RR Donnelley

RR Donnelley & Sons Company and Banta Corporation jointly announced last week that they have signed a definitive agreement in which RR Donnelley will acquire Banta, a provider of printing, supply chain management and related services. The all-cash deal is valued at approximately $1.3 billion, or $36.50 per share after the special dividend of $16.00 per share already declared by Banta. The agreement has been unanimously approved by both companies’ board of directors and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2007. With the move, RR Donnelley will expand the range of products and services it offers customers, while at the same

Chuck Nason admits he wasn’t fully prepared for the effects of global competition as it accelerated in 2001. The president and CEO of Worzalla Publishing, a Stevens Point, Wis.-based book manufacturer, watched as a significant portion of the company’s four-color children’s book work went to China. “Global competition has affected us in a major way,” Nason contends. “It caused us to suffer a five-year slide in annual sales from just over $62 million to $44.4 million a year ago. This has meant little or no wage increases for our employees and a freeze on capital equipment purchases for four years.” Nason points out what

While digital toner and inkjet based color has been available for years, Lightning Source’s announcement at Book Expo America of its four-color one-off production line exponentially expands the base for untapped publishing business opportunities for mid-range, independent and high-end publishers. It also shines the light on the transformation of manufacturing business models in the past 10 years, providing a price-list-based, sophisticated manufacturing service that simplifies the supply chain process without sacrificing quality controls. Buying color in Asia or Europe in sufficient quantities to bring the unit cost down and allowing for the weeks of turnaround time need no longer be a barrier to the

CHICAGO, July 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- RR Donnelley & Sons Co. (NYSE: RRD) announced it completed its purchase of the Asia Printers Group Ltd., a prominent book printer for North American, the United Kingdom, European and Asian markets under the well-known South China Printing brand. The Group's Roman Financial Press is one of Hong Kong's leading financial printers. The acquisition agreement was announced on June 5, 2005. About RR Donnelley RR Donnelley (NYSE: RRD) is the world's premier full-service global print provider and the largest printing company in North America, serving customers in publishing, healthcare, advertising, retail, telecommunications, technology, financial services, and many other industries.

Mergers and acquisitions in the print industry over the past year resulted in some changes at the top of BookTech Magazine's annual Top Book Manufacturing listing—ranked by book-manufacturing revenue. One change concerns the perennial Nos. 1, 2 and 3 on our list. When RR Donnelley acquired Moore Wallace last year, it changed the way the $8 billion company breaks down its revenues. It used to report the performance of individual units, but now casts revenues into two major business components: publishing and retail services, and integrated print communications and global solutions business. The latter category accounts for 40.2 percent of RR Donnelley revenues. Of

For some, 2004 wasn't exactly easy on the blood pressure. For others, some gains planted seeds of optimism for 2005. Meanwhile, new business models are emerging incorporating print-on-demand. New technologies are being sought out to streamline workflow and cut costs. Cross-media publishing is starting to feel somewhat like the Gold Rush. Paper prices are rising, and demand in some grades could get tight this year. And that's just the beginning. The industry is also amidst a historic transition to a 13-digit ISBN number. E-books and handheld mobile devices are crossing the schoolyard and taking a seat in the classroom. Radio technology

It was a publisher's dream. Amy Fisher, the center of one of the largest media frenzies of the early '90s, had re-emerged in the media spotlight. After a decade of relative obscurity, the "Long Island Lolita," convicted of attempting to kill the wife of her older lover Joey Buttafuoco in August 1992, had served her seven-year sentence, started a family, become an award-winning journalist, and completed her first book, aptly titled "If I Knew Then …" The autobiography, which Fisher describes as "The truth behind the many sensationalized stories of who I was back then and some insight into who I am today," had

Competition in the book market is often fierce, and many book designers opt for foil, metallic, UV coating, or new or unusual substrates to set their titles apart and attract consumers. The challenges in committing to such innovative techniques are often difficulty, cost and production deadlines—using alternative materials can be more expensive, more complex to produce and more time-consuming. What it often comes down to is: Will the potential added time and expense translate into additional sales for this specific title? Some considerations publishers have to weigh before adding extras are the prestige of the author or project, the quality of the project