongoing escalations make it necessary for the company to increase prices for several product lines of its pigments, dyes and preparations portfolio. The price increases are in addition to those previously announced, including energy and transportation surcharges.

Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. announced it has extended its partnership with the Plockmatic Group to launch the powerful and versatile SD-435/450 booklet maker. This brings a cost efficient solution for heavy production finishing to low and mid-sized Centralized Reprographic Departments (CRD) and commercial print environments. Plockmatic Group’s inline platform introduces architecture that enables new features for the first time in the low-to-mid volume market segments across Konica Minolta’s AccurioPress mono and color production machines. The inline versions of the SD-435/450 will be exclusively sold by Konica Minolta throughout 2022. The new system architecture enables customers to produce high-quality booklets including 8.5” x 11” landscape and has all the key processes needed to produce corner and edge staple, folding, spine forming and full bleed trimming, all combined in one single, easy-to-use system.

The Celebrations are the culmination of the annual GEA competition, which recognizes companies throughout Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin for superb craftsmanship in the design, creation and production of outstanding printed projects they produce for their customers. More than 200 people gathered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Addison, Illinois, on May 25 for two simultaneous awards ceremonies to celebrate another spectacular year of print in the three-state region. Best of Show, the competition’s highest honor, was awarded to JR Dimensional of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for their entry in the Booklets (4 or more colors) category entitled Cramer-Krasselt Taycan Book and Sleeve FF. One judge said, “Not often a printed piece can be described as electrifying.” First Runner-Up was awarded to Schumann Printers of Fall River, Wisconsin, for Blue Ocean Traders Spring and Summer 2022 in the Product Catalogs (4 or more colors) category. From the Calendars category, LCP, Waukegan, Illinois, won Second Runner-Up accolades for their Lake County Press 2022 Calendar.

Landa Digital Printing™ and Quad announced that Quad is adding the Landa S10P Nanographic Printing® Press to its In-Store Solutions production lineup. The Landa S10P, equipped with a powerful digital front end, introduces a new standard in printing speed, format, efficiency and data-driven digital applications; expanding the digital capabilities for B1-format printing and offering unlimited variable print options at very fast speeds and at the highest quality available. The S10P supports Quad’s unique “through the line” offering for marketers – from strategy and creative through production, execution, and analytics for marketing that is more efficient and effective. Today, with people living, working and learning from anywhere, marketing that is delivered at the right amplitude for customer response and engagement is essential. Key to Quad’s multidimensional marketing approach is removing friction in the marketing process, clearing the way for deeper and better customer engagement across channels. One very effective retail marketing strategy is to utilize two strong application segments – in-store and personalized customer engagement – both of which mandate supreme print quality that only the Landa press can provide.  

Escalating costs continue to be seen across a number of raw material categories with no sign of improvement – binders, additives, pigments, solvents and other materials continue to rise in cost. Inflation is now worsening across multiple spend categories and an already problematic supply chain climate continues to experience significant disruption. Jesper Bødtkjer, Vice President and General Manager – Flint Group Packaging Europe reflects, “The emphasis we place on supply reliability has a significant financial implication on our business. Throughout these unparalleled times, we have sought to take a phased, incremental approach to pricing adjustments. However, the expected softening of raw material prices has not occurred, costs continue to rise aggressively and therefore we are forced to raise prices.”

Sun Chemical has launched SunConnect, the latest complementary solution to SunColorBox, designed for the flexo corrugated printing market. SunConnect is an accurate and digital color communication tool that will enable converters to communicate color match request and quality control data on press directly from a smartphone, tablet, or desktop. It is an entry level digital color management solution giving converters the opportunity to upgrade in future to Sun Chemical’s SunColorBox – a unique set of tools and services that enables consistent and accurate digital color communication throughout the entire packaging supply chain. These applications and services are aimed at supporting packaging printers and converters produce brand colors consistently, anywhere in the world, within a fully optimized digital process.

Deluxe (NYSE: DLX), a Trusted Payments and Business Technology™ company, announced that Tracey Engelhardt, President of Checks, has taken on additional responsibilities as Chief of Operations. Engelhardt has been with Deluxe for nearly 30 years, overseeing the company’s strong position in checking programs for banks, businesses, and consumers. Her extensive knowledge of the industry, as well as deep understanding of the operations and manufacturing process within Deluxe, makes this addition to her portfolio a natural move for the company. Engelhardt, who has been a member of the Deluxe executive team for more than 10 years, is the first woman to run operations for Deluxe in its 107-year history. She will also continue as President of the Checks division.

Sun Chemical will increase prices across its entire portfolio of packaging, commercial sheetfed, and screen inks, coatings, consumables, and adhesives in Europe, Middle East, Africa, effective June 1st 2022 or as contracts allow. The unprecedented pace of inflationary cost movements continues to further impact the entire spectrum of raw material inputs and packaging components for the ink industry, while raw material availability remains an ongoing concern. The industry is additionally being hit by the current situation in Europe and China, adding up pressure onto supply/demand dynamics as well as on utilities and freight costs. Sun Chemical continues to find ways of mitigating these costs, but the magnitude and speed of cost increases requires the company to further increase prices.

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company announced the launch of Helium by RRD, an editorial solutions service providing access to specialized copywriting, content strategy, and project management professionals. This service provides brands with a centralized access point to hundreds of subject matter experts in content generation. According to research from Semrush, nearly half (49%) of companies outsource content writing in an effort to meet an increasing demand for B2B and B2C content generation and editorial output. Designed to support organizations with the depth and capabilities they need, Helium manages a North American-based talent pool of specialized writers to offer the following copy-driven services: *Branding – brand guidelines, content strategy, brand messaging and consistency *Marketing –SEO content, digital and social copy, brochures, and blog posts *Advertising – ad copy, scripts, banner ads, direct mail, and social media posts *Thought leadership – blog posts, white papers, and other educational materials...

Quad/Graphics, Inc. has been named one the world’s 25 largest agency companies, as determined by Ad Age, the global publisher of news, analysis, and data on marketing and media. This is the third consecutive year that Quad has been included in the list. Contending in a highly competitive field, Quad ranked No. 16 on the list of top 25 agency companies and No. 22 among the world’s top 25 consolidated agency networks. Periscope, a fully integrated creative agency, and Rise Interactive, a top performance marketing agency, are wholly owned by Quad and are part of the company’s comprehensive agency services.

During Flexo and Labels 2022, Sun Chemical will showcase its complete portfolio of solutions for narrow web, tag and label markets, highlighting the sustainability benefits of its latest product and service innovations. Using the theme “Power of Labels,” visitors of stand 6 will learn about Sun Chemical’s ongoing investments in the region and discover how the company’s commitment to sustainability is fundamental to its innovation and product development.

The Great Lakes Graphics Association (GLGA) will hold its annual Graphics Excellence Awards (GEA) Celebrations on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. The Celebrations are the culmination of the annual GEA competition, which recognizes companies throughout Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin for superb craftsmanship in the design, creation and production of outstanding printed projects they produce for their customers. Dual sites will have simultaneous Celebrations that evening: the Medinah Shrine Center in Addison, IL, and the Wisconsin Club in Milwaukee, WI. The Celebrations start at 5 p.m. with an extended networking reception. All of the award-winning projects will be on display for attendees to examine and to choose their favorite in the voting for the People’s Choice award. A formal dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. followed by the presentation of the award plaques and the announcement of the top winners.

CJK Group, is pleased to announce the adoption of its GROW Learning Management System (LMS). The GROW LMS standardizes training across the entirety of the global company. For our customers, this set of online best practices will ensure a higher level of consistency and customer satisfaction. When you’re a global company with dispersed teams and diverse holdings, standardizing corporate best practices is incredibly difficult. CJK Group sought to update and reimagine its corporate learning environment, starting with a comprehensive leadership training program on skills development, company policies, and employment regulations. KnowledgeWorks Global Learning (KGL) was appointed to develop the LMS and design an engaging, six-module digital course for upskilling the company’s supervisors. In late 2021, CJK Group launched its secure, customized learning management platform to bring the whole company together with an organized, replicable training process called GROW. GROW offers a blended program featuring six mandatory online modules in a self-service format accessible to everyone in the business.

Worzalla, an employee-owned printing company specializing in high-quality children’s books and cookbooks, was a sponsor of this year’s Words & Friends for Literacy event hosted and organized by the Portage County Literacy Council. After taking a pause in 2020 and a remote event in 2021 due to the pandemic, this year’s event was a success in helping raise more than $20,000. The funds Worzalla raised and all donations from other participants will support the Portage County Literacy Council’s community-based literacy programs. The Words & Friends for Literacy fundraising event invited members of the community to form teams of four or more people and host a House Party for Literacy. Teams completed challenges and raised funds during Apr. 27, 28 and/or 29. Worzalla’s team, The Jefferson Street Girls, comprised of associates Sparky Musolf, Deb Clark, Brenda Betro, Sarah Zuehlke, Sheila Jasenovsky (Team Capitan), Kim Mains, Cathy Davis, Jennifer Heisler and Shasta Grosbier, took first place in collecting a total of $2,331.00 in pledges from friends, family and fellow Worzalla associates.

Because several areas in Michigan failed to achieve compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) is moving forward with a series of new regulations designed to reduce the precursors of ozone, which are volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). The Michigan counties designated as nonattainment include those in the West and the Detroit area and include Berrien, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw, and Wayne. In addition, portions of Allegan and Muskegon counties are also designated as nonattainment. The inability to demonstrate compliance with the ozone standard has triggered requirements in the Clean Air Act requiring EGLE to develop and implement a new set of air pollution control regulations designed to reduce emissions of VOCs and NOx. EGLE will have to adopt federal Environmental Protection Agency guidelines on a variety of industries including printing since VOCs are emitted.

With the backdrop of snow-capped mountains in the distance, customers of Hudson Printing in Salt Lake City entered the commercial printer's 120,000-sq.-ft. facility on May 5 for its first-ever open house. The event was intended to give attendees a tour of the facility, as well as a peek at the company's new Landa S10P nanographic printing press with perfector, which has been up and running since November 2021. Although seeing the Landa S10P running in person was a major draw during the event, Hudson Printing also announced that the 113-year-old company would in fact be installing a second Landa S10P later this year. Paul Hudson, CEO of Hudson Printing, explained that the company does a large amount of personalization printing, an area in which the Landa press has proven to be a success.

The SGP Partnership, the leading authority in sustainable certification for the printing industry, announced today Syracuse Label & Surround Printing of North Syracuse, NY has achieved its sustainability certification. A recognized leader in sustainability, the company offers digital and flexographic printing solutions with a product portfolio that includes pressure-sensitive labels, shrink sleeves, flexible packaging, cartons, hang tags, roll fed-wrap labels and other custom-made printed products. As a certified SGP facility, Syracuse Label & Surround Printing is committed to sustainability targets by reducing waste, conserving energy, sourcing sustainable materials, creating a safe workplace and lowering carbon footprint. Each year, SGP certified facilities, like Syracuse Label & Surround Printing, must propose a continuous improvement project as part of its certification. In addition, every two years, facilities must undergo an independent third-party audit.

Net sales in the first quarter were $1.31 billion, up $138.8 million or 11.8% from the first quarter of 2021. While first quarter net sales decreased nearly $3 million due to changes in foreign exchange, the majority of the increase relates to higher client demand for most of the Company’s products and services, and price increases to partially offset inflationary cost increases. The Company experienced significant growth in Supply Chain Management, Commercial Print and Labels products. Organic net sales increased 12.0%. Loss from operations was $25.5 million in the first quarter of 2022 compared to income from operations of $25.1 million in the first quarter of 2021. The first quarter of 2022 included $64 million of expenses related to the merger, and net restructuring, impairment and other charges of $18.9 million which increased $13.1 million from the prior year period. Net loss from continuing operations of $58.4 in the first quarter of 2022 compared to $1.7 reported in the first quarter of 2021. The 2022 net loss from continuing operations reflects the increased loss from operations, higher income taxes and loss on debt extinguishment, slightly offset by lower interest expense.

The Great Lakes Graphics Association (GLGA) is proud to announce the recipients of its second annual Women in Print Leadership Award. The Women in Print Leadership Awards supports GLGA’s ongoing quest to recognize the contributions of women in the Midwest print, graphic arts, finishing and print packaging community as well as those women who support the print industry in a vendor or supplier capacity. Any woman working directly in print or in a vendor role supporting print who was in good standing with her company in Illinois, Indiana or Wisconsin was eligible to be nominated. The nominations were reviewed by a panel of female print professionals outside of the Midwest, who selected one recipient per state.

SPC received three awards for our very own “SPC Innovative Format Guide”: Best of Category award in the Digital Books category; Best of Division for the Print/Graphic Arts Self-Promotion category; and Award of Excellence in the Product Catalogs with 4 or more colors category. This printed guide and digital library is distributed to clients and hosted on the SPC website for our clients to reference anytime as they brainstorm ideas and formats for future direct mail campaigns. This library includes eight categories with 150 pre-approved formats to browse and use for a variety of vertical markets. Using laminated divider cards followed by two-sided digitally produced individual format cards, the guide is built to easily expand to include future innovations. The grommet holes and screw post keep it together and organized while the clear plexiglass box keeps it safe and in sight on any marketer’s desk

*Revenue for the first quarter was $114.7 million higher than the previous year. Excluding the First American acquisition, which closed on June 1, 2021, revenue increased $31.4 million, or 7.1% year-over-year. *The Payments segment delivered revenue growth of 109.1% over the previous year to $166.2 million. Excluding First American, Payments grew 4.3%. *Net income of $9.7 million included $12.7 million of acquisition amortization from the First American acquisition, as well as an increase in interest expense of $15.8 million driven by the transaction. *Cash flow from operations for the first quarter was $34.3 million and capital expenditures were $20.8 million. Free cash flow was $13.5 million, a decrease of $4.4 million compared to the first quarter of 2021, partially driven by increased cash interest payments.

The SGP Partnership, announced Simpson Print of Bloomingdale, ON, Canada has achieved its sustainability certification. From wide format to UV offset, digital and more, Simpson Print has a range of printing capabilities from packaging to retail displays, signage and fixtures. “Simpson Print has long since recognized the significance of sustainability within the marketplace,” said Carla Johanns, Simpson Print president. “SGP certification offered the most credible and robust resources to align our staff and customers, as we plan for a cleaner and more efficient future. Our primary objective is to be leaders in reducing our carbon footprint and taking the courageous steps required for the brands and retailers that demand sustainable action from their supply chain and vendors.”

*Increased Net Sales 5% in the first quarter of 2022, or 9% sales growth excluding divestitures, driven by increased pricing in response to inflationary cost pressures; print segment share gains from new clients; and Net Sales growth in Targeted Print and Agency Solutions. *Reported Net Loss of $1 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $49 million in the first quarter of 2022, compared to Net Earnings of $10 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $70 million in the first quarter of 2021. *Implemented additional price increase, effective May 15, 2022, to help offset inflationary cost pressures.

Specialty Print Communications, (SPC), a direct mail & digital solutions provider, announced that it has completed its SOC 2 Type II audit, performed by KirkpatrickPrice. This attestation provides evidence that SPC has a strong commitment to security and to delivering high-quality services to its clients by demonstrating that they have the necessary internal controls and processes in place. A SOC 2 audit provides an independent, third-party validation that a service organization’s information security practices meet industry standards stipulated by the AICPA. During the audit, a service organization’s non-financial reporting controls as they relate to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy of a system are tested. The SOC 2 report delivered by KirkpatrickPrice verifies the suitability of the design and operating effectiveness of SPC’s controls to meet the standards for these criteria.

Siegwerk Druckfarben AG & Co. KGaA, one of the leading international suppliers of printing inks for packaging applications and labels, has signed a contract to purchase the Italian ink manufacturer La Sorgente Spa. The family-owned company is located in Poppi (Arezzo), Italy, and manufactures high-quality water-based flexographic inks for paper & board applications as well as solvent-based inks for flexible packaging. Founded in 1929, the company is one of the most important ink suppliers for flexographic printing in Italy today. With this acquisition, Siegwerk further expands its product portfolio for packaging printers while concretely strengthening its local footprint in the Italian market. “La Sorgente Spa is a well-established ink expert for paper & board as well as flexible packaging applications with a strong reputation in Italy. Its ink solutions fit perfectly into our product portfolio,” says Dirk Weißenfeldt, Vice President Flexible Packaging EMEA at Siegwerk. The purchase will enable Siegwerk to significantly expand its presence while building up its infrastructure and workforce to further grow in Italy.