AUSTIN, TX

The Ligature, a full-service printing company based in Los Angeles, announced today that it has opened a sales office in Chicago, and hired printing veteran Sharon Valasek to manage the growing demand for printing and engraving services in that region. The opening of the new office comes on the heels of The Ligature landing the printing of William Morris Endeavor Entertainment’s roll-out of its new brand identity.

Leaders in the quick and small commercial print industry will gather October 29-31 in Austin, TX, for the NAQP Owners Conference. Conference co-chairs Maco Amoyo, Bullet Graphics, Dallas, Jim Ferguson, J&J Printing, Lenexa, KS and Reece Keener, Print ‘N Copy Center, Inc. Elko, NV, along with NAQP staff, have created a dynamic program designed for printing companies determined to become and remain market leaders.

David Carr is now vice president of the Printing Industries Association, serving Northern Kentucky and Ohio (PIANKO). Carr was recently brought on board to head up the association's efforts to grow membership and to serve and assist existing members. Carr's sales experience spans more than 20 years and his experience in the graphic communications and printing industry goes back 16 years, ranging from prepress to production and post-production. Robert Romero, operations manager at Paragon Printing & Mailing in Austin, TX, has been named this year's "greatest" in sheetfed offset press operations and problem solving by the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (GATF). Romero won the GATF

CANTON, OH—More than 350 jobs and over 50 years of printing tradition were scheduled to disappear February 15 with the closing of Danner Press, located here. Workers were gathered in a warehouse January 22 and told that unless Hess Management, which owns the company, could find a potential buyer, it would close its doors. The lackluster publishing industry and the U.S. economic downturn were cited as reasons behind the move. Hess Management, based in Austin, TX, also owns The Press of Ohio in nearby Brimfield, OH, and a pair of D.B. Hess print production facilities in Illinois. None of these facilities is expected to close. According to

AUSTIN, TX—The loss of a major account and the emergence of print media alternatives proved to be too great a burden for Hart Graphics. In late February, the 89-year-old printing company announced it was closing its doors forever by the end of April. The end of the line for Hart Graphics, which failed in its attempts to locate a buyer, spells the loss of 225 jobs. The company said it was in the process of finding as many jobs as possible for its employees. "The decision had been a long time coming," Rich Barbee, president of Hart Graphics, told the Austin American-Statesman. "It has to do