PrintXcel Facility Making Progress Following Shooting
An operations team at manufacturer PrintXcel's Visalia, Calif., printing facility is leading an around-the-clock cleanup stemming from an incident Tuesday that resulted in two deaths and fire damage. A former employee at the facility shot a worker to death and started fires in the building by igniting solvent and paper, then killed himself, according to published reports.

The gunman, John Gardner, 45, of Visalia, was fired from the plant four years ago and was thought to have moved out of the state, according to published reports. The victim, Jose Manriquez, 31, lived in Visalia and was a father of a baby boy born Nov. 27. The shooting was reported at 7:44 a.m. Tuesday, when approximately 46 out of the company's 89 employees were on site.

Woody Davis, senior vice president and company spokesperson for Mail-Well, PrintXcel's parent company, said the cleanup should take a week. "It will be on a limited basis with a few presses initially and increasing as we clean smoke damage and repair various portions of the plant," he said. The fire was limited to the executive-office area of the plant, he said, and only a few dozen orders were affected. "Our suppliers are restocking paper that must be replaced due to spoilage caused by smoke and water damage," Davis said. Within a few hours after the incident Tuesday, Mail-Well secured professional counseling and support for its employees. Officials also issued a statement expressing their sympathies to employees and their families.

Printegra to Acquire Service Continuous Forms
Peachtree City, Ga.-based manufacturer Printegra Corp. signed a definitive agreement to acquire Glassboro, N.J., manufacturer Service Continuous Forms (SCF) effective Dec. 15.

While most of SCF's manufacturing operations will be moved to Printegra's facility in Montgomeryville, Pa., the company's customer service, estimating and prepress departments will continue to operate in Glassboro for the foreseeable future, according to Printegra.

In business for more than 30 years, SCF is a wholesale manufacturer of short run business products that serves distributors on the East Coast. Printegra, which operates 10 manufacturing facilities and customer service centers nationwide, produces checks, forms, pressure seal products, integrated cards and labels, custom labels, corporate ID products, and print shop products for the independent channel.

Moore Wallace to Close Winnipeg Plant Today
More than 30 workers face the loss of their jobs after Mississauga, Ontario-based manufacturer Moore Wallace announced its Winnipeg printing plant would close today. Company officials flew in from Toronto Dec. 3 to deliver the news to staff, according to a press release from the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada. The shutdown affects 27 union members and a handful of office staff. The plant has been in Winnipeg for more than 80 years, at one time employing 150 people. Last month, Chicago-based commercial printer R.R. Donnelly announced it would purchase Moore Wallace. The combined company will have approximately 50,000 employees and more than $8 billion in annual revenues. Staff in Winnipeg were told Moore Wallace was closing the plant as a result of the acquisition.

Nearly All OfficeMax Holders Took Boise Stock
Paper and forest products supplier Boise Cascade Corp., Boise, Idaho, said approximately 97 percent of OfficeMax Inc. shareholders elected to receive Boise stock in the companies' $1.3 billion merger. Boise said shareholders electing a stock payment will receive about 66 percent of their total consideration in Boise stock and the rest in cash. The remaining OfficeMax shareholders will receive about $9.33 in cash per share of OfficeMax stock.

IKON Shares Soar on $1.5 Billion GE Deal
Shares of office products provider IKON Office Solutions Inc., Valley Forge, Pa., surged 26 percent yesterday after a unit of General Electric Co. agreed to buy a piece of IKON's equipment leasing business for $1.5 billion. The agreement calls for IKON to transfer about $1.9 billion worth of assets to GE Vendor Financial Services, including a $1.8 billion leasing portfolio, the companies said. GE Vendor Financial holds about $26 billion in assets. IKON said the deal represents a transition out of the leasing business in the United States and Canada. IKON also agreed to transfer its Macon, Ga.-based IOS Capital facilities, systems and approximately 400 employees to GE under the agreement, which carries an initial term of five years. IKON's chief executive, Matthew Espe, joined IKON, the world's largest independent distributor of copiers and printers, last year after running GE's lighting business.

Dressing Up Business
By Kara S. Carpenter
Print Solutions Magazine Assistant Managing Editor

Businesses need to keep their names in front of customers, says Frank Sclavenitis, CFC, president of American Graphics Network Inc., a 27-year-old distributorship in Glenview, Ill. A company's existing clients drive its cash flow, and competitors try to take these accounts away. Click here for the full story.

Here are the top unusual source requests received by DMIA:

1. Dry Cleaning Hanger Capes; Placed over shoulders of garment before the plastic bag covering; Imprinted 1 color; Q=5M
2. Equipment Rental Contract; Stock form; 9 1/2 x 11 continuous
3. X-Ray Jackets; 17 x 14 1/2; 1 color imprint; Q=500-1M
4. Clear Plastic Envelope; 5 1/2 x 3 1/2; Opens at the top; Transfer tape back; No printing; Q=1M
5. Tyvek Booklets; 5 1/2 x 8 1/2; 52 pages; 1/1; Q=25 books
6. UL-Approved Labels; 5 x 5; Mylar material; Must be 3M adhesive; Q=5M per lot
7. X-Ray Cabinets; Metal; 18" deep, 48" wide, 88" tall; Q=5
8. Companies that will scan OCR school exam sheets and report results
9. Stock Toe Tags; 6 1/4 x 8 3/8; Blank; String fastener; Reinforced paper patch; Q=500-1M
10. Pad printers to imprint a 2 color logo on supplied pill boxes; Q=10M

If you have a source request--for anything--call the Hotline at (800) 333-2828 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, or use the Source Hotline Database online. For new sales ideas every day, try our 1,000 Sales Ideas Database. Manufacturers, if you produce any of these items and would like to check your listing with the Source Hotline, please email Cheryl Rush.

Sales and Marketing Tip
Engage Your Customers
With Online Surveys
People enjoy taking surveys when they feel their opinions are valued, and they like learning what others are saying about an issue. Surveys are an excellent way to get close to your customers, to offer them something interesting, and to keep them coming back to your site.
Click here for more.

E-Commerce Spotlight
Trust Issues Loom
Over E-Commerce
Thanks to evil-doers who spoof the e-commerce sites of major retailers, consumers have become much more aware about the dangers of offering personal information online. That's a good thing for consumers, but it may be bad for online merchants, especially those who haven't become household words. Click here for more.

Product of the Week
Formtrac 2003
A supplement to Formtrac 2002, this report provides a general outlook of the forms industry through 2007. It includes extensive reporting on the independent and direct-selling segments of the industry. General trends and sales by product lines are identified. Product Code: ID03. $49. Formtrac 2002/2003 Update Set Product Code: ID02SET. $149. To order Formtrac 2003, click here or contact Tina Brown.

What's New at DMIA
Update Your Company's Records by Dec. 15!
Your input is needed for the 2004 printed Who's Who Membership Directory. Please take a few minutes to review your company's record-update form that we mailed you on Nov. 17. This is the information DMIA will use to list your company in the new directory. If you need help or need another copy of the form, please call DMIA's Membership department at (800) 336-4641. Thank you for your consideration.

Hot Sites
Lists of Bests
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Safe Shopping
This site, created by the American Bar Association, will help you order safely when shopping online. Learn about secure transactions, online privacy, how to make sure your order is correct and on time, and whom to complain to if it isn't. Click here to visit the site.