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American Banknote Acquires Arthur Blank & Co.
American Banknote Corp., parent of the ABnote Group, acquired Arthur Blank & Company for an undisclosed amount of cash and stock. The acquisition nearly doubles ABnote’s U.S. operations, and provides access to Arthur Blank’s capabilities, high-volume capacity and intellectual property, along with the ability to offer new products throughout the six continents that it serves. Arthur Blank will gain access to new customers, and will supplement its existing products through ABN’s Visa/Mastercard-certified facilities, and through its complimentary secure printing, warehousing and total fulfillment services. President and CEO Stuart Blank and Executive VP Eric Blank will assume responsibility for ABnote’s entire North American plastic card operations, including the ongoing management of Arthur Blank’s existing operations.

Staples Acquires Promotional Products Distributor
Staples Inc. acquired American Identity, a distributor of corporate-branded merchandise, from Republic Financial Corp. The deal gives Staples wider entry into the $18 billion promotional products market. Overland Park, Kan.-based American Identity will continue to operate as a separate business and will provide products through Staples’ North American retail businesses. Additionally, Staples said its first-quarter profit rose 12 percent as sluggish domestic sales growth was offset by strong gains in its office products delivery business and overseas operations.

VistaPrint Files Suit Against Taylor Co. Subsidiaries
VistaPrint Technologies Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of VistaPrint Ltd., filed a patent infringement lawsuit against 123 Print Inc. and DrawingBoard Inc., subsidiaries of Taylor Corp. VistaPrint alleges that 123 Print and DrawingBoard have infringed on three patents owned by VistaPrint related to browser-based tools for online product design.

R.R. Donnelley Sues Phone Directory Publisher
R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. is suing telephone-directory publisher Ad-Ventures Hawaii, claiming the Honolulu-based company owes more than $800,000 for the printing and production of its 2005 directories, according to a Pacific Business News story. Citing nine invoices delivered in February and April of 2006, the lawsuit calls the delay of payment “vexatious and unreasonable,” noting the receipt of only $58,808 toward the bills.
In other news, R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. has been awarded a multi-year $49.7 million contract by the Government Printing Office for printing, supply chain management and other services to support the 2010 census. R.R. Donnelley will produce and coordinate the mailing of census questionnaires to more than 120 million U.S. households. The company will start producing census-related materials in 2008. Additionally, R.R. Donnelley this week announced completion of its purchase from Visant Corp. of Von Hoffmann, a printer of books and other products that serve the education, trade and business-to-business catalog markets. The $412.5 million deal was announced in January.

Cardinal Brands Faces Protests as it Closes Plant
About 25 people protested in May when Cardinal Brands moved equipment from its Topeka, Kan., plant to Mexico, according to a story in The Topeka Capital-Journal. Cardinal Brands, owner of Adams Business Forms, announced last year plans to move printing presses to its plants in Matamoros and Valle Hermoso, Mexico, and Independence, Mo., and close the Topeka plant. An April 20 story said union employees at Adams Business Forms weren’t happy with the severance offer.

Mass. Fires Printing Firm After Privacy Breach
The state of Massachusetts fired an Indiana printing company that mailed dozens of taxpayers’ forms with their neighbors’ Social Security numbers, according to a Boston Globe story. The state revenue department canceled the contract with Allison Payment Systems of Indianapolis, which received $235,000 a year to print and mail Estimated Income Tax coupon books to more than 411,000 taxpayers statewide. The department has replaced Allison, whose contract was to expire in August 2009, with Diversified Business Systems of Haverhill, Mass. The tax coupons that Diversified plans to mail for 2008 and subsequent years will include only the last four numbers of the recipient’s Social Security numbers as a safeguard.

Travelers Commercial Launches Insurance Product for Commercial Printers
Travelers Commercial Accounts introduced IndustryEdge insurance coverage for medium-sized commercial printers with more than $15 million in sales. The suite addresses the coverage implications of the technological changes in the printing industry. Until recently, the primary exposure associated with a printer was an error or omission in the materials being printed for a customer, and any ensuing financial harm. The coverage now includes:
• Separate limit set for correction of work & product recall, including cost to repair, replace or recreate electronic data as part of insured’s printing services or products.
• Broadened definition of printing services or products to include electronic data.
• Coverage for subcontractors working on the insured’s behalf for damages from wrongful acts.
• Prior Acts coverage to address accounts transitioning from claims-made policies.
• Definition of damages to include the cost or expense to repair, replace or recreate electronic data of others.
• Worldwide coverage territory if suit is brought in the United States, Puerto Rico or Canada.

Prepare for Hurricane Season
As hurricane season approaches, 71 percent of businesses don’t have a disaster plan in place, according to a survey by Office Depot. Business owners can take simple and inexpensive steps now to ensure that their businesses will survive later, says Jon Toigo, chief executive of research firm Toigo Partners International and the author of several books on disaster recovery:
• Safety of employees comes first. Companies should create a contact list so they can easily communicate with staffers in the case of a hurricane.
• Establish an emergency plan that covers how you will handle different scenarios. For example, have a phone tree or a clear process for communication.
• In case office workers are stuck inside, the office should be equipped with a first-aid kit, flashlights, batteries, bottled water and a battery-powered radio.
• Businesses should protect their work by backing up data and storing it in a safe and remote place. Toigo recommends backing up contracts, orders and inventories onto a flash drive and sticking it in your pocket at the end of each day or week.

WorkflowOne to Offer Print Management Services to UPMC
WorkflowOne said that under its subcontractor agreement to Océ Business Services, the company has secured a multi-year contract with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) to provide a comprehensive program of offsite print management. WorkflowOne will provide a supplemental strategy for UPMC’s outsourced print, including an analysis of UPMC’s business stationery, marketing materials and forms, and candidates for print-on-demand or migration to electronic versions.

Cenveo Announces Q1 Results
Cenveo Inc. announced its results for the three months ended March 31, 2007. Cenveo reported net income of $18.7 million as compared to net income of $112.2 million in the first quarter of 2006. The first quarter 2007 results include income from discontinued operations, net of taxes, of $16.3 million as compared to $121.1 million in 2006, primarily related to the sale of Supremex, a manufacturer and marketer of a broad range of stock and custom envelopes and related products in Canada. Net sales for the quarter increased 8 percent to $414.7 million from $385.3 million in 2006 due to the acquisitions of Cadmus Communications and Printegra, which both closed in the first quarter of 2007.

Consolidated Graphics’ Q4 Revenues Up; CFO to Leave
Consolidated Graphics Inc. announced financial results for its fourth quarter and year-ended March 31, 2007. Revenue for the March quarter was $263.9 million compared to $221.9 million a year ago. For the fiscal year ended March 31, revenue was a record $1.01 billion, up 14 percent compared to $879 million in fiscal 2006. The company also said that G. Christopher Colville, executive vice president and CFO, will be leaving June 30 to pursue personal interests.

Postage Rates Increase
New postage rates went into effect in May, including a two-cent increase in the price of a First-Class mail stamp to 41 cents. First Class mail will see an average increase of 7 percent, but postage rates for certain classes of mail—flats and parcels—will rise as much as 40 to 60 percent.

MeadWestvaco Reports Q1 Loss
MeadWestvaco Corp. posted a quarterly loss versus a year-ago profit, mainly due to restructuring charges related to employee separation costs and facility closures. The first quarter net loss totaled $16 million, compared with a profit of $3 million in the year-ago period. Sales in the quarter rose 8 percent to $1.55 billion.

Brandt Affixing Moves to Larger Facility
Brandt Affixing Inc. recently relocated its operation to a larger facility at 1432 Wainwright Way, Suite 116, Carrollton, TX 75007. The 35,600- square foot facility offers more that 13,000 square feet of warehouse space and 18,000 square feet of production space. It includes plans for a multimedia conference room suitable for customer training, on-site educational programs and plant tours.

Leslie Co. Celebrates 30 Years
The Leslie Company is celebrating its 30th year of manufacturing custom imprinted presentation products through employee appreciation events, special distributor promotions and giveaways. In 1977, The Leslie Company began offering vinyl binders and heat-sealed products. Today, it offers offset printing with index tabs, pocket folders, turned-edged binders and calendars, book printing and finishing, and fulfillment services.

Admore Wins Four Awards
Admore, a division of Ennis Inc., won recognition at “The Gallery of Superb Printing, The Detroit Club of Printing House Craftsmen” Awards Dinner April 17. The annual awards program recognizes companies for outstanding workmanship in the industry. Admore won four awards for its sales kit, a custom-designed 4-color binder, a UV treated piece, and a folder without inserts. Additionally, Ernie Fletcher, Admore’s research and development manager, was recognized as the “Technical Craftsman of the Year.”

Performance Group Wins its Third Excellence Award
Performance Group Inc., Omaha, Neb., recently won the 2007 Omaha 25 Excellence in Business Award presented by the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce. Performance Group, which won the award for the third time, was recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in Omaha. The awards recognize small businesses for growth, contributions to the community, creativity and vision.

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