BRAMPTON— Data Communications (  old Data Business Forms) has bought Thistle Printing of Toronto and Eclipse Colour of Burlington Ontario. It will add about $37 million in sales. Data a public trades company will pay cash and shares in the company to pay for the acquisitions. The company has also increased its borrowing.


Eclipse Colour & Imaging is in the large format and point of purchase business as well packaging. They had sales of about $21 million.Ralph Misale and Grant Malcolm had bought the company in 2010 from the US owner. Eclipse has both wide format equipment and oversize offset presses ( manroland 72"). Data is planning to relocate its wide format in Mississauga to Eclipse in Brampton.


Thistle Printing a 40 sheet fed shop in Toronto does about $16 million and will be Data's Eastern Canadian commercial opperation . Sundog in Calgary has been their westen one for a while. Thisle is also one of the few union shops left. Thisle was number 71 on Graphic Monthly's list of top printers in Canada. Thistle was also owned by a company owned by Kingsley Ward who is the Chairman of the board of Data . The deal for Thistle was handled by an independent committee od Data.