MeadWestvaco to Lay Off 600 Employees
MeadWestvaco Corp., Stamford, Conn., announced that it plans to lay off 600 employees and close two plants in St. Joseph, Mo., and Garland, Texas, by the end of the year. The company said it's consolidating its consumer and office product operations in North America by closing the facilities, which will eliminate 400 jobs in St. Joseph and 200 jobs in Garland. Employees will receive termination benefits. The realignment is part of a 2-year, $500 million realignment plan announced last December. The two plants produce a variety of paper-based school and office products, production of which will continue at other MeadWestvaco plants.

Consolidated Graphics to Acquire Newbridge Corporation
Consolidated Graphics Inc., Houston, announced it has signed a letter of intent to acquire Newbridge Corporation, Dallas. Newbridge is a full-service data content and information management services and digital printing company primarily serving the health insurance information market. Recently, Consolidated Graphics acquired Electric City Printing, a full-service sheet-fed and digital printing company serving the South Carolina market.

Goss Completes Heidelberg Acquisition
Goss International Corporation, Bolingbrook, Ill., completed the acquisition of Heidelberg Web Systems (HWS) from Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg). Included in the transaction are all assets associated with HWS' newspaper and commercial web press business and the high-volume postpress products produced in the United States. The acquisition approximately doubles the revenue base of Goss International and creates one of the largest web offset printing press suppliers in the world.

OfficeMax Wins Burger King Contract
Boise Cascade Corp.'s OfficeMax unit said that it received a national contract from purchasing agent Restaurant Services Inc., under which Burger King Corp. and Burger King restaurant operators across the United States can purchase items such as office supplies, paper, furniture and technology products from OfficeMax. Specific financial terms weren't disclosed. OfficeMax said Burger King will benefit from cost savings, ordering incentives, next-day delivery on most orders, OfficeMax said. Burger King Corp. and its franchisees will receive contract pricing at OfficeMax retailers nationwide.

Ennis-Houston to Consolidate Operations with Crabar/GBF facility
Ennis-Houston, formerly FMI, will soon consolidate its manufacturing operations with the Crabar/GBF facility in Bellville, Texas, to expand production capabilities and ensure superior service to distributors in Houston and the surrounding areas. After the consolidation, the facility will be renamed Ennis-Bellville. The combined management team will remain in place and phone numbers for both locations will continue to operate. No additional changes are anticipated. Ennis Inc., Midlothian, Texas, recently completed the acquisition of the outstanding stock of Dayton, Ohio based-Crabar/GBF.

Cenveo To Sell Conformer Expansion Products' Envelopes
Cenveo (formerly Mail-Well) , Englewood, Colo., became the first envelope licensee of Conformer Expansion Products Inc., Great Neck, N.Y. Conformer Expansion Products granted Cenveo an exclusive license to manufacture, use and sell envelope products in Canada and a non-exclusive license in the United States. Mailed items more than one-quarter inch thick usually require a gusseted envelope, which is more costly, lacks presentation appeal, and doesn't perform as well as Conformer Expansion envelopes, according to Cenveo.

Return Your 2005 Buyers' Guide Proof or Listing Form Now!
Manufacturers and suppliers: Print Solutions Magazine is editing its 2005 Buyers' Guide, which will be published in October. If your company was listed last year, you should have received a proof of that listing in the mail. If your firm wasn't listed last year, click here to download a blank form. Fax your completed proof or form to (703) 549-4966. (Proofs were mailed last week--you should have yours by now. Please review it now.) Email digital logos and/or product photos to Andrew Brown, assistant editor. Print Solutions' 31,000 readers include distributors of business forms, labels, commercial printing, tags, promotional products and other printing. The Buyers' Guide is your opportunity to let distributors know what you offer. For more information, call Print Solutions at (800) 336-4641.

Sales and Marketing Tip
Get the 411 on SEO
Whether it's free or for a fee, search engine optimization helps boosts online marketing. Full story.

E-Commerce Spotlight
Site Designs to Improve
Your Sales
The easier your online store is to use, the more likely that shoppers will spend money there. Here are strategies to make your site more customer-friendly. Full story.

Product of the Week
Sales Questions That Close the Sale
What's the best way for a salesperson to find out what a potential customer really needs? Asking the right questions. This book gives salespeople excellent guidance for asking the right questions. Code: SLQST. $15.95. To order, visit DMIA's online product catalog, or contact Tina Davis.

Hot Sites
Fitness Online
Trying to get back in shape or just remain healthy? This site offers a host of timely topics, including weight loss, healthy eating, building muscle mass and seasonal training suggestions. The homepage contains links on such topics as diminishing cellulite and eating organic, and also contains a number of online calculators to determine body mass index, weight loss potential and ideal weight. Visit the site.

Just Listed
If you're planning to buy a home, this free service will email you home listings matching your request as soon as they hit the market. Visit the site.

Secure Report Cards Make the Grade
Not all counterfeiters are seasoned professionals trying to pass off fraudulent checks. Some are 14-year-old students trying to trick their parents into believing they got better grades. It's these novice offenders that Joe Freimark wanted to deter when he supplied report cards with security features to a middle school.

"The school was having problems with students scratching off bad grades and changing them, and it approached me about finding a better solution," says Freimark, a sales representative with Data Management Corp., a distributorship in Butler, Wis. When the middle school converted from continuous to laser printers, it began using a stock 1-color, 20# report card. The school printed grades on the preprinted report cards using the new laser printer, inserted the cards in envelopes and mailed them to students. There were no security features on the report cards. Full story.

Here are the top unusual source requests received by DMIA:

1. Booklet; 11" x 8 1/2"; prints 6cp/6cp (Hi-Fi/Hexachrome Printing); 16 pages; saddle stitched; QTY=6,750
2. Temporary License Plates with Write & Seal Film; 12" x 6"; prints 2 colors; 10 Pt. C1S Carolina Board Stock; shrink wrapped; QTY=20M
3. Retractable Tradeshow Display; 36" x 7'-8'; QTY=1
4. CD Hubs; QTY=500M
5. Scan 10M-15M originals; save files to CD; QTY=10 copies
6. Dry Erase Material; will be hand applied to a 48" x 72" blackboard; QTY=1
7. Jumbo Roll; 18" x 22"; prints 7/6; QTY=530M
8. Seasoning Packets; personalized; QTY=2.5M-5M
9. Continuous Check; will be used in Africa; 13" x 3 1/2"; prints 3/1+ invisible fluorescent ink; Arabic numbering in two positions; MICR-CMC-7 font; void pantograph; QTY=11M-35M
10. Rubber Band Bracelets; 1/2" wide; 1/16" thick; purple color; 1 color imprint; QTY=500-1M

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.

What's New At DMIA?
New at Print Solutions 2004 Conference and Expo
Are you looking for products to sell that have a margin of 30 percent or higher? You'll find them at Print Solutions 2004 Conference and Expo, Rosemont, Ill., Oct. 4-7. The exhibit floor will feature two product theaters featuring presentations on selling specific products and/or services with proven margins of at least 30 percent. Click here to see the schedule.

New this year for your pre-conference planning is an interactive, online floor plan and show guide! Click here to check it out. You can search and sort the floor plan by product or simply click on a booth number to see what each exhibitor offers. For example, if you sort on plastic products, you will see highlighted on the floor plan all the booths featuring that product line.

And, to add to the excitement on the show floor this year, Crabar/GBF, an Ennis Inc. company, is giving away a Lexus RX330 (valued at $35,000). This top-of-the-line SUV will be on display at the expo for some lucky attendee to drive home. But the only way you can win is by coming to the show. Click here to register online.