Editor's Note: In the fourth of this 5-part series, find out how you can leverage your knowledge to gain business in the education sector. Parts I, II and III dealt with the health care, financial and government markets.

John G. Reich, CFC, launched APTCO-Document & Business Product Solutions, in Mebane, N.C., in 1996. The distributorship offers a variety of products, including forms, office supplies and advertising specialties. Approximately 60 percent of the company's annual sales come from customers in the education market, including universities, community colleges and school boards. Reich discusses various opportunities:

1. There's a demand for a variety of products. Each department in a university is like a small city with a need for a variety of print-related products. Reich provides traditional forms, cut sheets, receipt books, shipping labels, labels used for housekeeping, and hazardous material tags. Each department has different requirements and presents a new sales opportunity for distributors.

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Ennis Acquires Specialized Printed Forms
Ennis Inc. entered into an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the stock of Specialized Printed Forms Inc. (SPF), Caledonia, N.Y. Ennis will purchase all outstanding stock of SPF from Robert McAleavey, the company's president and CEO, as well as the associated land and buildings from a partnership which leases the facility to SPF. The acquisition continues Ennis' growth strategy and adds to its capabilities more short run print products, long run (jumbo rolls) products, integrated labels and form/label combinations. SPF had sales of $9.5 million for the past year ended July 31, 2005. McAleavey will stay on as the general manager of SPF. Full story.

NewPage to Sell Carbonless Units, CEO Steps Down
NewPage Corp. and Glatfelter of York, Pa., announced that the companies have signed an agreement in which Glatfelter will acquire NewPage's Carbonless business operations, based in Chillicothe and Fremont, Ohio.

In a separate announcement, NewPage announced that Peter H. Vogel Jr., president and CEO, has resigned from the company effective March 1, in order to pursue personal interests. Board Chairman Mark A. Suwyn was named the interim CEO until a new CEO is selected. Full story.

The Chillicothe and Fremont operations had estimated 2005 sales of about $440 million. Under the terms of the agreement, Glatfelter, a manufacturer of specialty papers and engineered products, will purchase the assets for $80 million in cash.

In June 2005, NewPage announced its plan to review strategic alternatives for the carbonless operations, including the sale of the business to an owner with better alignment to its core product line, the sale of the business to the Chillicothe management team and/or employees, or restructuring the business.

"After reviewing several alternatives, we determined that selling the business to Glatfelter was the best possible option for the business, the employees who support the operation, our customers and the surrounding community," said Amber S. Garwood, spokesperson for NewPage Corp. "The decision also reflects our commitment to focus our energies to ensure NewPage continues to be the leader in the coated paper business." Full story.

Cenveo Closing More Facilities
Cenveo Inc. is closing its commercial printing plant in Centennial, Colo., putting 90 employees out of work, a Feb. 17 story in the Rocky Mountain News said. The company also recently disclosed it would close its envelope plant in Denver and cut 171 jobs. Cenveo told Colorado's Department of Labor that it would "completely close" the Centennial plant by April 15.

According to a Feb 18. story in The Arizona Republic, Cenveo is eliminating 164 jobs at two Phoenix sites. The Arizona Department of Economic Security said that Cenveo notified state officials that it will lay off workers at the company's 210 S. Fourth Ave. and 221 N. 48th Ave. locations. The job cuts will occur from April through June.

The company has been undergoing changes since Robert G. Burton was named Cenveo's chairman and CEO Sept. 9. He is the former president and CEO of Moore who improved the company's bottom line and raised the stock price by slashing payroll and other expenses. Before turning around Moore (which was bought by R.R. Donnelley), Burton ran World Color Press Inc., which merged with Quebecor Printing Inc. in 1999 to become Quebecor World Inc.

R.R. Donnelley Reports 4Q Loss, Renews Contracts
R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company reported a fourth-quarter 2005 net loss from continuing operations of $236 million on net sales of $2.4 billion compared to net earnings from continuing operations of $148.8 million on net sales of $2.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2004. The latest quarter included charges of $379.6 million for the impairment of goodwill at the company's forms and labels business, for restructuring and integration. Full story.

Additionally, the company recently renewed several multi-year contracts. It was awarded a $250 million contract extension to produce AARP's periodicals. It received a $25 million contract extension and additional new business from Blyth Inc., a home expressions company. R.R. Donnelley and Verizon Directories Corp. extended an under which the company will print directories for North America. It also received a contract extension to provide magazine printing, paper and logistics services and prepress needs for the Johnson Publishing Company's EBONY and JET magazines. R.R. Donnelley also won an agreement to print AT&T Yellow Pages' telephone directories in a dozen states across the country. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

IBSA to Offer Products to Health Group
International Business Solutions Alliance (IBSA) said that Oklahoma City-based INTEGRIS Health has agreed to purchase forms, printing, promotional products and other business solutions from IBSA through its purchasing agreement with Novation, the contracting services company of VHA Inc. and the University HealthSystem Consortium. INTEGRIS Health operates a system of 11 hospitals.

Standard Register Creates On Demand Solutions Unit
Standard Register formed an On Demand Solutions Group to improve the flexibility and speed with which it can respond to customers' requests for services. It consists of Print on Demand Services, Document Systems and Digital Solutions, IT and the Enterprise Programs, and the Software Group. Joe Morgan, vice president and CTO, has been appointed general manager of the group. Joe Klenke has been appointed vice president and general manager, Print on Demand Services, reporting to Morgan.

Business Stationery Launches Webinar Program
Business Stationery LLC is launching a webinar program to educate distributors, sales reps and customer service personnel about the basics of printing and selling stationery programs online. Mark Cupach, director of national sales, said, "The print market is moving to a web-to-print environment. With more than 20 million business card and stationery orders annually, the benefits to both distributors and end users of implementing electronic ordering programs for stationery are substantial." Call Cupach at (216) 514-1290, or send email to cupachm@bsiprint.com.

Paris Business Products Introduces Paper
Paris Business Products launched a 12-hole paper for the health care, manufacturing and office organization markets. The paper is ideal for offices that are consolidating supplies, the company said. The 92-bright paper features 12 holes, five on the top and seven on the side. It's compatible with most ring binder and file fastening systems, including 5-hole, 2-hole and 3-hole top, and 5-hole, 2-hole, 3-hole and 7-hole left side.

OfficeMax Reports 4Q, 2005 Results
OfficeMax Inc. reported results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended Dec. 31. For the fourth quarter of 2005, the company reported a net loss of $43.1 million compared with net income of $.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2004. For the full year 2005, the company reported a net loss of $73.8 million compared with net income of $173.1 million for the same period in 2004. Full story.

Ready or Not, Printed Electronics Will Redefine the Industry

In the second part of his interview with Print Matters, Michael L. Kleper, Paul and Louise Miller Distinguished Professor, Rochester Institute of Technology, N.Y., discusses how printed electronics will impact the industry.

1. Do printed electronics have the potential to redefine the printing industry?

Yes, I believe so. I tell my students that Gutenberg was the man of the millennium in the year 2000, for the impact that printing had on the spread of literacy. I predict that Gutenberg will be named the man of the next millennium for the impact that printing will have in the production of inexpensive electronics that will enable the addition of intelligence to everyday objects.

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Here are three tips on selling presentation folders:

1. Expand your client base. Presentation folders are commonly ordered by law firms, schools and trade show exhibitors. But there's an application for almost everyone, including celebrity Carmen Electra. PrintGlobe Inc., Austin, Texas, sold 1,000 presentation folders to an ad agency to market Electra's Aerobic Striptease DVD series. The 9 x 12-inch folders were blind embossed with a silhouette of Electra's body on the front.

2. Think beyond 9 x 12 inches. While the most popular presentation folder size is 9 x 12 inches, other options abound. PrintGlobe sells many 6 x 9-inch, 4 x 9-inch and 4 1/2 x 10 1/4-inch folders. A 6 x 9-inch folder fits nicely inside a portfolio notebook. Trifold brochures fit neatly in a 4 x 9-inch pocket folder. And 4 1/2 x 10 1/4-inch folders are ideal document holders.

3. Finish strong. Orders for presentation folders often contain many components such as pockets, die cuts, embossing and foil stamping. While it's critical to get specifications correct, an important one that's sometimes overlooked is the paper finish. Choosing matte, high-gloss or something in between can make or break a project. Dan Steinborn, president of PrintGlobe, recalls a client who ordered a black folder with a full flood varnish from another printer. The folders were covered with fingerprints within seconds of handling them. "They were totally unusable," Steinborn says. "It's great to sell a $1,500 job, but it stinks to reprint it."

Supply-chain partnerships are evolving. End users demand single-source providers for their print and promotional needs, and technology often allows print providers to be that single source. Today, companies throughout the supply chain seek ways to partner-not just compete-with one another. The goal is to create a streamlined process that delivers solutions to end users and profits to partners. Golden Pacific Systems Inc. serves as an example of how businesses can benefit from supply-chain partnerships.

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