The E-Weekly
DMIA's Award-Winning E-Mail Newsletter for Members Only 
July 30, 2004

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NEWS

<http://www.bc.com> Boise Cascade to  Exit Paper Biz, Focus on Office Supplies
Boise Cascade Corp., Boise, Idaho, plans to sell its paper and timber assets to a private investment group for about $3.2 billion in cash so it can focus on worldwide distribution of office products. The sale to a new company formed by Madison Dearborn Partners LLC, a Chicago investment firm, should be completed by November. Boise Cascade will change its name to OfficeMax, acquiring the name of the Cleveland-based office products seller it bought late last year for $1.2 billion in cash and stock. It will be headquartered in Itasca, Ill., outside Chicago.

The transformation from ailing manufacturer to retailer was envisioned by many paper industry analysts a year ago when Boise announced it was acquiring OfficeMax, the nation's third-largest office supplies retail chain, ranking behind Staples Inc. and Office Depot Inc.

Among the Boise Cascade assets being shed are its 22 wood products facilities in the United States, Canada and Brazil; 27 wholesale distribution centers; five pulp and paper mills, five corrugated container plants and ownership or control of more than 2.3 million acres of timber.

To buy the assets, Madison Dearborn has formed a company called Boise Cascade LLC, which will be based in Boise. It will be run by W. Thomas Stephens, former president of MacMillan Bloedel Ltd., a Canadian forest products company. That will leave the new OfficeMax to concentrate on selling office furniture, electronics, paper and other supplies to consumers through its nearly 1,000 retail stores and to businesses through its catalog and internet operations.

<http://www.idahostatesman.com> The Idaho Statesman reports that Boise Cascade leaders said they'll decide after the sale closes in mid-November how to return an estimated $800 million to $1 billion in sale proceeds to shareholders. Company Chairman and CEO George Harad said the company could pay a direct dividend or buy back stock. If it chooses a one-time dividend, analysts say it would be somewhere in the $8- to $11-range, quite a boost from the company's current 60-cent-a-share dividend.

Employees left work with cautious optimism after hearing their employer's plans, the newspaper said. Some employees said they haven't had many of their questions answered and many details remain to be ironed out, but most expressed relief and excitement after Harad met July 26 with employees at the company's downtown headquarters for nearly an hour. Although employees were given no promises, workers in both Boise and Nampa were assured that they would keep their jobs for two years with few changes to their job descriptions.

<http://www.meadwestvaco.com> MeadWestvaco Reports 2Q Profits of $48M
MeadWestvaco Corp., Stamford, Conn., reported July 27 second-quarter profits of $48 million, rebounding from a loss a year ago because of increased productivity and a better paper market. The company earned 24 cents per share, compared to a loss of $7 million, or 4 cents per share, for the same quarter in 2003. Revenue for the quarter was $2.1 billion, up from $1.92 billion in the same quarter a year ago.

<http://www.internationalpaper.com/> International Paper 2Q Profit Doubles
International Paper Co., Stamford, Conn., said its second-quarter profit more than doubled from a year ago, citing improving economic conditions, better prices and stronger demand. The company earned $193 million, or 40 cents per share, in the April-June period compared with $88 million, or 19 cents per share, for the same period last year. The world's largest paper company said it earned $193 million, or 40 cents per share, in the April-June period compared with $88 million, or 19 cents per share, for the same period last year. Revenue for the quarter was $6.5 billion, up from $6.1 billion a year ago.

<http://www.weyerhaeuser.com> Weyerhaeuser's 2Q Profits More Than Double
Profits at Weyerhaeuser Co., Federal Way, Wash., more than doubled in the second quarter thanks to favorable markets for wood products, the company said. Its shares rose more than 2 percent. For the three months ended June 27, the company reported earnings of $369 million, or $1.57 per share, compared with $157 million, or 71 cents a share, for the same quarter a year ago. Sales jumped to $5.89 billion from $4.93 billion in the year-earlier period.

<http://www.inkonit.com/> Superior Business Solutions Purchases Hinco
Superior Business Solutions, Kalamazoo, Mich., has purchased Hinco, a South Bend, Ind.-based supplier of bar coding systems, technologies, supplies and repair services. All Hinco products and services will now be offered under Superior Business Solutions' brand from the Hinco facility. Superior Business Solutions will remain an authorized dealer of Printek equipment and services, and a full line supplier of thermal transfer printers, forms and ribbons. With eight locations in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana, Superior Business Solutions offers print management services for business forms and commercial printing, and one-to-one marketing technologies, promotional products and premiums.

Reader's Digest Selects <http://www.abcgroup.com/> AB&C Group for Fulfillment Services
The AB&C Group, McLean, Va., has been chosen by The Reader's Digest Association Inc. to provide fulfillment and test scoring services in support of the Reader's Digest National Word Power Challenge, an annual vocabulary competition for students in grades four through eight. Now in its third year, the challenge is an educational outreach program of Reader's Digest magazine. The competition awards first, second, and third place prizes that carry $25,000, $15,000, and $10,000 scholarships, respectively, along with Reader's Digest products for the schools represented by the winners.

<http://www.symbol.com/> Symbol to Buy <http://www.matrics.com/> Matrics for $230M
Symbol Technologies Inc., Oakland, Calif., which makes bar code scanners and portable data terminals, has agreed to buy privately held Matrics Inc., Rockville, Md. for $230 million to boost its position in the fast-growing data capture industry, the company said. Symbol declined to say if Matrics, which makes radio frequency identification labels and tags, is profitable but said it expects the negative financial impact of the deal, if there is going to be any, to be less in 2005.

<http://www.stratatac.com/> Strata-Tac Releases Diamond Coupons
Strata-Tac Inc., Batavia, Ill., released its diamond coupon line. The polyester-based coupon is ideal for making ID cards that can be automatically affixed, according to the company. The coupons are ideal for retail packaging.

<http://www.consolidatedgraphics.com> Consolidated Graphics Revenue Increases
Consolidated Graphics Inc., Houston, announced results for its first quarter ended June 30. Revenue for the June quarter was 181.5 million, down 1 percent compared to $183.4 million in the March quarter and up 9.5 percent compared to $165.8 million a year ago. Net income for the June quarter was $6.8 million, or $.48 per diluted share, representing increases of 9.7 percent and 9.1 percent compared to net income of $6.2 million, or $.44 per diluted share, in the March quarter. Compared to the June quarter a year ago, net income increased 88.9 percent from $3.6 million and diluted earnings per share increased 84.6 percent from $.26, the company said.

<http://www.standardregister.com> Standard Register Reports 2Q Results
Standard Register, Dayton, Ohio, reported results for the 2004 second quarter and first half ended June 27. Revenue for the second quarter of 2004 was $226.5 million, down 2.8 percent from the same quarter of 2003. Revenue has edged higher in each of the most recent three consecutive quarters. The net loss in the second quarter was $2.6 million or $0.09 per share, compared to a net loss of $12 million or $0.42 per share in the 2003 quarter. Additionally, the company aligned with Care Fusion, McLean, Va., to help hospitals improve patient safety and care. The alliance brings together Care Fusion's nursing workflow solutions with Standard Register's positive patient identification and document automation.

Digital Pen Reduces Form-Processing Costs
Forms, forms, forms. The scourge of the small business owner. The enemy of the entrepreneur. The curse of the creative mind. Can't live with them, can't do business without them. Despite the hype about the paperless society, Americans fill out 100 billion forms every year. According to analyst firm CAP Ventures, each form costs about five cents to print and almost a dollar to process. The reason for such high cost isn't high wages; it's in the time it takes to re-key, fax or scan a form's data and enter it into a digital system. Businesses employ an army of clerks and temps to capture the valuable information, remove errors and input it to the system.

Enter the HP Digital Pen as a way to reduce the tedium and cost of form processing. It's part of the HP Forms Automation System that's designed to streamline the document workflow for processing paper forms. Workers write information on physical paper forms using a digital pen that records the handwritten data electronically. A computer subsequently transfers the captured data to a server application for processing. The benefits of this kind of system include much faster processing, significantly reduced costs, greater efficiency, and the ability to integrate paper forms with other business systems or databases. A study by CAP ventures compared this new system with traditional form processing methods. A manual process (fill form, mail or fax, receive, prepare it, keyboard entry, quality control and data entry) takes three-to-four weeks at $1.23 per page. A similar scanner-based workflow takes one-to-three weeks at a cost of 91 cents per page. The HP Forms Automation System, on the other hand, costs 20-25 cents per page and takes anywhere from a few minutes up to a couple of hours... We tried the pen and came away impressed. <http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/testdrive/article.php/3385761> Full story.

Return Your 2005 Buyers' Guide Proof or Listing Form
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 will receive a proof of that listing in the mail. If your firm wasn't listed last year, <http://www.printsolutionsmag.com/pdf/05_BGListingForm.pdf> click here to download a blank form. Fax your completed proof or form to (703) 549-4966 by Aug. 11, and email digital logos and/or product photos to <mailto:abrown@dmia.org> 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.

SOLUTION OF THE WEEK

Software Partners Bring Business
Centro Information Systems hit a sales ceiling for tax forms in its Bend, Ore., market. "We already had a high penetration in our area," says Richard Lawrence, who's in charge of strategic business development at the distributorship. "To achieve our growth goals, we needed to find a new way to market our product."

Centro Information Systems' strategy: strength in numbers. Software providers were appealing partners, Lawrence says, and the distributorship paired with new customers by supplying software-compatible tax forms to software suppliers. Today, the company's six software partners have helped the firm win big business, Lawrence says. "We deal with companies that we never would have been dealing with," including the Denver Broncos and the Salt Lake Olympics Committee, he says. These accounts stretched Centro Information Systems' small-town reach, and earning the business didn't require cold calling or clocking miles behind the wheel. <http://www.dmia.org/sol_center/enewsletter/enews_articles/sow073004.html> Full story.

WHAT'S NEW AT DMIA

Print Solutions Conference and Expo 2004
You can't afford to miss the Print Solutions 2004 Conference and Expo-Fall Classic, Oct. 5-7 in Chicago. <http://www.printsolutionsshow.com/registration.html> Online registration is open. Register now and make your room reservations before you leave on your summer trip.

<http://www.printsolutionsshow.com/sponsors.html> Our Winner's Circle Sponsors offer you a chance to win two trips for two to Hawaii! But you have to be there to win! The Winner's Circle is a six-year-old partnership between an elite group of exhibitors and DMIA which has helped increase the visibility of the Print Solutions Conference and Expo as the premier event in the industry.

This is the largest exposition for the business printing segment of the industry. Go to Chicago, see 400 booths featuring new products, services and programs that will make you money, visit each of the Winners Circle sponsor booths to validate your "Send Me to Hawaii" postcard (pick up your postcard free at registration), and start shopping for a swimsuit! The drawings for both trips to Hawaii, including airfare and hotel, will be held on the show floor Oct. 7. You must be present to win. For more information, visit <http://www.printsolutionsshow.com> www.printsolutionsshow.com.

TOP TEN

Here are the top unusual source requests received by DMIA:

 1. Post Card; 6" x 9"; with an affixed bumper sticker; 3" x 8 3/4"; prints up to 4cp; QTY=10M-20M

 2. Unit Set; 2 part carbon interleaved; 5 1/2" x 7"; prints black ink; jumbo numbering on both parts; Tyvek material for part 2; QTY=4.8M

 3. Pennant Strings; 50"; 4cp/4cp custom printed; QTY=20M

 4. Window Signs/Posters; 40" x 52"; prints 2PMS or 4cp; QTY=100 each of 3

 5. Tyvek Tag; 4" x 6"; prints blk/0; affixed zip lock pouch on back; QTY=25M of each lot

 6. Clean Room Envelopes; 2 1/8" x 4 1/8"; prints 1 color; QTY=250M

 7. Booklet 5 1/2" x 8 1/2"; text prints blk/blk on 60# WOS; cover prints black on a 67# Vellum Bristol; 56 pages; saddle stitched; Union Shop; QTY=600

 8. Auto Window Decal; 3" x 3"; prints 4cp; individually packaged in a poly pouch; 4 lots; QTY=78M

 9. Acrylic Literature Holder; 48" x 18"; QTY=4

 10. Plastic Bag; will hold an anti bacterial sample bottle; 2 5/8" x 1" x 3/4" adhesive backer; sample will be adhered to other bottles; QTY=2MM

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 <http://64.115.51.134/index.htm> Source Hotline Database online. For new sales ideas every day, try our <http://www.dmia.org/dmiasearch/am_pm/search/index.cfm> 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 <mailto:crush@dmia.org> Cheryl Rush.

SALES AND MARKETING TIP

Static Content, Itchy Teeth
Many businesses still tend toward making their web sites an online version of their print brochures. Even with a brilliant product and sufficient marketing to create awareness and bring visitors to the site, static content will not encourage visitors to return, buy and recommend. <http://www.workz.com/cgi-bin/gt/tpl_page.html,template=1&content=1910&nav1=1&user=cc5b369e490c> Full story.

E-COMMERCE SPOTLIGHT

Choosing Customer Service Software
How do you pick the solution that's right for your business? <http://www.workz.com/cgi-bin/gt/tpl_page.html,template=1&content=1862&nav1=1&user=cc5b369e490c> Full story.

PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

Direct Mail Magic
This book is loaded with tips on direct mail marketing strategies, including designing a mailing piece, working with list brokers, and more. Code: PM116. $11.95. To order, visit DMIA's <http://www.dmia.org/about/prod_cat_logon.html> online product catalog, or contact <mailto:tdavis@dmia.org> Tina Davis.

HOT SITES

<http://www.cartalk.com> Car Talk
This site contains all the information you want about cars. It also contains a very relevant section, the Actual Car Information area, where you can read reports of new automobile models, hybrid electric vehicles, and incentives offered by major automobile manufacturers. <http://www.cartalk.com> Visit the site.

<http://www.forsalebyowner.com/ebook> Guide to Home Buying
When it comes to choosing and moving into a new home, some folks have enough on their plate just making a decision and getting relocated. Others, however, prefer to stay on top of every aspect of the process (including the real-estate agent’s fee). This free downloadable booklet can help you set up a team and a strategy for making the deal you want. <http://www.forsalebyowner.com/ebook> Visit the site.

Free Marketing Newsletter
E. Brooks Warner, President of 101, a marketing services company focused on our industry, has announced the re-launch of the firm's popular marketing newsletter, Classic 101. To be certain you are on the mailing list for the free newsletter, go to <http://www.101mktg.com> www.101mktg.com and follow the simple sign up instructions.

___________________________________________________________________________________
The E-weekly is designed by Christine Kenny and edited by Preeti Vasishtha with contributions from Darin Painter and Andy Brown. To subscribe, <http://www.dmia.org/sol_center/enewssubs.html> click here. To unsubscribe or change your email address, <http://www.printsolutionsmag.com/dmia/enewsunsub.html> click here. © Copyright 2004 <http://www.dmia.org> Document Management Industries Association, 433 E. Monroe Ave., Alexandria, VA 22301 (800) 336-4641, (703) 836-6232. Contact us at <mailto:eweekly@printsolutionsmag.com> eweekly@printsolutionsmag.com. Visit Print Solutions Magazine at <http://www.printsolutionsmag.com>  www.printsolutionsmag.com. To advertise, <mailto:ckelly@dmia.org?subject=Interested_in_E-Weekly_Advertising&cc=bholt@dmia.org> click here.