Salesman Nabbed for Bogus Print Orders
EXTON, PA—A print salesman for Apple Press faces a number of charges for allegedly bilking the company of $6,200 in commission fees for fictitious job orders totaling more than $61,000, according to the Daily Local News of West Chester, PA. Christopher Mercier, recruited by the company last September through a human resources firm, faces charges including theft, receiving stolen property, forgery and unlawful use of a computer, the newspaper reported.

Smith Litho Closing its Doors
ROCKVILLE, MD—Smith Litho, a versatile commercial sheetfed, web, coldset and mailing operation, is closing its doors. The company will cease operation at the end of March, ending a nearly 37-year run. In arriving at the decision, CEO Charlie Smith cited revenue-decreasing factors such as the economy, increasing postal rates and the move toward digital alternatives.

USPS Offers 10-Year Viability Plan
WASHINGTON, DC—Facing unprecedented volume declines and a projected, cumulative $238 billion shortfall during the next decade, Postmaster General John Potter outlined an aggressive plan of cost cutting, increased productivity and an array of legislative and regulatory changes necessary to maintain a viable United States Postal Service.

DOC Rules Against Paper Importers
WASHINGTON, DC—The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) imposed preliminary countervailing duties (CVD) on imported coated paper from China and Indonesia to offset subsidies from those governments. Chinese coated paper companies were assessed duties ranging from 3.92 to 12.83 percent, while Indonesia importers were socked with a 17.48 percent duty.

HGI Teams Up with Quad/Graphics
SUSSEX, WI—HGI Co., a Burlington, WI-based commercial printer, and Quad/Graphics, one of the world's largest catalog, magazine, retail insert and direct mail printers, have entered into a strategic partnership to provide clients with an enhanced product and service offering on a global scale that is fast, flexible and meets rapidly evolving needs in a changing marketplace.
 

Final Presidents Conference a Boon for PrintPAC
SCOTTSDALE, AZ—The last PIA Presidents Conference, which wrapped up its five-day run here at the Fairmont Scottsdale on Thursday, featured the motto "Lessons Learned." For PrintPAC, the industry's political action committee, the conference proved to be an economic windfall, raising $25,000.

OPINIONS & FEEDBACK:

Do Printers Hire Former Print Buyers?
Wouldn’t an experienced print buyer make a terrific CSR? They can practically hit the ground running. What about print sales? Selling skills are a whole different animal, I know, but surely there are former buyers who have the “sales gene,” and with some training and guidance they could be very successful at selling print and related services.

Production/Quality Manager

Company Confidential

Englewood,NJ, United States

Customer/Sales Service

InfoSeal LLC

Roanoke,VA, United States

Manager, Printing, Graphics and Map Design

The World Bank

Washington D.C.,DC, United States

Graphics Designer

The World Bank

Washington D.C.,DC, United States

Copy Services Manager

University of Texas at Austin

Austin,TX, United States