Oprah Winfrey

By Erik Cagle Senior Editor The book printing industry in America cannot live on Harry Potter's whimsy and Oprah Winfrey's blessings to survive in an environment that's losing share to overseas competition. Hit titles such as the J.K. Rowling line of Potter tomes, and the popularity heft that the afternoon talk show queen can put behind a new or backlisted work, can create a stir in both the publishing and printing industries. What the leading book manufacturers from our Printing Impressions 400 are looking for is consistency from the educational market. Top 10 Book Printers  CompanySegmentSales(millions)TotalSales(millions) 1Quebecor WorldMontreal$704$6,400 2RR DonnelleyChicago$656$8,204 3Banta

BY ERIK CAGLE School's in session and book printers large and small couldn't be happier. The year 1998 will be remembered for a number of things in the book printing industry, such as the consolidation in both the publishing and manufacturing realms. Despite this M&A activity, the elementary/high school market, along with college level and juvenile books, propelled the industry. Even the trade market, with best sellers and Oprah Winfrey touting its virtues, couldn't steal the el-hi/college thunder. Top 10 Book Printers CompanySegmentSales(millions)Total Sales(millions)1R.R. Donnelley & SonsChicago$776.00$4,850.002Quebecor PrintingMontreal$522.00$3,480.00 3Banta Corp. Menasha, WI$240.00$1,200.004World Color PressGreenwich, CT$220.00$2,000.005Bertelsmann Industries U.S. Berryville, VA$163.30$230.00 6Golden Books PublishingSturtevant, WI$160.00$200.007Courier Corp.North Chelmsford,

This is column number 154. One five four! They don't call me old Rhetoric Breath for nothin'. It also marks my 14th anniversary writing for Printing Impressions. By the time you read this column, a whole bunch of people, including yours truly, will be in Chicago at GRAPH EXPO. I'm being inducted into the Soderstrom Society during GRAPH EXPO, and, if I'm not mistaken, you will have to start calling me "Sir Mañana Man" or maybe it's "Lord Mañana Man." The Soderstrom Society is kind of like being knighted or something, I think. There's lots of news as I write this. By the time you