Things I Hear Summertime Musings Poll: Vendor Consolidation Transcontinental’s Annual Report Recognized Winnipeg Packaging Connection RR Donnelley Completes Asia Printers Group Acquisition Finland Paper Industry Back in Business NPES President to Retire Supplier News GOOD READING Events Get out and learn...

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Things I Hear

Summertime Musings

I've often found it a challenge to define "commercial" printing, an all-encompassing term to describe operations from retail quick print to full-blown full-web magazine operations.
Pierre Karl Péladeau, president and CEO of Quebecor World, created a stir when he announced the printing conglomerate was selling off its "commercial" division. Many were left scratching their heads, thinking that everything Quebecor World does is commercial printing. Péladeau was referring to the organization's sheetfed offset shops that provide a variety of print services, tend to operate regionally, and produce a wide variety of end products—unlike the focused contract-based work of its magazine/book/catalogue/directory/retail flyer businesses where QW has success.
Large multi-plant printers that attempt to secure business with national or international accounts and woo them with their continental network of plants appear to have little use for regional sheetfed offset operations.
The unsteady ebb and flow of "commercial" work can cause a strain on a public company's quarterly results, and can therefore make them a likely target for removal.
Quebecor World wanted to sell off its entire lot of a dozen locations in North America to one buyer. It has been reported that a facility in California, George Rice and Sons, has been acquired by a local interest.
We wait to hear about the rest.
Most sheetfed offset print shops, general commercial printers, are general "community" printers. Despite the opportunities opened up through online windows to the world, commercial printing is still built on face-to-face relationships.
It's a challenge to standardize an army of disparate sheetfed shops to one way of doing things. The pressroom won't like it and the local markets may not be able to adjust to it. One size does not fit all. General commercial sheetfed shops face significant local competition, and there's a high cost associated with keeping up with changing local market demands.
General commercial has almost become a bad name. Specialization, niche products, streamlined process—these are the keys to success. Know where your strengths are and build on them. I guess what we can learn from Quebecor World's decision is that bigger isn't always better.

Enjoy the rest of your summer.

Regards,
Doug Picklyk
Editor, Canadian Printer

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Come grow your career… NEBS is proud to be Canada’s leading supplier of business printing, products, and services to small business.

We are located in picturesque Midland on the shores of beautiful Georgian Bay and currently have an opportunity for an experienced… Product Line Manager

Custom Printing Department

Working with lean and cell manufacturing principles, you will provide leadership and day-to-day management skills to optimize our fast-paced and quality oriented operation. Your ability to achieve quality, cost, and delivery targets on designated products and processes is coupled with demonstrated success in building positive and productive employee relations and a team oriented and engaged workforce. You have a related diploma or trade upgrading to support a minimum of ten years' manufacturing management experience in a complex custom print environment. Your experience includes staffing, at least two years' utilization of lean and cell manufacturing principles, and active involvement in TPM, production planning, and scheduling. Please apply in writing to: NEBS Business Products Limited Human Resources, 330 Cranston Crescent Midland, ON L4R 4V9 Fax: (705) 527-9146 or you may apply online at: www.nebs.ca We thank you for your interest in this position; however, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

www.NEBS.ca

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	The Lowe-Martin Group, a world-class leader in printing and related communication services, is seeking the following:
	PRESS ROOM MANAGER
	The ideal candidate has several years experience in the operation of multi-colour, perfecting offset presses and management experience in a medium to large pressroom environment. Superior interpersonal and organizational skills; management, supervision and training/coaching experience; and a working knowledge of MS Office programs are all requirements of this position. The ideal candidate is energetic, able to supervise, multi-task and work under tight deadlines.
	INTERESTED APPLICANTS PLEASE SEND RESUME TO: Human Resources, The Lowe-Martin Group Fax: 613-741-2144, Email: hr@LMGroup.com Mail: The Lowe-Martin Group, 363 Coventry Road Box 9702, Terminal, Ottawa, ON, K1G 4E9

 

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Poll

Confidence in Digital Colour.

The poll in our last issue asked, "Is vendor consolidation in the printing industry a concern?" Of our 25 responses, almost three-quarters (72%) said yes.

The question was prompted by the acquisition of Creo by Kodak. One of our respondents commented, "I believe this is a concern for our industry overall but not in this particular instance. While it's sad to see a Canadian company be swallowed up by a larger American competitor yet again, somehow this one just makes sense. I think it will be good for our company and good for the industry overall. Only time will tell!"

This time we want to know your attitude towards consolidation among printing companies. Word on the street says there are a lot more companies looking to be acquired than are looking to buy. We want to know:

Canadian Printer Webpoll

Is your company looking to buy or be bought? (remember all answers are anonymous) (please add your comments below - click "Start a new topic") We're looking to sell our business We're looking to acquire a business Current Results

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Transcontinental’s Annual Report Recognized

Not only is Transcontinental Inc. acknowledged for the numerous printing awards its divisions has won, but it can once again add the Vision Awards Annual Report Competition onto its list of accomplishments. Organized by the League of American Communications Professionals, Transcontinental received a Platinum award (the top prize) in the Media and Communications category for its 2004 report, and a Gold award in the Best Online Edition category. Overall, Transcontinental's report was ranked 25th out of the 1,435 reports from 17 countries. This is the second year Transcontinental has won an award in this competition.

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Winnipeg Packaging Connection

Winpak Ltd., based out of Winnipeg, is selling off its printed paper bag business in Toronto (located on Laird Drive ) to another Winnipeg-based operation, Color Ad Packaging Ltd.
A complete packaging service provider, Winpak manufactures and distributes machines and materials for packaging/protecting perishable food items and for pharmaceutical applications. The company will consolidate its non-paper business lines from the Laird location into other Winpak facilities.
Color Ad, a manufacturer of labels, flexible packaging products and printed paper bags, has existing manufacturing facilities in Winnipeg, Toronto and Charlotte , North Carolina.

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RR Donnelley Completes Asia Printers Group Acquisition

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company, the largest North American printing company with sales over US$7 billion, has completed its purchase of Asia Printers Group Ltd., a book printer and financial printer.
RR Donnelley began involvement with China in 1993 through a joint venture with the Shenzhen Petrochemical Holding Co., Ltd. In 2001, RR Donnelley entered a second joint venture with the Shanghai Press and Publications Administration.
The Asia Printers Group produces high quality children's and other case bound books for export. It also designs, composes, and prints financial documents and annual reports in Hong Kong and the wider Asia region.

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Finland Paper Industry Back in Business

Fears of a global paper shortage and massive price increases have been alleviated with the resolution of the six-week shutdown of Finland's paper industry. The culmination of a labour dispute that began in November, the shutdown of dozens of UPM-Kymmene and Stora Enso mills ended on July 1st.
Finland accounts for about 4 percent of the world's paper production and more than 10 percent of magazine paper. However, even with production now back on track and exports resumed, the full impact will not be known until late July, once Q2 results are delivered. And since paper takes up to 6 weeks to cross the ocean and reach printers in North America, shortages and extended waiting times for lightweight coated groundwood are expected. Not helping matters is the fact that the labour situation at the UPM Miramichi plant in New Brunswick is still unresolved after seven months of striking.

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Events

The PIA is offering a workshop called Success with Stochastic Printing between June 27-29 in Pittsburgh , PA. Registration is US$895 for PIA/GATF members (US$,1095 non-members ). For more information, visit http://www.gain.net/conference (Keyword Search: 223).

Xerox and 25 industry partners are traveling across North America with its Innovate '05 tour, and the free seminar series hits Calgary, July 28th. 8:00AM - 4:30 pm at the Fairmont Palliser. www.innovate05.com

The International Association of Printing House Craftsmen is holding its 86th IAPHC International Convention August 9-14 in Jacksonville, Florida. For information https://www.iaphc.org

Xplor Canada's Central Chapter will be holding its annual charity golf tournament Thursday, August 11 at the Maples of Ballantrae Golf Club, in Stouffville, Ontario. www.xplorcanada.org

The OPIA is holding its annual Toronto Golf Classic on Wednesday, August 24th at the Nobleton Lakes Golf Club. OPIA members and guests cost $225 per person while non-members are $275 per person. Registration includes lunch, golf, cart and dinner. Email sbryant.opia@on.aibn.com to register.

Print + Pack Expo 2005, SignEx 2005 and Imaging Convergence Expo 2005 are all scheduled for August 25-27 at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong, China. For details, visit www.printpackexpo.com.

The EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK Conference, "Creating FuturePrint Through Innovation and Technology" will be held September 8 in McCormick Place, Chicago, the day before the opening of PRINT 05. www.gasc.org

PRINT 05 & CONVERTING 05, the largest commercial, package printing and converting event in the world this year, featuring nearly 800,000 square feet of exhibits, and hosting almost 900 exhibiting companies from around the world. Print 05 will be partnering with Seybold Seminars' newly created, Seybold Chicago 2005, to offer additional educational sessions during the international event at McCormick Place, Chicago, September 9-15 . For more information on PRINT 05 visit http://www.gasc.org. For more about Seybold visit http://www.Seybold365.com

If you're going to be visiting Print 05, be sure to check out the Critical Trends Breakfast on Monday September 12 at 7:30am in Room S105BCD. This is a breakfast you don't want to miss. To reserve your spot, call the Research and Engineering Council at 804-436-9922 or email recouncil@rivnet.net.

The Sign Association of Canada is hosting Consac Imagemakers 2005 between September 16-17, 2005 at the Toronto Congress Centre. http://www.sac-ace.ca/consac/

Labelexpo Europe 2005 is being held September 21-24 at the Brussels Expo, in Belgium. For details visit http://www.labelexpo-europe.com

The Canadian Printing Industries Association CPIA Annual Convention is being held September 28 to October 1 in Montreal . The theme for this year's event is Print: Trends and Realities! Earlybird registration is $625, along with a lower rate for companions and an additional charge for a day of golf. For more information contact the CPIA through http://www.cpia-aci.ca

SGIA 05, the Specialty Printing & Imaging Technology Show, dedicated to screen printing and large format digital printing, is being held September 28 - October 1 in New Orleans. Large format output is the name of the game at this show. Up to 15 percent of last year's attendees were commercial printers. For more information visit http://www.sgia.org/sgia05

The Ink on Paper conference, hosted by UK-based PIRA, hosts sessions on innovations in ink, paper and press technology. The two-day conference will feature a line up of scientists from paper mills, ink suppliers and press manufacturers. The conference is September 28 and 29 at the Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel, New Orleans, Louisiana. www.pira.co.uk

The International Card Manufacturers Association's ICMA Annual EXPO will be held October 16-19 at the Eden Roc Resort in Miami . This is the big event for the plastic card manufacturing industry. For further information visit http//www.icma.com.

IfraExpo 2005, the annual European event of the newspaper industry, will be held in Leipzig, Germany October 17-20. For more information visit www.ifra.com

Graphics Canada, the national printing trade show, will be held November 10-12, at the International Centre in Toronto. Visit www.graphicscanada.com

The Xplor International Vision 2005 Conference , a three-day event, November 11-13, at the Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando , Florida . The conference is open to all Xplor International and PIA/GATF members, as well as industry professionals from the electronic document, commercial printing and communications industries. For more information: www.xplor.org/leader05

Seybold San Francisco 2005 will be held at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco from November 29 to December 2. http://www.seybold365.com/sanfrancisco

Labelexpo Asia 2005 is taking place in Shanghai , China between December 7-9 . For more information, visit http://www.labelexpo-asia.com

2006

The 31st annual Graphics of the Americas trade show is co-locating with Xplor International's Global Conference to be held February 3-5 at Miami Beach . www.graphicsoftheamericas.com.

The next meeting of the PIA/GATF Presidents Conference will be March 12-16 in Oahu, Hawaii at the J.W. Marriott. www.gain.net

IPEX 2006 is taking place from April 4-11th, 2006 at the NEC in Birmingham, UK
http://www.ipex.org

The All In Print China 2006 is scheduled for June 14-16 in Shanghai. Exhibit categories include printing equipment, pre-media equipment and software, electronic and database publishing equipment, computer to plate technology, book binding and print finishing equipment as well as paper converting equipment and package production technology. www.mdna.com

2008

Drupa 2008 will be held from May 29 to June 11 , 2008 at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf Germany. There will be over 2,400,000 square feet of exhibition space with an expected attendance of over 300,000. www.mdna.com

For more events in your area, here are links to regional associations:

B.C. http://www.bcpia.org; http://www.vcphc.org/
Southern Alberta http://www.pgia.ca
Saskatchewan http://www.sgaia.org
Ontario http://www.opia.on.ca, www.digital-imaging-assoc.org
Quebec http://www.aagq.qc.ca

New Brunswick http://www.nbpia.org