September 29, 2004
Central Web buys Ed-Web
EDMONTON—Central Web Offset a heatset and coldset commercial printer recently acquired Ed-Web, another print shop about a quarter of Central Web’s size. Part owner and vice president, Earl Olsen, says the merge has brought different cut off abilities, more bindery and bigger coldset operations to the business, which markets across Canada. The Ed-Web shop will keep its original location. Central Web Offset, which also owns Calgary Color Press in Calgary is listed on Graphic Monthly’s Gold List with revenues of $20.3 million in 2003. Olsen anticipates the acquisition will bring that figure up to well over $30 million.

September 28, 2004
Quebecor World denies it is selling printing assets
MONTREAL—Quebecor World told PrintCAN it is not selling any printing assets. “It’s not true,” says company spokesperson Tony Ross, when asked to respond to growing industry speculation that the printing giant is looking to sell its sheetfed operations. PrintCAN has heard from several industry sources over the past few weeks that, due to weak sales, Quebecor World is working on an exit strategy from some parts of the industry.

September 24, 2004
Rémi Marcoux takes Printer of the Year
MISSISSAUGA, ON—Graphic Monthly has named Rémi Marcoux, executive chairman of the board of Transcontinental Inc., Printer of the Year for 2004. Marcoux co-founded Transcontinental in Quebec in 1976 and transformed a small shop with $2.9 million in sales into one of the largest printing companies in North America. Revenues in 2003 totalled $1.91 billion. He only recently stepped down as CEO, transferring the title to long-time associate, Luc Desjardins. Look for the full profile of Rémi Marcoux in the October issue of Graphic Monthly to hit desks sometime next week.

Print software theatre at Print Ontario
MISSISSAUGA, ON—Print Ontario will be featuring a print software theatre at this year’s show, in which visitors can take in free informative software presentations that range from 30 minutes to 45 minutes. Adobe will present the second, middle and last seminar of each day. Presentations will run on the hour between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday, November 20 and 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on November 21 and 22.

September 21, 2004
Ekstein new CPIA chairman
JASPER, AB—Jeff Ekstein, president of Concord, Ont.-based Willow Printing Group was elected chairman of the board of the Canadian Printing Industries Association this week at the association’s annual meeting. Ekstein was previously chairman of the CPIA government affairs committee and has also served on the OPIA (Ontario Printing Industries Association) board of directors and the OPIA government affairs committee. He also served as vice-president of Tek Users Group, an MIS system specific for the printing industry.

Decline in opt out to benefit direct mailers and Canada Post
MISSISSAUGA, ON—August statistics showed a 50% decline in the opt out rate on the new Canada Post Change of Address Notification cards with a clear and simple one check box format. NAMMU (National Association of Major Mail Users) lobbied for changing the format and wording on the cards after it identified the cards to have a negative impact on the mailing industry. Canada Post estimated 750,000 people who moved made themselves unavailable to mailers through the National Change of Address. Now, the opt-out rate is 30%. NAMMU says with the new form, consumers can make an informed decision, mailers can update their files quickly, and costly re-directs and return-to-senders will be reduced for Canada Post.

September 17, 2004
Building sales from inside your shop
MISSISSAUGA, ON—David Fellman, president of Fellman & Associates, a sales and marketing consulting firm serving the printing and business forms industries will be leading a seminar on identifying a broader range of customer needs and getting a larger share of a customer’s printing business at Print Ontario on November 21 and 22. Fellman will also share his customer service techniques to keep customers loyal and happy. His experience ranges from web shops to quick printing as a sales rep., sales manager, and sales and marketing executive.

Advance Bindery bought by Flash Reproductions
ETOBICOKE—PrintCAN has learned that Advance Bindery has been bought by Flash Reproductions. Five employees from Advance as well as equipment were moved to the Flash facilities as part of the merge. In July PrintCAN reported that the trade bindery had closed down.

September 14, 2004
Cascades considers dumping fine papers
KINSEY FALLS, QC—Cascades may sell off its fine papers business and close unprofitable plants in the next year according to a report on Bloomberg. The decision has come after the company’s first-ever strategic review of assets in 40 years. Producing fine papers accounted for 21% of Cascades revenue of $3.2 billion, and 2% of income before depreciation, making it the smallest and least profitable of the company’s three arms. According to the report, Domtar and Fraser Papers are potential buyers for the unit. Facilities among a dozen that are potential candidates for closures include a paper plant in Thunder Bay, Ont., which employs about 500 workers, and a packaging factory in Burnaby, B.C., with staff of about 150. The company will focus on packaging, which accounted for 59% of last year’s revenue and 69% of operating income, and tissue paper.

September 10, 2004
Adanac rumours just rumours
MARKHAM—Industry rumours that Adanac, formerly Adanac Graphics, a 40” sheetfed shop, is buying other companies or is in negotiations to merge with PLM Group are false according to the company’s president, Larry Downy. Last week, vice-president Gord Tamblyn left the company to retire. Also, according to PLM CEO Barry Pike, some Adanac sales people have left to work at PLM, but there are no plans for PLM to buy Adanac.

September 7, 2004
Chroma Colour begins anew
RICHMOND, B.C.—Chroma Colour Press has gone out of business and has been resurrected as Chroma Tech Ink, but is operating under the trade name, Chroma Colour. The commercial print shop is still run out of the same location, with the same equipment and production staff. According to president Victor Roza-Pereira, five staff who were hired to run the former company, joined the competition, taking most of the customer base with them. A lawsuit has been filed by Chroma Colour Press against the five former employees.

Quick printer author to speak at Print Ontario
MISSISSAUGA, ON—John Giles III, a sought-after speaker in both the U.S. and Canada will be speaking at a Print Ontario seminar on Nov. 21 and 22. The author of a DTP Workbook: A Quick Printer’s Guide to Marketing and Selling Desktop Publishing and a writer for many print trade publications, Giles will lead a seminar on ten digital secrets for printers. Billed as a no-nonsense guide to profitable prepress technology, the talk will include top trends in digital services, how standards can make selling digital easier, and how to create effective marketing programs. Visit www.printontario.com for more information.

September 3, 2004
Paper price increases
MISSISSAUGA, ON—Several paper producers across North America have announced or are planning to announce paper price increases this fall. The increases will vary according to grade. Weyerhaeuser announced price increases, effective Sept. 1, which range from 5-6% according to grade. Other suppliers were reluctant to disclose their increase percentages; however, some said the 6% mark was a reasonable ballpark figure to expect for certain grades. The paper suppliers we spoke to attributed the price hikes to activity and general market demand for the papers. “There are tight supply conditions in North America and a perceived pick up in printers’ activity,” says Marc Jasmine of Cascades. Jack Miller, director of market intelligence at Domtar, says a capacity surplus earlier this year of only 2% created a dynamic that caused tight demand and price increases. According to Paul Leclair, a senior analyst at Communications Papers, the trade association for North American printing and writing papers, there was roughly a 5% growth in demand for coated paper this year from last year. He cites one major reason as an increase in advertising spending in magazines.

Improving sales top of agenda
MISSISSAUGA, ON—Duncan MacGregor, Graphic Monthly columnist and president of the former industry powerhouse Arthurs-Jones will be presenting his best 20 sales ideas at Print Ontario, Nov.21 and 22. Duncan has more than 35 years of experience in the graphic arts industry. In his seminar, he will share past experiences and proven techniques for taking advantage of sales opportunities. Visit www.printontario.com for more details and other seminar listings.