Printing Impressions Reveals 2016 Printing Industry Hall of Fame Honorees
PHILADELPHIA — August 25, 2016 — Printing Impressions magazine and co-sponsor Rochester Institute of Technology jointly announce the Printing Impressions/RIT Printing Industry Hall of Fame inductees for 2016. The members of the 32nd induction class are:
Tom Metzger
• Tom Metzger, chairman and CEO, Metzgers, Toledo, Ohio. The company is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and Tom Metzger has done his part to ensure a prosperous future with the recent acquisition of a 10-color long perfecting press. Metzger ushered in a 40" era in 2006, and the past 10 years have been extremely fruitful for the $18 million offset, digital and wide-format printer.
Zarik Megerdichian
• Zarik Megerdichian, CEO, 4over, Glendale, Calif. The trade-only printer has set the industry on its ear with an incredible growth spurt during the company's 15-odd years in existence. A native of southern Iran, Zarik Megerdichian has grown sales beyond the $200 million mark and continues to open new facilities at a frenetic pace.
Laura Lawton-Forsyth
• Laura Lawton-Forsyth, president, Lawton Printing, Spokane, Wash. Laura Lawton-Forsyth joins Judith Booth, Joan Davidson, Janet Green and Diane Romano among the ranks of women who have been inducted into the Printing Industry Hall of Fame. A Cal Poly graduate and fourth-generation printer, Lawton-Forsyth continues to embrace technology advancements and is a tireless worker with the Printing Industries of America and her local affiliate, the Pacific Printing Industries Association.
Andy Lyke
• Andy Lyke, president, Ripon Printers, Ripon, Wis. The University of Notre Dame graduate has helped continue the tradition of sterling quality and on-time delivery in growing the company to beyond the $50 million plateau. Andy Lyke proudly presides over a firm that boasts numerous long-term employees, one that many larger printers turn to for overflow work. The high-quality output has earned Ripon Printers a reputation as a printer's printer.
Mark Michelson, editor-in-chief of Printing Impressions, notes that all four honorees hail from family-owned, privately held companies, a positive sign for the overall health and entrepreneurial spirit of the printing industry.
"As all of our honorees are under the age of 60, I think this further illustrates the notion that printing's leadership is in the hands of capable, forward-looking executives," Michelson said. "Each of these inductees is battle-tested and innovative, yet possess a sense of community within their own companies as well as the industry at large. A mix of old-fashioned values and work ethic, combined with a taste of 21st Century technology — that approach will keep the industry fresh and vibrant for many years to come."
The names of this year's honorees will join the ranks of past inductees on display at RIT's School of Media Sciences. All four will be profiled in the September issue of Printing Impressions.
