Old school buys new
school. In an interesting twist, printing companies continue to buy leading
edge technology companies that may have at first been perceived as threats, but
have evolved into complementary services that satisfy the same market need...
Commercial printers are now fully engaged in the wide format business, exerting pressure on companies that specialized in printing only wide and grand format materials. Pazazz, a printing company in Montreal, Quebec, (and producer of the infamous and viral “Printing’s Alive” videos), acquired Contact Image, also of Montreal. Another commercial printing company, K&M Printing of Schaumberg, Illinois, acquired National GraphX and Imaging. In the past, wide format services could be a real and important differentiator for a commercial printer; wide format now appears to be a “must have” for many in the commercial sector...
As we expected, the print management business continues to experience pressure. In a deal that effectively transforms the former print broker, Workflow One, into a real live printing company, the company was acquired by Standard Register in deal that was primarily an assumption of Workflow One’s long term debt. This is the third month in a row that deals have been announced in the print management business, changing the landscape and growth curve in what has been a very disruptive model for commercial printers. I suspect that there are many commercial printers that are not unhappy to see the declining fortunes of the print management firms and that eagerly look forward to the potential to restore their direct relationships with their corporate clients; in effect disintermediating the intermediators.
Commercial printers are now fully engaged in the wide format business, exerting pressure on companies that specialized in printing only wide and grand format materials. Pazazz, a printing company in Montreal, Quebec, (and producer of the infamous and viral “Printing’s Alive” videos), acquired Contact Image, also of Montreal. Another commercial printing company, K&M Printing of Schaumberg, Illinois, acquired National GraphX and Imaging. In the past, wide format services could be a real and important differentiator for a commercial printer; wide format now appears to be a “must have” for many in the commercial sector...
As we expected, the print management business continues to experience pressure. In a deal that effectively transforms the former print broker, Workflow One, into a real live printing company, the company was acquired by Standard Register in deal that was primarily an assumption of Workflow One’s long term debt. This is the third month in a row that deals have been announced in the print management business, changing the landscape and growth curve in what has been a very disruptive model for commercial printers. I suspect that there are many commercial printers that are not unhappy to see the declining fortunes of the print management firms and that eagerly look forward to the potential to restore their direct relationships with their corporate clients; in effect disintermediating the intermediators.
