Bruce Thompson

BY ERIK CAGLE When history compares the years 1998 and 2000 in regard to consolidation in the printing industry, two starkly contrasting results will be evident to the naked eye. There really is no comparison, as the degree of major consolidation has slacked off dramatically. Perhaps it is more important to note that the state of the industry during 2000 was not all that dissimilar from 1998, at least not from close range. Hindsight may eventually offer greater perspective, but the fact of the matter is the economic condition alone did not cause M&A activity to take a back seat. Wall Street rubbed its

As the consolidation march pauses to take a breath, the sector's leaders are taking the time to prove to Wall Street that they can manage their new empires. BY CHRISTOPHER CORNELL About this time two years ago, the trade press were using metaphors like "juggernaut" and "tidal wave" to describe the actions of a half-dozen companies in the graphic arts industry, as they began an awe-inspiring crusade to consolidate one of North America's more fractured business sectors. Any metaphor that implied inevitability seemed appropriate. Announcements of new acquisitions came, at times, weekly; sometimes they even appeared daily. What a difference two years can make.

The commercial printing industry's leading consolidators share their criteria for the art of the deal. BY ERIK CAGLE When one of our industry's acquisitions is among the top financial stories on "CNN," it becomes readily apparent that the world of commercial printing consolidation is heating up rather than slowing down. The highly anticipated deal that saw Quebecor Printing purchase one of the industry's leading consolidators, World Color Press, for $1.4 billion in cash and stock on July 12, was met by a lot of oohs and aahs. It was an impressive post-Fourth of July fireworks display, to be sure, even though many in the