May 28, 2004
Print production gets a hero
TORONTO—A new book is the first of its kind to spell out the print production process for magazine art directors. Look Like A Hero is an 84-page guide published by Masthead magazine, the sister publication to Graphic Monthly and PrintCan, created to help designers get the best possible printed results. Packed with hands-on tips and illustrated examples on prepress, paper, colour management, and press and bindery considerations, the book is designed to demonstrate real ink-on-paper results found in magazine production and printing. Six different paper stocks were used and the pages are a mix of web and sheetfed outputs. Quebecor World, Transcontinental Media, General Printers, BCW Bindery and Stora Enso are among the sponsors who contributed to the production. Publisher Doug Bennet says he hopes Look Like A Hero will become an essential tool that is upgraded as technology advances, much like the Pocket Pal of the printing industry. An ongoing feedback forum as well as ordering information and behind-the-scenes photos of the guide’s production can be found at www.looklikeahero.com.

Canada to follow U.S. print promotion lead
OTTAWA—Following the PIA-GATF’s initiative last year to promote print as a preferred means of communication, the CPIA says it will also initiate activities for the Canadian market. South of the border, the initiative is being jointly developed with the U.S. Postal Service. Likewise, the CPIA has approached Canada Post to discuss a joint venture and says the initial response was very positive. The Associations aim to convey a message to marketing and communications decision makers that print has proven effectiveness compared to other media. The CPIA in particular quotes a study that finds 64% of Canadians read addressed direct mail on arrival and that most welcome direct mail, as compared with other methods of direct marketing. Look for several tools to be introduced in the near future including a Print Promotion Kit for use by CPIA members and industry associations to promote print media.

May 25, 2004
Newsprint supplier raises prices
SINGAPORE—PanAsia Paper, the largest newsprint supplier in Asia outside of Japan, is raising its newsprint prices for the second time this year. The price will be going up by US$50 a tonne due to global demand pressure, bringing the price up to US$570-$600 in July. The company is also hinting at a further increase later this year due to the improving economic conditions in the region. According to the company, the Asia-Pacific region is experiencing higher advertising spending and increasing newsprint consumption. The company also mentions the Pulp and Paper Products Council of Montreal as predicting a 2.8% growth in global newsprint demand, which is healthier than last year’s increase of 0.9%. Some industry members predict that although paper prices will increase this year, they will stabilize next year, after the Olympics and several elections are over.

Print gets eaten up
CINCINNATI, OH—Just when you thought you had a handle on coated plastic, there’s a new substrate on the market: potato chips. Proctor & Gamble has created Pringles Prints using the “revolutionary” new Prints technology to customize its stacked chips by printing words and images in a variety of colours on each chip. The printing will be done using food colouring and a proprietary technology, reportedly the first of its kind to be used on food. The company is teaming up with Hasbro to print questions and answers from Trivial Pursuit on the chips.

May 20, 2004
Deluxe to buy NEBS
MIDLAND, ON—Deluxe Corp., the U.S. cheque and business form printing company is set to purchase NEBS (New England Business Service) for approximately US$586.8 million as well as assuming US$160 million of NEBS outstanding debt. NEBS is a U.S.-based company that supplies small businesses with cheques, business forms and promotional products. Greg Neath, president of NEBS Canada says that he is excited from a Canadian standpoint and excited to work with the world’s biggest cheque printer. He says that he expects the acquisition will create a chance to accelerate growth potential. NEBS Canada operates a manufacturing location in Midland, Ont., a payroll service in Cambridge, Ont. and a call centre in Montreal.

Repro Action plans to close
Rouyn-Noranda, QC—Repro Action has been sold to Impressions Plus and will officially shut down as its own entity in three to four months. Manager and former co-owner of Repro Action, Gilles Provencher, says that the print shop suffered financially after it invested in new technology and then had to deal with a downturn in the economy. About 50% of Repro Action’s employees have been hired on by Impressions Plus.

May 18, 2004
More Transcontinental shifts in P.E.I. and New Brunswick
MONTREAL—Continuing with its grand Atlantic restructuring, after the acquisition of Optipress, Transcontinental is reorganizing operations in P.E.I. and New Brunswick. The company notified employees at the Borden plant last week that it plans to cease sheetfed commercial printing at that location. Some of the sheetfed production is being moved to Charlottetown, but the majority of that work will be done at the Moncton, N.B., facility in an effort to centralize the production. A third of the Borden facility will be left empty and there are no immediate plans for the space. Borden’s newsprint sector will not be affected by the restructuring. About 32 jobs will be cut at plants in Fredericton, Borden, and Charlottetown; however, 21 jobs will be added in Moncton and Charlottetown, resulting in a net loss of 11 jobs.

New barcode start up
BURLINGTON, ON—Label Image Industries opened shop in Burlington, Ontario in April. The one-man shop prints labels for large logistics centres and fulfillment centres that outsource their label printing as well as new businesses that need guidance on barcode and UPC requirements. Owner Mike Sampson has more than ten years experience in the industry and was most recently a prepress specialist at Barcode Express.

May 11, 2004
Quebecor World shuffles American operations
MONTREAL—Quebecor World is shutting down a plant in Effingham, Illinois, in a restructuring of its U.S. magazine operations, which will result in the loss of 600 jobs. The company says that 200 jobs will be created at other magazine plants in the U.S. and that Effingham employees are eligible for jobs at other sites. Some equipment from the Effingham plant will be dismantled and installed at other locations. The company says that the reorganization of its U.S. magazine offset platform will include additional investment in new technologies. Quebecor expects a restructuring charge in the range of $25 million in its second-quarter results due to the closure.

Heidelberg shares go public
HEIDELBERG, Germany—Heidelberg’s free float has increased from 22% to 57% as a result of RWE AG’s sale of Heidelberg shares directly into the market. Through an accelerated book binding process, RWE placed 30 million shares, which represent 34.9% of the share capital of Heidelberg with international institutional investors, creating a new extended shareholder base. RWE, which had been Heidelberg’s major shareholder since 1940, has been placing stock in the capital market since 1997. The exchangeable bond will raise Heidelberg’s free float up to 72% by 2007. Until then, RWE will hold a 15% share of Heidelberg.

May 11, 2004
New Edmonton printer
EDMONTON—McCallum Printing Group recently set up shop in downtown Edmonton. CEO Richard McCallum has owned and operated commercial print shops in the Edmonton area for more than twenty-five years, including Quality Colour Press, Commercial Colour Press and Douglas Printing. McCallum Printing specializes in short-run digital colour work and high-end offset printing, producing posters, banners, point-of-purchase displays, letterhead, business cards, flyers, books, calendars, annual reports and more. The new operation is equipped with two 6-colour 40” Heidelberg machines and a Xerox digital press and offers thermal CTP, stochastic screening and C1P4 workflow.

More Atlantic shuffling at Transcontinental
MONTREAL—Transcontinental has reorganized its Newfoundland printing operations by expanding its plant in Corner Brook to print seven weekly newspapers and by restructuring operations in Grand Falls-Windsor. The Corner Brook expansion will add eight jobs at the operation, whereas the restructuring at Grand Falls-Windsor will cut 11 of the 47 jobs at the plant. Affected employees will be offered other jobs in the company or a buyout package. The reorganization follows Transcontinental’s recent purchase of the printing and publishing company, Optipress, which also led to a restructuring of the company’s Nova Scotia operations in March.

May 7, 2004
Web Offset and LinkPath in process of rebranding
PICKERING, ON—Web Offset Publications and related operations LinkPath Internet Network Corp. and LinkPath Graphics are to be run as a family of services under Ironstone Media Corporation. Daniel Glazerman, vice president of sales and marketing, says that Ironstone Media was created as a means to better manage and market the three entities under one recognizable name. Ironstone Media will be marketed as a provider of cross-media services and digital products. The new name, as well as further services that LinkPath and Web Offset are now offering with the addition of a new HP Indigo and three new sales staff, will be announced to the publishing community at the Masthead Trade Show, the trade show for the magazine industry held at the Magazines University conference in June in Toronto. Plans are also underway for an official launch open house in September.

Quebecor World first quarter profit up; jobs cut
MONTREAL—Quebecor World announced its first quarter results for 2004, which had a net income of $36 million compared to net income of $24 million in the first quarter of 2003. The company also announced it will cut 368 more jobs, mostly in its North American operations. In the first quarter Quebecor World incurred $4.3 million of restructuring and other charges that are primarily related to the employee reductions. Already 331 positions have been eliminated and the remainder will be completed by the end of the second quarter. This restructuring is in addition to more than 2,200 jobs that were cut as part of the 2003 restructuring. Pierre Karl Peladeau, president and CEO of Quebecor World, told shareholders that despite the improved results the company continues to face a challenging market environment that has resulted in overcapacity and negative price pressures. “As a result, we remain dedicated to further reducing costs and improving efficiencies across our global platform," said Peladeau.

May 4, 2004
NexPress Digital is born
ROCHESTER, N.Y.—It’s official, Eastman Kodak has completed its acquisition of NexPress Solutions LLC and Heidelberg Digital LLC from Heidelberg as well as NexPress GmbH, Heidelberg’s German subsidiary. According to the press release from the company, the acquired companies will operate as a combined business and be renamed NexPress Digital, LLC. Kodak did not pay any cash for the operations. Rather, it will use a performace-based earn-out formula based on sales goals to acquire the business. If sales goals are met, Kodak will make periodic payments to Heidelberg over a two-year period, which will total a maximum of $150 million in cash. Kodak has hired more than 350 sales and service personnel for the NexPress 2100 and Digimaster product lines. Leading NexPress Digital will be Venkat Purushotham, president and CEO of NexPress Solutions. He will report to Kodak’s president of commercial printing, James Langley.

Adanac but not Adanac Graphics
MARKHAM, ON—PrintCan has learned that Adanac Graphics is no longer in business but a new entity is operating under the name of Adanac. In March PrintCan reported that Gandalf, a large-format shop had gone into bankruptcy and that Adanac, an associated company, was not threatened by the closure. Adanac, a 40” sheet-fed shop, operates out of the same location and has hired some former employees of Gandalf on a contract basis.