August 30, 2002
Friesens prints record number of books for Canadian Children's Book Week
ALTONA, Man.—Friesens Book Printers, along with the Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) and TD Bank Financial Group, will make 450,000 grade-one children very happy during Canadian Children's Book Week in November. As one of the largest print runs in Canada for children's books—a typical print run is around 5,000 to 10,000 copies—450,000 copies of When Jeremiah Found Mrs. Ming will be printed and distributed to children across Canada for the week-long event. Helena Aalto, interim executive director of the CCBC, says the book is just about to go to press. The 24-page, four-colour, illustrated book was originally published in 1992 and will be reprinted with a special letter on the inside back cover from the CEO of TD Bank Financial Group, who is funding the project. Aalto says this is the third year that Friesens has printed the special giveaway book.

Trustee looking for buyer for Delgraphics
BRAMPTON, Ont.—From discussions with the trustee, BDO Dunwoody, PrintCan has learned that executives at Delgraphics opted to declare bankruptcy because it couldn't keep up with its debts. The representative, who preferred to remain anonymous, says a management company is in place at the moment operating Delgraphics. The trustee is currently looking for potential buyers for the company. Including both secured and unsecured creditors, the Brampton printer owes more than $3.5 million, with almost $2.5 million of that owed to Canada Customs and Revenue Agency. That includes payroll remittances, GST, penalties and interest.

August 28, 2002
Brampton printer files for bankruptcy
BRAMPTON—Delgraphics, a Brampton, Ont., printer, has filed for bankruptcy. Few details were available and president Ronald DeLuca and son Jason DeLuca were not available for comment. According to a notice of bankruptcy from the trustee, Delgraphics owes more than $3 million to unsecured creditors. The first meeting of creditors is scheduled to take place in September. Look for further details to appear on PrintCan.

August 27, 2002
Recent Ryerson grad killed in motorcycle accident
TORONTO—Chia Tse, a recent Ryerson Graphic Communications Management (GCM) graduate, was killed last week in a motorcycle accident. A memorial was held in Scarborough last Friday for friends and colleagues and a funeral service will take place in his hometown of Vancouver. "He had a wide circle of friends and acquaintances here and had a lot of reach to various groups in the industry," says Gillian Mothersill, a colleague and professor with the Ryerson program. Tse graduated from the GCM program at the top of his class in 1999 where he was awarded the gold medal. After graduating, he taught courses at Ryerson and was employed full-time at Bowne of Toronto in the human resources department as a prepress support technician.

August 23, 2002
Data Business Forms expands and consolidates
BRAMPTON, Ont.—A new facility is currently being constructed in Brampton that will consolidate three of Data Business Forms' (DBF) locations. The new 140,000 sq. ft. building will house its national accounts office, stock forms specialty facility, and its lithographic plant, which includes its pressure-sensitive division, digital print centre and distribution centre. Andrew MacGregor, DBF's manager of communications, says the new location provides lots of room for growth. "The move is driven by growth. We needed to expand." He says the move is scheduled to begin in January and will be staggered "in order to maintain continuous service." MacGregor says the company expects the move to be completed by April.

St. Joseph's sales continue to rise in Q2
CONCORD, Ont.—St. Joseph showed an increase in sales for the second quarter ended June 30. Revenue was up 7% to $75.7 million from the same time last year—a $5.1 million increase. Over the first six month period of this year, sales still remain ahead from the same period last year at $155.2 million, a 6% increase. The company attributes the majority of its growth from its acquisition of publisher Key Media in the first quarter.

August 20, 2002
Best Copy owner seeks apology
TORONTO—The owner of Best Copy is looking for an apology from the media and the police after his shop became connected to the events of Sept. 11. Ahmed Shehab's downtown Toronto shop was raided by police and items, including computers and documents, were confiscated for evidence. Shehab's nephew, Nabil al-Marabh, was placed on a list of 200 people wanted for questionning related to the terrorist attacks and Best Copy was thought to have been involved in producing fake documents used by those terrorists. According to an article in the Toronto Star, a federal judge in a Buffalo court has found that al-Marabh is no longer a suspect in the attacks. With that, all seized items have been returned to the shop and no charges were laid against Shehab. Although Shehab was not available for comment at this time, he said in a CBC radio interview that these events have jeopardized his business, causing people to be afraid to come into his shop, and has ruined his family name. When contacted, Shehab's lawyer, Rocco Galati, refused comment.

PLM boasts eighth consecutive profitable quarter
MARKHAM, Ont.—PLM Group is on a roll with its eighth consecutive profitable quarter. Although sales for the second quarter, ended June 30, were down 10% from a year ago, sitting at $22.5 million, its net earnings increased to $1.2 million. The company has received approval to repurchase almost 1.4 million of its common shares. As of June 30, PLM bought 139,500 shares and during July, an additional 148,000 shares were purchased.

August 16, 2002
Revenue for Q2 remains consistent
DARTMOUTH, N.S. and OTTAWA—Sales were consistent at Newfoundland Capital Corp. for the second quarter ended June 30. Its printing and publishing division pulled in $14.1 million, up from $13 million from the same time last year. The company recently sold that division to newly formed company Optipress for about $43 million. NCC invested $12 million in Optipress to retain a 20% interest in the company. On the whole, NCC's revenue for the quarter increased by 14% to $27.6 million. Canadian Bank Note didn't fare as well in the quarter with its sales sliding to $26.5 million from $32.7 million from the same period in 2001.

Moore certifies financial results
MISSISSAUGA, Ont., and STAMFORD, Conn.—With all of the controversy and scandal surrounding errors in financial reports in the U.S., several major companies are certifying their results. Moore is now one of those firms. Both chairman and CEO Robert Burton and CFO Mark Hiltwein have signed a certification form regarding the company's recent second quarter results ended June 30. This ensures that all information fairly and accurately represents the financial condition of the company. The forms have been submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

August 13, 2002
Vancouver printer donates services for benefit concert
VANCOUVER—Mills Printing and Stationery is among several corporations that are donating services for a charity concert, the largest in Vancouver's history. Mills is printing the event posters free of charge. Glenn Tegtmeier, account manager at Mills, says about 2,000 of the two-colour posters measuring 18" x 24" will be printed and distributed across Vancouver. The B.C. Cancer Foundation hopes to raise $1 million from the October concert that will feature Canadian artists like Bryan Adams, Jann Arden and the Barenaked Ladies. "When approached to do the job, understanding the circumstances, it was something we were quite agreeable to and happy to be a part of," he says. "There aren't a lot of benefit concerts of this magnitude and it's a great cause." Mills, a 20,000 sq. ft. facility with 50 employees, is based in Vancouver. The family-owned company is in its 53rd year of operation.

Transcontinental completes CanWest purchase
MONTREAL—Transcontinental has completed its acquisition of CanWest Global Communications' newspapers and publications in Saskatchewan and Atlantic Canada. The sale, worth $255 million, is expected to generate $100 million annually, with revenues being accounted for in the fourth quarter of the company's current fiscal year. Nearly 900 employees are accounted for in the sale of the 12 newspapers, 32 publications and printing operations of both Ad Venture in Saskatoon and Williams & Crue in Summerside, P.E.I., making it the largest transaction in the company's history. Transcontinental Media is the second-largest publisher of community newspapers now owning 79, 10 of which are dailies, in eight provinces across Canada.

August 09, 2002
Henderson Index loses its momentum
MISSISSAUGA, Ont.—The second installment of Graphic Monthly's Henderson Index is out. The rising momentum continued into May where the index peaked at 1877, a record for the industry. That month saw Transcontinental's shares gain $4 in one day to reach a record high for the company of $43. That was until June when the chart sank back down to March levels of 1670. Most of the major companies were hit hard including Quebecor, Moore, Transcontinental and Winpak. The only company to increase its stock during the fall was Davis + Henderson. It rose to $10.95 from $10.38. Look for the complete index of the ups and downs in the August issue, along with industry related features and columns.

Transcontinental takes share price lead
TORONTO—Earlier this week, Transcontinental's share price overtook Quebecor World's for the first time in recent memory, possibly ever. In the middle of the day on Wednesday, Aug. 7, Transcontinental was trading at $39 to Quebecor World's $38.95, making it the priciest publicly listed printing company in Canada. However, by end of day, Transcontinental slipped behind Quebecor World again. Stephane Milot, director of investor relations at Transcontinental, said the company was happy with its performance, which is a reflection of its strong growth, mix of products and its proactive continuous-improvement programs. He also said that recent acquisitions, media coverage and nearly doubling its market cap has attracted more investors who focus on large-cap companies.

August 07, 2002
B.C. introduces Clean Print program
VANCOUVER—British Columbia is gearing up to introduce CleanPrint BC, a program to help printers prepare and execute environmental-management programs. The goal of CleanPrint BC is to improve environmental management practices while maintaining economic competitiveness. Art Seto, CleanPrint BC coordinator, says four pilot programs have just wrapped up and he is getting ready to roll out the program to other printers. The benefits to printers who adopt the progam, he says, include cost-savings in handling alcohol and other solvents, but it will also help to keep legislators at bay. As long as printers can demonstrate they are handling the problem on their own, the government won't legislate matters. Clean Print BC in a non-profit partnership of several B.C. printers, some suppliers, Environment Canada, Industry Canada and the Greater Vancouver Regional District. There is no charge to printers who participate. For more information, go to www.cleanprint.org/bc

Revenues increase for CCL and Winpak
TORONTO and WINNIPEG—Sales have improved for both CCL Label and Winpak in the second quarter ended June 30. CCL's Label division posted revenue of $102.9 million, up from $101.7 million in 2001. As a whole, CCL Industries had net sales of $426.6 million for the quarter. As for Winpak, the Winnipeg company saw revenue rise to $119.6 million—an increase of 1.2% from the previous year. Although not a big jump, its net earnings rose 44.2% to $11.5 million.

August 02, 2002
Roboshop assets go on auction
TORONTO—The assets of Roboshop, including an OmniAdast 755CP DI, will be sold at auction on Thursday, Aug. 8. Roboshop, the first print shop in Canada to install a direct-imaging press, was bought a few years ago by Mississauga-based prepress house Imaginex. It also ran into difficulty and was recently purchased by prepress company Schawk Canada. Aside from the five-colour, 20" x 26" DI press, other equipment includes a Challenge cutter, a Horizon collator with stitcher folder and trimmer, a Morgana folder, a Minolta colour copier with Fiery RIP, a CreoScitex Eversmart scanner and X-Rite spectrometers. The auction will be held at 36 Toronto St. in downtown Toronto (one block east of Yonge St. and Adelaide St.).

Standard Register moves into Canada
MARKHAM, Ont.—Standard Register, one of the largest forms printers in the U.S., has made its first foray into Canada with the acquisition of software developer InSystem Technologies. InSystem creates software that helps companies, particularly insurance and financial institutions, manage, store and distribute their electronic information, including electronic forms. Standard Register, while a forms printer, has a consulting practice to improve workflow processes and also focuses on helping companies move from paper-based, information-management processes to digital ones. A spokesperson for Standard Register said the company is looking to expand its client base in Canada and is betting that InSystems can help it do that. Standard Register paid US$89 million for InSystems which has revenues of about US$24 million.