Mark Andy to Open RFID Center
Narrow web print equipment provider Mark Andy Inc., St. Louis, has partnered with Tamarack Products to create a radio frequency identification research and demonstration center in Wauconda, Ill. A new Mark Andy Model 2200, equipped with the Tamarack P500 RFID module, is available for demonstration of RFID tag insertion inline with complete label printing production.

Consolidated Graphics to Buy Kelmscott
Consolidated Graphics Inc., Houston, said it agreed to buy Kelmscott Communications LLC, a privately held commercial printer serving five Midwest and West Coast states. Kelmscott has annual sales of $100 million. Consolidated Graphics will use its revolving credit facility to pay for the transaction, which is expected to close in March. Kelmscott's services include web, sheetfed and digital printing, binding and warehousing, fulfillment and online print procurement tools. Their businesses include Anderson Printing, Hollywood, Calif., CDS Publications, Medford, Ore., Maximum Graphics, Minneapolis, Orange County Printing, Irvine, Calif., Printing Control Graphics, Seattle, Spangler Graphics, Kansas City, and Watermark Graphics, San Francisco.

Neenah Paper, Pomco Graphic Arts Provide Inaugural Invitations
Neenah Paper, a supplier of premium uncoated writing, text and cover papers, and manufacturer Pomco Graphic Arts of Philadelphia, created the invitation package for the 2005 Presidential Inauguration. The package included invitations, program books, photos and maps to viewing sites for the ceremonies. The invitations were designed using 80 lb. cover weight CLASSIC Linen Papers. They were engraved with black and gold ink, then burnished embossed over the gold ink to enhance the detail and shine. The stitched program books, designed using the same paper in 80 lb. text weight, included photos and sketches of scenes such as Abraham Lincoln's second Inauguration in 1865 and Ronald Reagan's first in 1981.

Champion Industries Names New President
Champion Industries Inc., Huntington, W. Va., promoted Toney K. Adkins to president and chief operating officer succeeding Kirby J. Taylor, who is retiring. Adkins, who joined Champion unit Chapman Printing Co. in 1982, was most recently named vice president of administration of Chapman after being appointed vice president of Champion in 1995. Adkins serves as a board member for Citizens Deposit Bank and Trust, Premier Financial Bancorp, and Metro Community Federal Credit Union.

Deluxe Seeks Buyer for PremiumWear Unit
Deluxe Corp., St. Paul, Minn., is seeking a buyer for its apparel business, PremiumWear Inc., which designs and supplies apparel and accessories to the promotional products and golf industries. Deluxe acquired PremiumWear as part of the New England Business Service Inc. acquisition in June 2004.

Flottman Co. Wins Award
Flottman Co. Inc. has won an award presented by printing companies in Cincinnati and northern Kentucky. The Maxwell Award is given annually by the Greater Cincinnati Printing Week Council to a graphic arts organization that has distinguished itself through the quality of its work. It's named after Cincinnati's first printer, William Maxwell, who published The Centinel of the Northwest Territory beginning in 1793. "This award means a great deal to us because it has been given to us by our peers, people who truly know the importance of quality and integrity in the printing industry," Flottman President Sue Flottman Steller said. Flottman Co. produces printed marketing pieces and specializes in miniature folded literature for the pharmaceutical and packaging industries.

Avery Dennison Posts Strong Sales Growth
Avery Dennison Corp., Pasadena, Calif., posted quarterly earnings and strong sales growth in each of its geographic regions, despite facing a significant rise in raw material costs. It earned $83.6 million, or 83 cents a share, on revenue of $1.43 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter ended Jan. 1. In the same period a year earlier, it earned $59.3 million, or 59 cents a share, on revenue of $1.23 billion. Excluding a special charge and gain resulting from a divestiture, earnings were 65 cents a share.

Ikon Quarterly Profit Falls
Ikon Office Solutions Inc., Valley Forge, Pa., posted lower fiscal first-quarter earnings, hurt by a decline in revenue from hardware financing. Net earnings for the company were $16.6 million, or 12 cents a share, compared with $27.7 million, or 18 cents per share, a year earlier.

Weyerhaeuser 4Q Profit More Than Doubles
Weyerhaeuser Co., Federal Way, Wash., said fourth-quarter profit more than doubled, despite bad weather and maintenance needs that hampered performance. The company warned that poor weather in Southern California and elsewhere in the country could hurt its first-quarter results, especially if recent storms lead to a slowdown in housing construction. For the fourth quarter ended Dec. 26, Weyerhaeuser earned $199 million, or 82 cents a share, compared with $92 million, or 41 cents a share, a year earlier. Fourth-quarter revenue rose to $5.89 billion from $5.15 billion.

CBI Clients to Print Management Partners
Cliff Bregstone, president of CBI Corporation in Chicago, announced the merger of his clients into Print Management Partners, one of the larger distributors in the Midwest, with headquarters in Chicago. Print Management Partners has retained Bregstone for consulting in marketing and Continuous Business Improvement. Bregstone will continue as Chairman of CBI Fulfillment, a separate company which does fulfillment work for Fortune 1000 companies. Bregstone will lead a workshop in continuous business improvement Feb. 3 at DMIA's CEO Summit at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort and Golf Club in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Messages that Don't Wear Out
To craft a customized marketing program for each of their clients, sales representatives at Lewiston, Maine-based distributorship Geiger Brothers quiz customers on company goals. "Clients are looking for sales representatives who are knowledgeable about promotional products," says Jim Habzea, vice president of sales and marketing. But a catalog and order form isn't enough to seal sales. Geiger personnel design detailed promotional plans that meet companies' growth targets, he says. Full story.

TradeMart 2005
The industry is moving faster than ever, and DMIA's TRADEMarts make it easy and convenient to stay updated. Attending a TRADEMart is your best chance to take advantage of the product innovations and dynamic ideas that are hitting the marketplace.

For more information on TradeMarts, click here.

Small Distributor Summit
This summit is for distributors with sales volume below $2.5 million. This year's program has new topics, new technologies and new insights. Designed exclusively by member distributors, this program brings top-notch education in a format that works for you. Your peers developed all of the programs, the schedule and the manufacturer sessions. Join us from March 12-14 at Embassy Suites Outdoor World, Dallas.
Click here for more.

Here are this week's top unusual source requests received by DMIA:

1. Magazine Insert; 11" x 17"; prints 4cp/4cp on 40# coated stock; bundled in 500's; QTY=1.3MM
2. Lenticular Labels; 2" diameter; prints 4cp; QTY=5M-10M
3. Watering Cans; 12" high; tin-gold/silver finish; QTY=100
4. Posters; 18" x 24"; prints 1 color; union shop; QTY=10
5. Blank Pinfed Labels; 11" x 8"; there will be 8 die-cut labels per sheet; label measures 2.4" x 3.85" with tab extension on the upper right hand label; QTY=19.2MM labels per month
6. Magnetic Notepads; 3" x 8"; prints 1 color; 30 sheets per pad; QTY=150M-1MM
7. Wrapping for a consumer product; 3" x 6"; prints 4cp; foil/film material; QTY=50M-60M-75M
8. Labels; 1 1/4" x 2"; foil stamped and prints 6 spot colors; Q=500-5M
9. Document Shredding/Destruction Services
10. Glove Measuring Bands; 8 1/2" x 11"; cut to 1" x 11"; prints 1 color; on Tyvek material; QTY=500 sheets

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.

Math in the Movies
Some professions get a bad rap in the world of cinema. Scientists, and mathematicians in particular, tend to be portrayed as either evil madmen or troubled geniuses. Through this web site, Arnold Reinhold offers his informed and honest appraisals of mathematicians in various films. Some of the films profiled are A Beautiful Mind, Straw Dogs, Good Will Hunting, and of course Pi. Visit the site.