Des Moines, IA

DES MOINES, IA—The Wall Street Journal plans to close its regional printing plant here in April and contract the printing of its newspaper, along with the weekly Barron's, to The Des Moines Register, that paper reported. The current WSJ plant, which employs 25, produced publications for a four-state area. The Register's plant will add six additional and several part-time staffers to handle the added work. WSJ has closed three other regional plants in the past six months, the Register reported.

SOMETIMES, seemingly unrelated elements combine as brush strokes to paint a bigger picture. That certainly seemed the case as we finalized this issue before going to press. Although filled with a range of diverse articles and columns, together they serve as a microcosm of current industry realities and trends. For example, take this month’s cover story profile of Bindery 1, a flourishing trade bindery based in Des Moines, IA, which celebrated its 30th anniversary last year. Founded by Polish immigrants, the company reins have been passed to the second generation—led by daughters Gigi and Renatta and their spouses. A true family affair, Gigi came

CHICAGO—The CAPS Group has obtained a pair of prepress companies from Group360 Visual Communications: NEC Inc. and NK Graphics. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The combined annual revenues of the acquired companies are roughly $15 million, bringing CAPS Group’s total to approximately $90 million. The CAPS Group services advertising agencies, design firms and publishers. The acquisition will expand its magazine publishing and educational book publishing segments. NEC, based in Nashville, TN, is a leader in the consumer magazine publishing market and has facilities in Birmingham, AL; Des Moines, IA; and New York City. NK Graphics, of West Chesterfield, NH, provides graphic composition services primarily

DES MOINES, IA—President Bush reached out to the heartland of America and its small business community while visiting a commercial printer here to touch on a topic that has made dubious headlines in the news lately—401(k) pension plans. In light of the bankruptcy of energy concern Enron and the subsequent loss of employee retirement plans tied into company stock, the president made The Printer—a 150-employee commercial printer—a stop on his retirement security reform tour on March 1. Holding out The Printer as the ideal model for small businesses that offer 401(k) plans, President Bush took the opportunity to revisit changes in investment restrictions while

CHICAGO—R.R. Donnelley & Sons is taking steps in its traditional long-run printing business, which serves magazine, catalog and retail customers, to create what it says is a more cost-effective, integrated and flexible printing "platform of the future" for its customers. As part of this process, the company will invest $300 million over the next two years to improve the efficiency of its long-run printing network and close its South Daytona, FL, plant, which prints magazines, catalogs and advertising inserts, by the end of the second quarter. The facility, which employs 198 people, opened in 1991. Donnelley also informed union representatives that it is considering closing