Frye Publication Consulting

How Will RR Donnelley’s Recent Acquisitions Affect Book Publishers?
January 5, 2007

Whether it’s an example of survival of the fittest for printers or merely another entry in a long line of acquisitions, RR Donnelley & Sons put the publishing industry on notice as it completed its “trilogy of transactions” this week, a course of action the industry’s top commercial printer says will help offer its customers greater capacity and flexibility. The Chicago-based printer announced it would make an all-cash purchase of educational-book printer Von Hoffmann from Visant Corp., in a deal valued at $412.5 million, RR Donnelley officials said Wednesday. “In concert with our fully integrated international production platform, the addition of Von Hoffmann’s facilities will offer

A Primer on Selecting Alternative Book Papers
November 1, 2006

Mills have traditionally heavily promoted their high-quality papers made from virgin fiber stocks. But technological changes in recent years have made available other types of stocks—in particular: recycled, synthetic and groundwood substrates. Each of these papers offer characteristics that are different from papers made from virgin fibers. Here are a few important considerations for each of these paper stock “alternatives.” Recycled Content Many publishers are feeling pressure from environmental groups to use recycled papers, which often are sold at a premium, while the post-consumer content still hovers at around 10 percent. However, characteristics for papers used by magazines, catalogs, newspapers and flyers have improved to a

The Lowdown on Hi-Fi Color
April 1, 2005

Is it time to take another look at Hi-Fi printing? Hi-Fi is any printing technology that delivers a higher-quality product than the normal four-color process. This is usually done with custom ink applications of five, six, seven or even eight-color Hi-Fi ink sets that deliver a wider range of colors than the standard CYMK process. Hi-Fi breaks the color barrier and achieves far superior brightness levels. Ten years ago it was touted as the next great innovation in high-quality printing. The flexography market has done well with it for the packaging industry, but it somewhat fizzled in the publishing industry. However, a devoted group

State of the Printing and Paper Markets
April 1, 2004

A new year is upon us, and again we peer into our crystal ball. The goal: to try and forecast where two of our biggest costs are headed. For two years it was strongly believed that printing and paper costs had to go up, because we were experiencing historically low costs in those areas. We endured a 1-2-3 punch: the dot-com advertising crash, the Sept. 11th tragedy and subsequent wars, and financial debacles at major U.S. corporations. Yet we were still standing. In the past, any one of these events might have been enough to drastically alter the economy. Here all three occurred in