SO, WE MERGE WITH THE TATTOO INDUSTRY!
We’ll double the size of our industry. It’s a perfect fit.
We print with ink using presses on substrates called paper, plastic, various paper boards, etc.
Tattoo artists print ink with small machines on a substrate called human skin. So, there’s no paper cost. And, tattoos require a lot less ink.
Tattoo printing equipment is much, much less expensive than offset presses.
The tattoo business involves no receivables. Every customer pays cash.
Our receivables are big and slow, and turn about every 60 to 70 days, if we’re lucky.
Tattoo pressmen get to see some great substrates as demand grows among the young and beautiful.
We can help the tattoo industry with our superior color technology.
We can help that industry with our specialties like lenticular printing and 3D printing.
Tattoos will give our printing companies a great, new profit diversification with its superior margins.
This merger puts us back on a growth track that actually has some sex appeal. SIC 2700 (Printing) and 7299 (Tattoos) are a natural union and add up to 9999.
You can address your thank you notes and gifts for this idea to me, c/o Printing Impressions.
Oh, and as an added benefit we can tattoo all our print salespeople with, “Now get out there and sell something!” When things are slow in printing, they can work the beaches and bars, and make hundreds of sales calls in a day. They will probably be able to pick up a lot of corporate work—for example, tattooing all of the Walmart employees with the company slogan, ‘Save More, Live Better.”

Harris DeWese is the author of "Now Get Out There and Sell Something." He is chairman/CEO at Compass Capital Partners and an author of the annual "Compass Report," the definitive source of info regarding printing industry M&A activity. DeWese has completed 100-plus printing company transactions and is viewed as the preeminent deal maker in the industry. He specializes in investment banking, M&A, sales, marketing and management services to printers.