Peter Tobin

ONE OF the characteristics of a difficult economy is the slowdown of consumer confidence, which has a trickle-up effect on the goods and services sector. Less spending equals lower demand, equals lesser manufacturing output. The schizophrenic bounces of the oil market in 2008 is perhaps an extreme example.

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 CagleSenior Editor Although the company itself is 179 years old, Courier Corp. has the vitality of a teenager. The North Chelmsford, MA-based book printer found the fountain of youth courtesy of a comprehensive strategic planning process that began in 1990 and provided Courier with a sleek, sexy and, most of all, fiscally lucrative overhaul. The publicly held printer shed a number of markets, and the company that once published newspapers and dabbled in commercial work narrowed its focus to three book manufacturing segments—education, religious and specialty trade. The results have been outstanding. Through the first nine months of 2003, Courier has enjoyed

By Erik Cagle "Give 'em hell, Harry!" That's the rally cry for both trade publishers and their print production suppliers, who eagerly await the next installment in the Harry Potter series (give 'em hell J.K. Rowling would be more accurate). And why not? The four-book (and counting) children's fantasy series from Scholastic has sold a staggering 150 million copies worldwide (70 million in the United States), and many of the leading U.S. book printers have dipped their toes in the Potter pool. Who needs an Oprah plug when you have a multi-faceted marketing machine that has licensed movies, trading cards, action figures and all

BY SCOTT POLK The book printing industry had one of its finest years in 2000, and not just because of the wild success of the Harry Potter series. Of course, the bespectacled British lad had a little to do with the success, but it was the elementary through high school (el-hi) textbook market that led the way. Top 10 Book Printers CompanySegmentSales(millions)Total Sales(millions) 1R.R. Donnelley & SonsChicago$800$5,000 2Quebecor WorldMontreal$784$6,540 3Jostens Inc. Minneapolis$665$782 4Von Hoffmann Corp. Saint Louis$400$400 5Banta Corp. Menasha, WI$279$1,270 6Bertelsmann ArvatoBerryville, VA$191$285 7Courier Corp. N. Chelmsford, MA$188$188 8Phoenix ColorHagerstown, MD$160$160(E) 9Taylor PublishingDallas$104$104 10WebcraftersMadison, WI$86$86 Peter Tobin, vice president of North Chelmsford, MA-based Courier

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