With annual sales of more than $38 million, Gateway Press Inc., Louisville, Ky., was among the top three GPO vendors that supplied products and services to Congress, federal courts and more than 130 federal agencies in 2005. One of the largest printers in Kentucky and among the 175 largest printers in the country, Gateway has produced work for the GPO for more than 42 years. Darrell Embry, senior vice president, discusses opportunities in the government sector:

1. There's a requirement for all sizes and types. The government offers numerous opportunities to small- and medium-sized printers, and the possibilities are endless, Embry says. These include single to multicolor projects of various quantities at both regional and national levels. "You can get involved in printing only or printing, binding, and fulfillment," he says.

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R.R. Donnelley Wins Several Contracts
R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company has won several multi-year contracts worth multi-million dollars. The company won a $75 million contract to provide forms, labels and stationery products to Electronic Data Systems Corporation, a global technology services company. The company also was awarded a multi-year contract extension to produce catalog printing and logistics services for The Sportsman's Guide Inc. Additionally, it won a multi-year, $25 million contract to print and distribute all of Questex's magazines.

Ward/Kraft Consolidates Production
Ward/Kraft announced that it's transferring production volume from its Ohio facility to the Kansas plant in the coming months to improve customer care and efficiencies. A majority of Ward/Kraft's work, including new product development, has always been produced and shipped from Fort Scott, Kan., the company said. The company's current sales and customer service staff will continue operation in the Ohio facility. All business forms, labels, plastic products and imaging services will now be produced for nationwide distribution from a central location. Ward/Kraft's On-Site programs, educational webinars, and customer service performed by the Ohio staff will continue from the Ohio location. The company will maintain the same freight rates and pricing as orders are moved from the Ohio operation to the main production facilities.

MeadWestvaco Realigns Packaging Units, Establishes New Headquarters
MeadWestvaco Corp. announced a plan that includes realigning its packaging businesses, establishing a new research-focused Packaging Innovation Center in Raleigh, N.C., and consolidating its U.S. corporate locations and key administrative functions into a new headquarters in Richmond, Va. The company's six divisions in its Packaging segment will become two packaging groups: the new Packaging Resources Group will serve customers of the company's paperboard businesses; the new Consumer Solutions Group will focus on providing a full range of consumer packaging solutions. The company will establish a Packaging Innovation Center in Raleigh for research and development, emerging packaging technologies, material sciences and other packaging innovation resources. This will create approximately 200 jobs. The new headquarters will integrate key corporate and administrative functions and the headquarters for the new packaging groups, resulting in an estimated 400 new jobs to the area. Full story.

Burton Set to Spin Off Unit
Robert G. Burton, chairman and CEO of Cenveo Inc., is about to convert the company's Canadian envelope maker into an income trust, according to a Feb. 13 story in the Globe and Mail. Full story. In other Cenveo-related news, Corporate Express announced this week that Daniel C. Brown is the new vice president of strategic accounts. Brown had worked at Cenveo as regional vice president of sales and general manager of the company's document business unit.

750 New Jobs at Quad/Graphics
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle announced a plan Feb. 9 that will create 750 new jobs at Quad/Graphics' Sussex, Hartford and Lomira plants. The plan involves up to $3 million in tax credits and has already been approved by the state Department of Commerce. Full story.

Consolidated Graphics Completes Acquisition of Nies/Artcraft Companies
Consolidated Graphics Inc. completed the previously announced acquisition of St. Louis-based Nies/Artcraft Companies, consisting of Nies/Artcraft Printing, Valcour Printing and Impression Label. Terms of the transaction weren't disclosed. Full story.

In an interview with Print Matters, Michael L. Kleper, Paul and Louise Miller Distinguished Professor, Rochester Institute of Technology, N.Y., discusses how your company may be printing electronics in future.

1. What is printed electronics?

Printed electronics, for our working definition, is the process of using conventional printing technology to produce inexpensive printed components and devices. At this point in development, products have been limited to novelty types of devices, as typified by products produced by T Ink, and of course, RFID antennas, which are manufactured using silver-based conductive inks.

2. What do printed electronics mean to printers?

The opportunity for printers of all kinds may be significant if the right mix of inks, substrates and production processes are developed. Printers will want to use their existing presses, and this will be possible for certain kinds of work. Presses, of course, are built to produce human-readable graphic media, and the tracings required for electronics are considerably smaller, viewable only with magnification. The smallest line that we can print is about 20 microns, and this will be satisfactory only for relatively simple kinds of circuits. I expect that we will see new presses developed that meet the more stringent demands of printed electronics.

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Here are three tips on selling promotional products:

1. Make 'em laugh. Some of the most memorable TV commercials use humor to sell products. Just think of the gecko in the Geico Insurance ads. Hank Frisch, president of Cleveland-based Team Promotions, tries the same approach with promotional products. While he admits it's harder to get companies to use humor for B2B campaigns, he's convinced promotional products that get laughs are memorable—that's the ultimate goal. Recently, Frisch suggested a company that sells anesthesia to nursing homes, hospitals and other institutions send prospects boxing gloves imprinted with the message, "We'll knock you out."

2. Sell knowledge, not specials. Many promotional product vendors offer weekly or monthly specials on products. Frisch markets them, but says they shouldn't be your primary focus. "Ask about the client's business as opposed to telling them what's on special this week," he says. "The more you know about your clients, the better you can solve their problems." In addition to asking questions, Frisch recommends visiting clients regularly, checking out their web sites and attending their trade shows.

3. Become a branding expert. For the greatest impact, don't pick the most ornate or expensive promotional item you can find. Instead, make sure it ties in with print collateral. Use the same marketing theme, design elements, logos and slogans on all printed pieces and promotions to reinforce your customer's message.

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