LSC Communications Further Consolidates Magazine Printing Market with Publishers Press Acquisition

The publication printing industry in North America continues to consolidate, and LSC Communications is leading the charge. Following on the heels of its July 17 acquisition of Creel Printing, Chicago-based LSC Communications announced today that it has acquired Publishers Press, a family-owned printing and digital solutions provider based in Lebanon Junction, Ky. It brings an end to the stewardship of Publishers Press and its predecessor entities by five generations of the Simon family, whose roots go back to 1866 when Nicholas Simon purchased an interest in a new German newspaper in Louisville, Ky., which later became known as “The Printing Rooms of Nicholas Simon.”

Publishers Press is currently led by Michael J. Simon, who assumed the president role following the death of his brother, Nicholas (Nick) X. Simon, who passed away at age 57 in 2016. Michael and Nick Simon were both past inductees into the Printing Impressions/RIT Printing Industry Hall of Fame in 2002 and 2003, respectively, marking the first time two brothers received the Hall of Fame honor. At the time of their inductions, profiles appeared in Printing Impressions about Michael Simon and Nick Simon.

Aside from the Simon family legacy, Publishers Press also had a reputation for accomplishing several industry technology firsts. In 1994, it achieved wide acclaim when it printed an edition of Sports Car International, the first magazine to be printed using an entire computer-to-plate (CTP) workflow process. In 1997, Publishers Press established the first U.S. Postal Service-approved co-palletization program for short- to medium-run magazines. And, in 2005, it combined co-mailing, co-palletization, and drop shipping to make up its PubXpress distribution system, which Publishers Press claims was the first of its kind in this market.

On the most recent 2016 Printing Impressions 400 list, Publishers Press was ranked Number 26, reporting most recent fiscal year sales of $191 million, a 6% increase over the $180 million the privately held company indicated for the previous fiscal year. It attributed 96% of its sales to magazines (making it the self-proclaimed fourth-largest publication printer in North America), 2% to commercial printing and 2% to packaging. To access the complete Printing Impressions 400 list of the largest printers in the U.S. and Canada as ranked by annual sales, click here.

LSC Communications, on the other hand, indicated 2016 sales of $3.65 billion, of which 45% is attributed to magazines, catalogs and retail inserts (LSC does not break out publication printing separately). LSC has 41 production facilities in the U.S. and eight international manufacturing plants, comprising approximately 20 million square feet of owned facility space. By comparison, Publishers Press employs about 1,200 employees in Kentucky. With an original facility in Shepherdsville, Ky., operations were consolidated into the 700,000-sq.-ft. Lebanon Junction facility last year.

read more/source: http://www.piworld.com/article/lsc-communications-further-consolidates-magazine-printing-market-with-publishers-press-acquisition/

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