Paperclips Blog | Office Depot Results

01.23.2013
AEP Industries Inc. Reports Fiscal 2012 Results

AEP Industries Inc. today reported financial results for its fiscal year ended October 31, 2012.

Net sales for fiscal 2012 increased $177.7 million, or 18%, to $1,152.5 million from $974.8 million for fiscal 2011. Excluding the impact of the Company's October 14, 2011 acquisition of Webster Industries ("Webster"), the increase was the result of an increase in sales volume of 5% for fiscal 2012, combined with a 1% increase in average selling prices. The acquisition of Webster added an additional $114.3 million in net sales during fiscal 2012.

Gross profit for fiscal 2012 was $182.7 million, an increase of $54.0 million, or 42%, compared to the prior fiscal year. Excluding the decrease of the LIFO reserve change of $11.6 million year-over-year and $12.2 million in additional gross profit contributed from Webster, gross profit increased $30.2 million primarily due to increased sales volumes and improved material margins.

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01.23.2013
von Drehle Acquires Mississippi River Pulp and Paper Natchez Site

von Drehle Corporation said that it has purchased Mississippi River Pulp and Paper in Natchez, Mississippi.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

In a written statement, von Drehle said, "This acquisition provides the necessary de-inking and facility space for future mill and converting expansion."

von Drehle noted that it intends to maintain the site's current production capabilities.

"We believe the people, community, and state are a good fit for von Drehle and we appreciate their support throughout this process," said Randy Bergman, COO of von Drehle Corporation.

Founded in 1974, the von Drehle Corporation is a privately held company headquartered in Hickory, North Carolina, that manufactures Towel, Tissue and Dispenser products for the Away-from-Home market.

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01.23.2013
Caraustar Announces A Price Increase On All Paper Tube And Core Products

Caraustar Industries, Inc. announced a price increase of up to 4% on all paper tube and core product lines. The increase will be effective with shipments beginning March 1, 2013. The increase is primarily in response to increases in recycled paperboard prices and other costs.
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01.23.2013
Summit Business Media Closes Print Edition of Treasury & Risk, Selling Futures Magazine

Summit Business Media has shut down the print version of Treasury & Risk magazine and is in advanced talks to sell Futures. The moves are part of on ongoing adjustment of resources towards digital and brands that offer scale in core markets served.

In other words, the company is focusing on developing only its market verticals that offer the best opportunities for multiplatform buildouts, while closing or selling off the ones that don't.

While Treasury & Risk will no longer be published in print, the company will continue to support the brand digitally, says John Whelan, executive vice president of Summit's media division. Summit will also work with core advertisers to build custom content solutions associated with the brand's audience.

"Where the product doesn't fit we're divesting, but where it is a fit we are repositioning it within the portfolio," he says. "As we migrate to an increasingly all-digital environment, that ability to deliver scale in a digital format is really important."

Futures, he says, no longer scales across Summit's core markets, but is profitable and a viable brand on its own. The company is in advanced talks for a transfer of assets, he says.

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01.23.2013
Oil Trades Near Four-Month High Before Vote on U.S. Debt

Oil traded near the highest price in four months in New York on speculation that the U.S. will lift its debt limit, offsetting forecasts that fuel inventories increased in the world’s largest crude consumer.

West Texas Intermediate was little changed after gaining 0.7 percent yesterday as President Barack Obama’s administration said it welcomes a move by House Republicans to vote today on raising the debt ceiling through mid-May. U.S. crude stockpiles probably rose last week, according to a Bloomberg News survey before a government report tomorrow. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its growth forecast for oil demand in China.

“We expect some jitters in oil prices leading up to discussion of the debt ceiling,” said Michael Poulsen, an analyst at Global Risk Management Ltd. in Middelfart, Denmark, “U.S. politicians will probably reach a deal that kicks the much-dented can down the road. A real structural reform looks a bit unlikely.”

WTI crude for March delivery was at $96.66 a barrel, down 2 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 11:27 a.m. London time.

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01.23.2013
American Forest & Paper Association Releases December 2012 Kraft Paper Sector Report

The American Forest & Paper Association released its December 2012 Kraft Paper Report on Friday, Jan. 18.

Total Kraft paper shipments were 118 thousand tons, a decrease of 12 percent compared to the prior month. While bleached Kraft paper shipments increased year-over-year 22 percent, the 17 percent year-over-year decline in shipments of the larger segment - unbleached Kraft paper - was significant enough to bring overall Kraft paper shipments down compared to 2011. Total month-end inventory increased 13 percent to 85.7 thousand tons this month compared to November 2012 month-end inventories.

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01.23.2013
American Forest & Paper Association Releases December 2012 Paperboard Statistics Report

The American Forest & Paper Association released its December 2012 U.S. Paperboard Report on Thursday, Jan. 17.

Total boxboard production increased by 6.4 percent compared to December 2011 but decreased 0.4 percent from last month. Unbleached Kraft Boxboard production increased over the same month last year and increased compared to last month. Total Solid Bleached Boxboard & Liner production increased compared to December 2011 and increased compared to last month. The production of Recycled Boxboard increased compared to December 2011 but decreased when compared to last month.

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01.23.2013
American Forest & Paper Association Releases December 2012 Containerboard Statistics Report

The American Forest & Paper Association released its December 2012 U. S. Containerboard Statistics Report on Thursday, Jan. 17.

Containerboard production grew 1.5 percent over November 2012 and 2.3 percent over the same month last year. However, the month-over-month average daily production decreased 1.8 percent. The containerboard operating rate for December 2012 lost 1.7 points over November 2012, from 96.9 percent to 95.2 percent.

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01.23.2013
RockTenn Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2013 Results

RockTenn today reported earnings for the quarter ended December 31, 2012 of $1.18 per diluted share and adjusted earnings of $1.35 per diluted share. Adjusted earnings per share increased 14% over the prior year quarter.

Net sales of $2,287 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2013 increased $19 million compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2012. Segment income of $209 million increased $16 million or 8% over the prior year quarter.
RockTenn’s restructuring and other costs and operating losses and transition costs due to plant closures were $0.17 per diluted share after-tax, for the first quarter of fiscal 2013. These costs consisted primarily of $9 million of pre-tax facility closure charges and $7 million of pre-tax integration costs.

RockTenn Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James A. Rubright stated, “Our 14% adjusted earnings per share increase over the prior year quarter reflects the progress we’ve made in the operating performance of our Corrugated Packaging segment and higher pricing from the fall 2012 containerboard and box price increases. Corrugated Packaging segment EBITDA margins increased to 15.4% for the quarter.”

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01.23.2013
Cenveo Completes Refinancing

Cenveo Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cenveo, Inc. announced that it obtained a $50 million unsecured term loan due 2017 ("Unsecured Term Loan") from Macquarie Capital. The Company used the proceeds from the Unsecured Term Loan, plus available cash and borrowings under its revolving credit facility to repay the remainder of its 7.875% senior subordinated notes due 2013 plus accrued and unpaid interest.
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01.23.2013
Greenpeace back to raising alarm over Boreal forest

Greenpeace has returned to its adversarial tactics with regard to the Canadian forest products industry. The environmental organization expressed its disappointment with the cooperative, industry-environmentalist working arrangement of the Boreal Forest Agreement late last year by quitting the group. Greenpeace quickly followed up with the release of the “Boreal Alarm”, a report “identifying five endangered Boreal forest areas that require immediate conservation planning and protection.”

Greenpeace is calling for the immediate suspension of logging in these forests of Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba and is advising wood products customers to check their supply chain to ensure they are not sourcing from these forests.

Resolute Forest Products, a company which Greenpeace alleges is logging in critical caribou habitat, is active in three of the five zones, including the Montagnes Blanches and Trout Lake-Caribou Forests.

Reported in the Montreal Gazetter on Jan. 16, a spokesperson for Resolute said that Greenpeace’s new report was repeating “erroneous, deceptive and misleading” allegations it made against the company in December.

“This behaviour by Greenpeace is absolutely irresponsible, and it represents a tremendous disservice to the tens of thousands of good Canadians who work in the forest sector,” said Seth Kursman, the company’s vice-president of communications, sustainability and government affairs.

“Canadian forestry practices are among the very best in the world.”
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01.23.2013
Rayonier to Sell Wood Products Business to Interfor

Rayonier announced today that it has reached agreement to sell all of the assets of its Wood Products business to International Forest Products Limited (Interfor) for $80 million. The sale, expected to close in the first quarter, will result in an after-tax gain of approximately $40 million.

Rayonier's Wood Products business, headquartered in Baxley, Ga., consists of three lumber mills located in Baxley, Swainsboro and Eatonton, Ga. As part of the transaction, Interfor has agreed to hire all 260 current Wood Products employees. The three mills contributed approximately $10 million in operating income to Rayonier in 2012.

“This sale represents another key move in our strategy to fully position our manufacturing operations in the specialty chemicals sector,” said Paul Boynton, Rayonier chairman, president and CEO. “At the same time, the conversion of our commodity fluff pulp business to cellulose specialties remains on track for mid-2013 startup.

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01.23.2013
Courier Starts Strong in New Fiscal Year

Courier Corporation, one of America’s leading innovators in book manufacturing, publishing and content management, today announced results for the quarter ended December 29, 2012, the first quarter of its 2013 fiscal year. Revenues for the quarter were $64.8 million, up 3% from last year’s first-quarter sales of $62.9 million. Net income for the quarter was $2.4 million or $.21 per diluted share, up from $1.5 million or $.12 per diluted share in the first quarter of fiscal 2012, which included charges related to severance and post-retirement benefits and a gain from asset sales; excluding those items, net income for fiscal 2012’s first quarter was $.17 per diluted share. Details of those items can be found in the tables at the end of this release.

While the revenue increase was modest overall, larger gains were achieved in religious sales and at Courier Digital Solutions, which produces customized, offset-equivalent four-color academic textbooks and other short-run books using HP digital inkjet technology. During the quarter Courier announced plans to open a second digital facility in Indiana.

“It was a solid quarter in our book manufacturing business, led by Courier Digital Solutions,” said Courier Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James F. Conway III. “Our investments in content management software and four-color digital inkjet technology have strengthened our leadership in the education market and brought us new business in specialty trade as well.

“In anticipation of further growth, we have begun work in preparation for the April startup of a second fully-integrated digital operation at our four-color offset facility in Kendallville, Indiana. The result will be to offer customers unprecedented flexibility in matching their print strategies to their inventory requirements across the full life cycle of every title, while facilitating nationwide distribution.

“In our publishing segment, revenues were down from last year, but the segment’s operating loss was smaller due to the effects of cost-cutting measures, several well-received new titles, and consumers’ positive response to our growing offering of e-books.

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01.22.2013
Walmart Canada Announces Expansion Plans

Today Walmart Canada announced that it plans to complete at least 37 supercentre projects in the company’s next fiscal year, which runs from February 1, 2013 to January 31, 2014. The company also announced it will be expanding its distribution network to support its ongoing store growth and expansion plans.

The distribution centre projects, construction of new stores, and expansion, remodelling or relocation of existing stores represents an investment of more than $450 million in the Canadian economy. These expansion plans are expected to generate more than 7,000 store, trade and construction jobs.

“Our associates across the country have done an incredible job this past year serving our customers and opening a record number of new stores and supercentres,” said Shelley Broader, president and CEO of Walmart Canada. “This year, we are ramping up our focus on lowering prices and helping customers lower their cost of living, as we continue to bring our supercentre format to more Canadians.”

Walmart’s supercentres provide Canadians with a one-stop shopping experience. Each stores carries close to 100,000 different products ranging from apparel and home decor to electronics and grocery, plus specialty services such as pharmacies, garden centres, and vision centres. The company will also introduce the supercentre format to locations in the Maritimes this year.

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01.22.2013
Duluth News Tribune moving production to new state-of-the-art press

As he talked about the Duluth News Tribune’s new state-of-the art press, publisher Ken Browall’s excitement showed.

“For those of us who have been in the business, it’s like a work of art in progress,” said Browall, who started at age 10 with a newspaper route. “You stand there. You’re mesmerized by the beauty of it.”

The News Tribune is moving its production operations from the basement of its downtown Duluth building to a new 35,000-square-foot production center on Airpark Boulevard. There, the new $2.67 million Goss offset press has been assembled and is up and running on a limited basis as pressmen learn the new technology. It replaces an old Goss flexo press that’s near the end of its lifespan.

Use of the new press is being phased in. The Sunday comics and Scrapbook sections started being printed there early this month, then shipped downtown and inserted in the rest of the paper. The printing of the News Tribune’s sister papers — the Pine Journal, Lake County News-Chronicle, Duluth Budgeteer News and some shoppers — has been moved there, with the Superior Telegram to follow. Like the News Tribune, all are owned by Forum Communications Co., which had earlier consolidated the area’s printing operations in Duluth.

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01.22.2013
Brent Oil Rise to One-Week High as Japan Plans Stimulus

Brent crude advanced to the highest level in more than a week as Japan’s central bank said it will expand asset purchases to lift the world’s third-biggest oil consumer out of the recession.

Futures rose as much as 0.7 percent to the highest since Jan. 10. The Bank of Japan (8301) will introduce open-ended asset purchases from January 2014 to boost the economy. Euro-area finance ministers yesterday approved a payout of 9.2 billion euros ($12.3 billion) to Greece this month.

“Expectations for stimulus in Japan have been propping up markets in otherwise thin trading,” said Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital in London who predicts Brent may find resistance at $112.50 a barrel this month.

Brent for March settlement climbed as much as 77 cents to $112.48 a barrel, and traded for $112.37 as of 11:08 a.m. on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

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01.22.2013
Packaging Corporation of America Reports Record Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2012 Results

Packaging Corporation of America today reported fourth quarter 2012 net income of $61 million, or $0.63 per share. The reported results included net income of $3 million, or $0.03 per share, from state income tax adjustments and after tax charges of $1 million, or $0.01 per share, from plant closures. Excluding these items, net income was $59 million, or $0.61 per share, compared to fourth quarter 2011 net income of $39 million, or $0.40 per share. Net sales in the fourth quarter were $737 million, up 13% compared to the fourth quarter of 2011.

The $0.21 per share increase in earnings, excluding special items, was driven by higher containerboard and corrugated products price and mix ($0.12), higher volume ($0.09) and lower costs for recycled fiber ($0.04) and energy ($0.02). These items were partially offset by higher costs for labor and benefits ($0.05).

Full year earnings, excluding special items, were $201 million, or $2.06 per share, compared to 2011 earnings of $162 million, or $1.61 per share. The $0.45 per share increase in earnings was driven by higher volume ($0.33) and price and mix ($0.06), lower costs for energy ($0.17), recycled fiber ($0.12) and chemicals ($0.05) and a lower share count ($0.05). These items were partially offset by higher costs for labor and benefits ($0.14), depreciation ($0.08), interest ($0.06) and transportation ($0.05). Net sales in 2012 were a record $2.844 billion, up 9% over 2011. Full year earnings, including special items, were $164 million, or $1.68 per share, compared to 2011 earnings of $158 million, or $1.57 per share. Special items for both years are shown on the schedule included in this press release.

Corrugated products shipments for the fourth quarter were up 5.8% per workday, and total shipments were up 7.6% with one more workday compared to last year’s fourth quarter. Containerboard production was 652,500 tons, up 12,000 tons over the fourth quarter of 2011. For the full year, PCA mills produced 2.600 million tons of containerboard which is essentially 100% of capacity. PCA ended the year with its containerboard inventories about 6,000 tons above 2011 year-end levels.

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01.21.2013
Polypropylene prices jump 15 cents pound

A major price hike has hit the North American polypropylene market, sending prices up an average of 15 cents per pound since Jan. 1.

Average selling prices in the region for polystyrene also are up 3 cents per pound since Nov. 1, while suspension PVC prices in the region have dropped 1 cent per pound since Dec. 1.

The 15-cent PP increase is shown on this week's Plastics News resin pricing chart, along with a 1-cent increase for that material that occurred in December. The net change on the PN chart is an upward move of 16 cents.

The January move is the eighth double-digit price swing to hit the North American PP market since January 2011. Increased volatility has been a concern of both buyers and producers of the material.

The recent increase again was tied in to a major fluctuation in the price of propylene monomer feedstock. Propylene supplies have grown tight because of a number of planed and unplanned outages in production throughout the U.S. Gulf Coast, including a lengthy shutdown at a plant operated by Petrologistics LLC in the Houston area.

"This [increase] is all supply-related," said Scott Newell, a PP market analyst with Resin Technology Inc. in Fort Worth, Texas. "And we're now moving into the season of planned outages."

Tighter regional PP inventories also are allowing producers to gain pricing power, Newell added, pointing out that PP inventories at the processor level fell more than 200 million pounds during 2012.

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01.21.2013
US Congress must help USPS grow revenues, says GAO

For USPS to pull itself out of its current financial difficulties, it cannot just rely on pension and healthcare reforms and high-profile cost-cutting measures – it must also find fresh ways to raise new revenue streams.

That is the central message of a new report from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) sent to Congress this week.

The report comes with a new session of Congress needing to restart the process of drawing up and passing postal reform legislation this year in order to solve the huge financial problems at the US Postal Service, with mail volumes currently falling “precipitously”.

The GAO sheds light on dozens of revenue-raising initiatives that the Postal Service has been pursuing in recent years, but also warns that many have been abandoned for various reasons including the fact that Congress decided back in 2006 to restrict USPS to providing only products and services that could be firmly defined as postal.

The GAO report looks at suggested revenue-generating ideas that arose from conversations between USPS and stakeholders since 2010.

The process identified more than 1,500 ideas, which were narrowed down into specific projects with most potential, fitting with USPS priorities including making it easier to use the mail, improving the value of the mail and growing the package business.
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01.21.2013
Corporate Leaders Expand Use of FutureMark Recycled Paper in 2012

FutureMark®Paper Group, North America’s leading provider of responsibly made, high-recycled paper, grew its customer base for a third straight year in 2012 with the addition of respected organizations such as the American Museum of Natural History, Black & Decker, Kaplan, Kohl’s, Sam’s Club, Time Inc., Trader Joe’s and Wiley. FutureMark also significantly expanded relationships with existing customers Chick-fil-A, National Geographic and Whole Foods Market.

“FutureMark Paper Group continues to expand and grow, despite tough conditions overall in the North American market for printing paper,” said FutureMark President and CEO Steve Silver. “Our commitment to minimizing the environmental impact of paper production is really paying off. Customers value our products’ high recycled content and environmental profile. They especially seem to like that our recycled paper performs and costs the same as less green, non-recycled alternatives.”

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01.21.2013
Canfor Announces Capital Investments in Mackenzie Sawmill

Canfor Corporation announced today that the Company will be proceeding with capital improvement projects totalling approximately $40 million to increase productivity and recovery at its sawmill in Mackenzie, British Columbia (B.C.).

The investment will include modifications and upgrades to the sawmill, kilns and planer.

“Our fibre supply in the Mackenzie region is strong and this announcement reflects confidence in our ability to operate an internationally-competitive mill in this community,” said Don Kayne, President and CEO of Canfor Corporation.

The capital project will commence in January 2013, with anticipated completion in November 2013.
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01.21.2013
Oil Drops From Four-Month High Amid U.S., European Debt Talks

Oil dropped from the highest level in four months in New York before European finance ministers meet today to discuss the region’s debt crisis and as U.S. lawmakers vote this week on budget measures.

West Texas Intermediate futures slid as much as 0.5 percent, declining for the first time in four days. House Republicans will use the planned Jan. 23 vote on a debt-ceiling increase to try to force Senate Democrats to outline their spending plans. Finance ministers in Brussels will assess Spain, Greece and Cyprus and debate how to enact policies they promised to subdue the region’s crisis.

“In Europe, we believe things are deteriorating rapidly,” said Guy Wolf, a strategist at London-based commodities broker Marex Spectron Group Ltd. “Everyone believes the crisis has been solved. Yet politicians haven’t done anything, we have just seen markets apply less pressure.”

WTI crude for February delivery, which expires tomorrow, fell as much as 51 cents to $95.05 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $95.13 at 10:46 a.m. London time. The more active March contract was down 40 cents at $95.64.

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01.21.2013
Pearson trading update

Pearson, the world’s leading learning company, is today providing its regular January trading update. We will report preliminary results for 2012 on 25 February 2013.

In general, Pearson's businesses continue to face tough market conditions and structural industry change which we see continuing into 2013. The company continues to gain share in key markets and to benefit from its investments in digital services and developing economies.

Market conditions remained weak, as expected, in the key fourth-quarter selling season for higher education, consumer publishing and corporate advertising. For 2012 as a whole we expect to report good revenue growth at constant exchange rates, operating profit of approximately £935m (broadly level at CER), adjusted earnings of approximately 84p per share and cash conversion of close to 90%. The 2012 results will reflect the absence of a profit contribution from FTSE International (£20m of operating profit and 2.2p of EPS in 2011) and the impact of the radically-changed trading environment for Pearson in Practice, which led to the recent decision to plan to exit that business.
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01.21.2013
Meredith Corporation Records Fiscal 2013 Second Quarter Special Charge

Meredith Corporation said today it recorded a net special charge of $7 million ($4 million after-tax, or $0.10 per share) in its fiscal 2013 second quarter. The charge was related to business realignments and selected workforce reductions designed to realize the full value of recent acquisitions, and as part of an ongoing process to optimize performance and achieve further cost efficiencies.

Meredith has aggressively scaled its capabilities to deliver content over multiple platforms to meet increased consumer demand and growing client requests for multiplatform advertising and marketing programs in the past year. As a result, Meredith has added or created approximately 300 jobs to support key strategic growth initiatives including the:
• Acquisition of Allrecipes.com, doubling Meredith's digital presence. The addition made Meredith the No. 1 digital food media company, and moved it to No. 3 in the digital women's lifestyle category.
• Addition of the EveryDay with Rachael Ray and FamilyFun brands. These moves increased Meredith's share of the U.S. magazine industry advertising revenues to its current level of nearly 12 percent.
• Purchase of ShopNation and launch of a growing e-commerce platform.
• Execution of digital, mobile, video and social expansion strategies, including creating tablet editions; developing new mobile apps; and expanding video content creation capabilities.
• Expansion and monetization of Local Media Group video content through an increase in local news programming, along with more national video content creation.

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01.21.2013
Sonoco Announces Price Increase for All Paperboard Tubes and Cores

Sonoco today announced that it will raise the price for all paperboard tubes and cores by 4 percent, effective with shipments in the United States and Canada beginning Feb. 18, 2013.

"This price increase is necessary to recover recently announced paperboard price increases and other inflationary inputs impacting our converting cost," said James Harrell, vice president, Tubes and Cores-North America.

Sonoco is the largest producer of paper-based tubes and cores in North America which are used to serve the paper, textiles, plastic films and tape and specialty industries.

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01.18.2013
Publishers Focus on a Complex Future at Digital Book World 2013

The annual Digital Book World conference opened yesterday with a host of industry executives trying to make sense of a new and complex publishing reality. Highlighted by media analyst James McQuivey, a CEO panel, former Macmillan president, now venture capitalist, Brian Napack, and an impressive appearance by President Barack Obama’s digital director Ted Goff—son of publishing executive Neal Goff--this year’s conference offered perspectives on the future of the industry, market conditions and corporate consolidation, the decline of the physical bookstore and the continuing power of technology to transform how publishers do business.

Once again McQuivey, who is also publishing a new book, Digital Disruption, in February with Amazon Publishing, offered the results of a Forrester Research survey on the “digital readiness” of publishing companies, noting very quickly that Apple has sold more than 120 million (including iPad Minis) tablets worldwide, calling the figure, “a big deal.” The survey of 53 executives found 85% of respondents are “optimistic” about the digital transition and that 64% believe that publishers are “capable of competing” in the new digital marketplace and that 55% are confident that their own companies can compete (both figures are down about 10% from last year, he said.).

Respondents to the survey said that tablets (60%) were the ideal reading devices over dedidcated e-readers (23%) and that 45% of the respondents thought dedicated e-readers were “irrelevant,” though McQuivey was quick to note that “this is not necessarily the death knell of e-readers which are still very popular with voracious digital readers.” He noted however that, “I read on a 7” tablet myself.” 85% of the respondents produce apps, 45% of them say they cost to much to produce and 21% see revenue potential in producing apps. 32% of survey respondent also believe that print sales will continue to decrease and 21% believe e-book sales will continue to increase. Previous surveys have also suggested that half of all book sales will be digital by 2014 but 23% of the respondents said that has already happened at their company. McQuivey was doubtful on that last point. but acknowledged that “we’re approaching digital disruption rapidly."

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01.18.2013
WSJ to Launch New Magazine, WSJ. Money

Whether it’s taking stock of one’s own wealth or gawking at others,’ people’s interest in money seems limitless. So says The Wall Street Journal, which is giving personal finance the glossy treatment with a new magazine insert, WSJ. Money.

WSJ. Money is a spinoff of WSJ. Magazine, the newspaper’s luxury lifestyle insert. The title is slated to make its debut March 9 and publish four times this year. It’ll be distributed in the Journal’s weekend edition in the U.S., which has a circulation of 2.3 million. The goal is for 50 pages per issue, including 30 edit and 20 ad pages.

There’s no shortage of magazines targeted towards the rich; this past year newcomers Bloomberg Pursuits (a spinoff of Bloomberg Markets) and DuJour joined a category that includes Town & Country, Departures and ForbesLife.

The executives behind WSJ. Money said their title would be distinct visually and emotionally rich in the way it would treat the subject of personal finance. Money isn’t going to have service pieces about picking stocks and funds, but narratives about characters and lesser-known parts of the world. Leaning heavily on existing Journal staffers, including columnists Jason Zweig, Brett Arends and Kelly Greene, WSJ. Money will include such departments as My Biggest Mistake, a celebrity interview; Empire Builder, which outlines the steps a successful person took to make it big; and Family Office, a look at the world of advisors to the rich.
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01.18.2013
Canadian Union Protests Lack of Compensation in Vertis Plant Closure

A large printing plant owned by Vertis has been shut down in Fort Erie, Ontario, leaving the staff without jobs or compensation. About 100 members of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union (CEP) Local 425G in the Niagara region have just learned of the closure and are confronting the company’s refusal to pay out termination and severance, required under Canadian law.

“A company does not have the right to shut down without notice or compensation for the employees that have worked for them, many for most of their lives,” said Dan Wickson, President of Local 425G.

The Fort Erie plant is one of three that were not included in the purchase of Vertis by Quad Graphics. It was the only Canadian plant owned by the American company Vertis.

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01.18.2013
John Roberts Attains SOC 2 Client Data Security Assurance

The John Roberts Co. (JRC) is pleased to announce the successful completion of a Service Organization Controls (SOC) 2 attestation engagement covering the trust principles of Security, Confidentially and Availability. Clifton Larson Allen issued an unqualified opinion that provides JRC’s clients an assurance that the controls the company has implemented were suitably designed to meet or exceed the prescribed criteria for each trust principle as defined by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

The evaluation criteria included a review of JRC’s policies, procedures and processes to ensure that confidential client information is handled appropriately while in the printer’s possession.

“It is critical in our business to have a secure, reliable and controlled information infrastructure,” said Michael Keene, president and CEO of John Roberts. “Security of our clients’ data is of paramount importance, and it is why we have become one of the first companies in our industry to successfully complete a SOC 2 attestation engagement.”

Wendi Breuer, vice president of sales, added, “SOC 2 is the standard that security conscious clients are using to evaluate their service providers against and we are proud to offer our clients this objective evaluation criteria. We feel it validates their decision to partner with John Roberts.”

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01.18.2013
Delhaize’s Sweetbay to close 33 stores

Delhaize Group announced that it would close 33 under-performing Sweetbay stores in Florida by mid-February. The shutterings, which are part of a broader reorganization plan, amount to about one-third of the chain.

“While these decisions are difficult, especially given the impact on our associates, customers and communities, these actions will continue to enhance the performance of our overall store portfolio and further enable us to deliver profitable growth and accelerate shareholder value,” the company said in a statement.

Sweetbay will operate 72 stores after stores are closed.
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01.18.2013
Hearst’s Clinton: Brand Integration is Driving More Business

Print may still be the breadwinner for most publishers, but multiplatform integration is now what’s behind any meaningful growth in ad revenue. Bringing a brand’s content and messaging across the entire media spectrum is where the fight for marketing dollars will be won. At Hearst Magazines, that concept has helped propel revenue in the first quarter above same-period 2011 levels.

“The whole idea of integration is driving business,” says Michael Clinton, president of marketing and publishing director of Hearst Magazines. “Ten years ago, Cosmo’s audience was about 17 million and change—that was it. Ten years later, the magazine audience is around 18 million but there is another 10 million that live in the Cosmo universe. These are women who go to Cosmo.com, that follow Cosmo on social media or they follow Cosmo on Sirius Radio. The expansion of the audience, because of the other platforms, allows us to work with advertisers in an integrated way through print, digital, tablets and social media—it lifts all boats.”

While the company’s revenue continues to be derived predominantly from print,?and, Clinton adds, “Will be that way for as far as the eye can see,” the company has been acquiring revenue sources from its other platforms by introducing cross platform, integrated programs to advertisers.

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01.18.2013
AAA Fuel Gage & Exchange Rates

AAA Fuel Gage 1/18/13
National Unleaded Regular:
Current Average - $3.293/gallon
Month Ago Average - $3.226/gallon
Year Ago Average - $3.378/gallon
Highest Recorded Average - $4.114/gallon on 7/17/08
Diesel:
Current Average - $3.897/gallon
Month Ago Average - $3.925/gallon
Year Ago Average - $3.872/gallon
Highest Recorded Average - $4.845/gallon on 7/17/08

Current Exchange Rates as of 1/18/13
American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 1.009433
American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.160762
American Dollar to Euro = 1.334576
American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.011124
American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.079317

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01.18.2013
Oil Heads for Longest Run of Weekly Gains in 14 Months

Oil headed for the longest weekly rising streak in 14 months in New York after economic growth accelerated in China, the world’s second-biggest crude consumer.

West Texas Intermediate traded close to a four-month high after gaining the most in two weeks yesterday. The International Energy Agency raised forecasts for global oil demand this year as demand rises in China and said the world oil market is “tighter” than previously estimated. China’s gross domestic product rose 7.9 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, compared with 7.4 percent in the previous period, the National Bureau of Statistics said today in Beijing.

“I don’t think there will be a hard landing in China,” said Michael Poulsen, an analyst at Global Risk Management Ltd. in Middelfart, Denmark.

Crude for February delivery was at $95.38 a barrel, down 11 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 11:37 a.m. London time. The contract advanced 1.3 percent to $95.49 yesterday. That was biggest gain since Jan. 2 and the highest close since Sept. 17. Prices gained 2 percent this week for a sixth straight advance, the longest run of gains since November 2011.

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01.18.2013
BPA Solidifies Rule Changes to Reflect Media Landscape

In an era of multiplatform media consumption, quantifying a large spectrum of metrics gets harder and harder. To provide clarity to its members, auditing agency BPA Worldwide has solidified several rule amendments that are scheduled to take effect immediately.

In May 2012, the BPA Board allowed the reporting of digital copies served through applications as qualified circulation. At the time, it was determined that through authentication via an access code tied to subscriber registration or information, media owners had the ability to identify and quantify end-users, thus enabling publishers to report this as qualified circulation.

As of the group’s December 2012 meeting, however, the BPA Board amended rules for digital copies served through apps and mobile devices. When it comes to digital subscriptions that are purchased through tablet or mobile platforms, digital circulation will be reported from copy one and for the full term of the subscription. However, the digital subscription must be authenticated through the device or app to report digital copies when sold as:

•Paid combination sales and/or bundled subscriptions for print and digital.
•Paid sponsored digital and/or tablet mobile subscriptions.
•Paid circulation with digital as a promotional incentive.

For non-paid circulation magazines with digital circulations, the recipient must authenticate the digital subscription through the device and access the magazine or publication once per every six-month reporting period.

For digital delivery with non-requestors, the BPA Board amended a rule to allow media owners to count the digital subscription, from one copy, as long as the non-requesting subscriber is given the ability to opt-out.

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01.18.2013
Harte-Hanks Adds HP Indigo 7600 Digital Press to Meet Growing Customer Demand

HP today announced that Harte-Hanks installed an HP Indigo 7600 Digital Press at its East Bridgewater, Mass. print facility to expand premium color digital print capacity and add new capabilities for customers.

"Reaching the right consumer, with the right message, using the right channel, at the right time is critical to today?s marketing success,? said Tony Paul, executive vice president, customer delivery, Harte-Hanks Direct Marketing. ?Today?s digital print quality and features make direct mail more effective in a multi-channel strategy by satisfying consumers? expectations for personalized, relevant information while enabling our customers, including national retailers, to achieve quicker speed to market. The HP Indigo 7600 print production capabilities mean that data-driven, one-to-one messaging at virtually unlimited scale is now possible."

The HP Indigo 7600 Digital Press is the fastest 13 x 19-inch format digital sheetfed press on the market today. Printing up to 160 color pages per minute in Enhanced Productivity Mode (EPM), the press expands HP Indigo capacity at the plant by up to four million color pages per month.

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01.17.2013
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Announces a 4.8% Increase in 2012 Holiday Sales and Reiterates Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year Financial Guidance

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. today announced that net revenues for the nine-week holiday period (October 29, 2012 - December 30, 2012) increased 4.8% to $1.014 billion versus the comparable last year nine-week holiday period ended January 1, 2012. Comparable brand revenues increased 4.4%.

Laura Alber, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Our holiday performance reflects the strength of our brands in a period of consumer uncertainty and intense promotional activity across the retail industry. As our overall financial performance was within our range of expectations for the holiday period, we are reiterating the financial guidance we provided for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2012 in our November 14, 2012 earnings release. We will discuss our performance in detail during our fourth quarter and fiscal year 2012 earnings call in March.”

Alber concluded, “Looking forward to fiscal 2013, we will continue to focus on our strategies to drive sustainable, profitable growth and increase shareholder value by growing our existing brands, developing new businesses, and expanding globally, including the opening of our first Australian stores. We will discuss our strategies and financial outlook for 2013 during our earnings call in March.”

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01.17.2013
UPM Plans to Reduce 580,000 Tonnes of Graphic Paper Capacity in Europe

The continuing challenges in European economy have significantly impacted the consumption of paper, exacerbating the effect of structural changes in paper end-uses and resulting in further decline in the demand of graphic papers in Europe. High costs and significant overcapacity continue to challenge the industry operators in Europe.

UPM is planning to permanently reduce paper capacity in Europe by a further 580,000 tonnes. The capacity reductions are planned to take place in Finland, Germany and France. The business environment also makes evident the need for streamlining of the Paper Business Group and UPM’s global functions to remain cost competitive in the new business scale.

In early January, UPM finalized the employee consultation process in UPM Stracel, France, implying reduction of 270,000 tonnes of coated magazine paper capacity. With UPM Stracel and today’s plans, UPM would reduce a total of approximately 850,000 tonnes of graphic paper capacity in 2013.

UPM plans:
- a permanent closure of paper machine 3 at UPM Rauma mill in Finland,
- a permanent closure of paper machine 4 at UPM Ettringen in Germany,
- a sale or other exit of UPM Docelles mill in France, and
- subject to further analysis, streamlining in the Paper Business and UPM’s global functions.

If all plans will be implemented, UPM’s personnel would be reduced by approximately 860 persons. The plans would affect several countries.

According to the plan the Rauma and Ettringen machine lines would be permanently closed by the end of first half of 2013. Both machines are producing uncoated magazine paper, in total 420,000 tonnes annually.

The employee information and consultation processes will start in line with the local legislation. In case of Ettringen and Rauma the process will start immediately.

The process for selling the UPM Docelles mill will start immediately. The process will be given maximum six months. Docelles is producing uncoated woodfree papers, 160,000 tonnes annually.

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01.17.2013
Quad Completes Acquisition of Vertis

Quad/Graphics, Inc. announces that it has completed its acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Vertis Holdings, Inc., for a net purchase price of $170 million. This assumes the purchase price of $267 million less the payment of $97 million for current assets that are in excess of normalized working capital requirements. Quad/Graphics used cash on hand and drew on its revolving credit facility to finance the acquisition.

The Company expects the acquisition of Vertis to strengthen and expand its client offering with:
An enhanced range of products, services and revenue-generating solutions;
Expanded industry vertical expertise;
Increased manufacturing flexibility and distribution efficiencies from an extended geographic footprint; and
New opportunities to help clients realize mailing and distribution cost-savings from the combined volumes and capabilities of the two companies.

"We are excited about our acquisition of Vertis and the opportunities it brings to advance our business and create value for our clients, employees and shareholders," said Joel Quadracci, Chairman, President & CEO of Quad/Graphics. "We have strengthened our retail ad insert, direct marketing and in-store marketing solutions, and have expanded our support services to include media planning and placement, and marketing services. With more talent and broader solutions, we are better positioned than ever to drive business results for our clients."

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01.17.2013
OfficeMax Australia Honored with Two Awards by Forest Stewardship Council Australia for Commitment to Sustainability

OfficeMax® Incorporated, a leader in office and facility supplies, technology and services, today announced that the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Australia honored OfficeMax Australia with two awards – Retailer of the Year 2012 and the Responsible Procurement Award 2012 – for the subsidiary's ongoing support of sustainability and responsible forest management.

It was the second consecutive year that FSC Australia awarded OfficeMax Australia as its Retailer of the Year, which pays tribute to a retailer that has helped to create a marketplace that promotes environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world's forests. The Responsible Procurement Award recognizes an end-user organization that demonstrates a commitment to procuring FSC-certified products as part of its corporate social responsibility strategy.

"OfficeMax has deserved these two awards and is certainly leading the way when it comes to responsible procurement and retailing by throwing its weight behind FSC," said Natalie Reynolds, chief executive of FSC Australia.
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01.17.2013
Paper Cuts: 'Star Ledger,' Smaller Newspapers Slash Jobs, Frequency

The litany of bad news for newspapers is continuing in 2013, with more layoffs and reductions in frequency.

The Star Ledger of Newark, New Jersey’s largest daily newspaper, announced that it is laying off 34 employees, including 19 full-time employees and 15 part-time employees, according to the newspaper. The total will include 18 staffers from the newspaper’s editorial operations, or around 9% of the 195-person newsroom.

Explaining the cuts, Publisher Richard Vezza cited the long-term decline in print advertising, as well as the economic effects of Hurricane Sandy, which devastated New Jersey households and businesses. Advance is also laying off 12 employees at The Express-Times of Easton, PA,11 employees at the South Jersey Times, and three employees from its weekly newspapers in western New Jersey.

Separately, Digital First Media, the parent company of the MediaNews Group and Journal Register Co., announced that it is slashing the frequency of one of its smaller newspapers -- The Oneida Daily Dispatch in upstate New York -- from six to three days a week.

The new schedule includes a new Sunday edition, as well as editions on Tuesday and Thursday. Although the Dispatch is a small publication with a circulation of just 6,599 according to the Alliance for Audited Media (formerly the Audit Bureau of Circulations), the move is significant because it may foreshadow frequency reductions at other papers owned by MediaNews Group and the Journal Register Co.
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01.17.2013
Oil Trades Near Four-Month High After Crude Supply Drop

Oil traded near the highest level in four months in New York as a surprise drop in U.S. crude inventories countered concern that the global economic recovery may falter and curb fuel demand.

West Texas Intermediate was little changed after rising 1 percent yesterday, the most in two weeks. Crude supplies slid 951,000 barrels last week, Energy Department data showed. They were forecast to increase by 2.2 million, according to a Bloomberg survey. WTI’s discount to Brent futures narrowed to less than $15 a barrel for the first time since July after the start of an expanded pipeline that is set to pare a glut in the U.S. Midwest.

“We may see oil demand picking up in the U.S. and this could support prices,” said Gerrit Zambo, an oil trader at Bayerische Landesbank in Munich, who predicts Brent may rise as high as $120 a barrel this quarter. “But the supply situation is comfortable.”

WTI for February delivery was at $94.42 a barrel, up 18 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 10:40 a.m. London time.

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01.17.2013
Ahlstrom provides preliminary information on 2012 net sales and operating profit

Ahlstrom, a global leader in high performance fiber-based materials, provides preliminary information on net sales and operating profit excluding non-recurring items from continuing operations for 2012.

In 2012, net sales from continuing operations amounted to approximately EUR 1,011 million and operating profit excluding non-recurring items from continuing operations was approximately EUR 18 million.

Ahlstrom had previously expected net sales from continuing operations to be EUR 960 - 1,040 million and operating profit excluding non-recurring items from continuing operations to be EUR 22 - 32 million in 2012.

The operating profit excluding non-recurring items for 2012 is lower than the company had earlier anticipated because of weaker sales mix and volumes across all key markets towards the end of the year, as well as longer than expected production downtime taken during the last quarter.

The figures are based on unaudited preliminary financial results. Ahlstrom will publish its financial statements bulletin 2012 on January 31, 2013.

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01.17.2013
KapStone Announces Opening Of New Manufacturing Facility

KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation will open a new corrugated manufacturing facility in Aurora, IL. The 192,000 square foot facility located 40 miles west of the city of Chicago will produce corrugated packaging and will also include a design lab and a technical center. KapStone expects to invest approximately $8 to $10 million in the first phase. The Aurora location will enhance KapStone's sales coverage in the Midwest, particularly in Chicago and surrounding areas.

Matt Kaplan, KapStone's President, stated, "We are excited to establish a corrugated manufacturing facility in the Chicago area, our home territory. We are very optimistic that KapStone will deliver a very high level of service and quality of corrugated products that will enable us to continue to grow our operations."

The site General Manager will be Katie Wilhelm who has an extensive career in the corrugated industry predominantly in the Chicago area.

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01.16.2013
Verdigris urges print and paper industries to ‘Go Google-less’

The plea is in response to Google’s Paperless 2013 campaign which urges people to stop using paper. Verdigris wants the industry to stop using the Google search engine and related products such as Google+, Chrome or Android in the hope that Google will reconsider.

The Paperless 2013 campaign (www.paperless2013.org) claims that relying exclusively on digital communications instead of using paper benefits the environment. However, Paperless 2013 is more about getting people to use cloud storage, online bill management, accounting and e-signatures. Google and its campaign partners are using an environmental message to encourage use of their own technologies, not to aid environmental sustainability. “Their arguments are ill-founded and potentially damaging to the environment,” says Laurel Brunner, Verdigris founder.

Electronic devices cannot be recycled; paper can. Unlike paper, electronic devices are not based on a sustainable resource, but depend on oil-based plastics and rare earths neither of which can be replenished. Electronic devices require huge amounts of energy to support and maintain the content they deliver, whereas paper based content has a one-time carbon footprint. Electronic devices create an environmentally damaging waste stream that cannot easily be managed. Paper can be reused, recycled and disposed of responsibly when it reaches its end of life.

Verdigris wants enough people Go Google-less to encourage Google to reconsider its campaign. “At the very least, they might try to better understand the environmental impact of media and about what industry can to do help reduce environmental impacts,” says Laurel. “The higher the number of users, the higher Google can charge advertisers. Reduce the number and we undermine the source of Google’s income. The threat of harm to its revenue model might encourage Google to become better informed and be more responsible in its environmental positioning, particularly as relates to print and paper.”

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01.16.2013
Plum Grove Printers achieves 28% sales growth in 2012

Amid the lingering effects of the recession and an evolving business environment for the printing industry, Plum Grove Printers (http://www.PlumGrovePrinters.com) posted a dramatic 28% increase in sales during 2012 compared to 2011. Sales were up throughout the year but led by an especially strong fourth quarter-- Plum Grove posted a 55% increase in fourth quarter 2012 compared to fourth quarter 2011.

Plum Grove, which was founded in suburban Chicago in 1980, has a staff of around twenty and an environmentally-friendly ethos. Peter Lineal, the firm's founder, attributes the 2012 sales boom to businesses increasing print marketing as the economy improves.

"We are not in the business of ink-on-paper," Lineal explains. "Our business is marketing and sales growth solutions. It's not just the full-color flyer-- it's the professional art design of a postcard, mailed to your best targeted prospects as efficiently and inexpensively as possible. It's promotional products for coherent company branding. Printing and marketing pair together to increase the value of business, and we have the experience and competence to make it work."

"21st-century business is a cross-media marketing world," Lineal continues. "Businesses survive and thrive using all of the new digital marketing channels but traditional marketing continues to be very effective, especially those media you can hold in your hands and feel, and not just view on a screen."

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01.16.2013
Caraustar Announces A $25 Per Ton Price Increase On All Uncoated Recycled Paperboard Grades

Caraustar Industries, Inc. announced a price increase of $25 per ton on all uncoated recycled paperboard grades. The increase will be effective starting with shipments on February 15, 2013. The increase is in response to increasing costs, including raw materials, energy, transportation, labor and benefits.
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01.16.2013
Print on Paper is the Environmentally Sustainable Choice

There are numerous technologies available today to help consumers clean up the mess on their desk, which can lead to saving time. Many of these services are free, which will save consumers money. But, will these technologies save trees? Often people think that by using new technologies instead of print and paper, they are saving trees and making a sound environmental choice.

The choices consumers make should be based on a data-driven comparative analysis of lifecycle, carbon footprint and overall environmental impact. When companies like Google Drive and the other members of the Paperless Coalition, call for companies to "Go Paperless 2013" they don't take into account that paper and print on paper are renewable and recyclable resources. This is another example of a campaign using an environmentally-focused marketing strategy to promote its services while ignoring its own impact upon the environment. Print on paper isn't depleting our forests, overwhelming our landfills, or causing global warming.

In the United States, more trees are grown than are harvested and the volume of trees has increased 49% over the last 50 years. The amount of US forestland has remained essentially the same for the last 100 years at about 750 million acres, even though the US population tripled during the same period.

One of the benefits that makes print on paper sustainable is that paper can be 100% recyclable. Recyclability is one of paper's credentials as a renewable resource that can begin and end its life in a responsible manner. In 2011 the U.S. paper recovery rate was a record-high 66.8 percent.

Responsibly managed forests are a critical resource that benefits the environment. Forests provide wood and wood by-products that are now seen as a preferred material as society tries to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. While it takes energy to produce paper, most of it is renewable. More than 65 percent of the energy needed to produce paper products is derived from carbon-neutral biomass fuel.

As Dr. Patrick Moore, Co-Founder, Greenpeace/Chair & Chief Scientist, Greenspirit Strategies Inc., said, "To address climate change, we must use more wood, not less. Using wood sends a signal to the marketplace to grow more trees and to produce more wood. That means we can then use less concrete, steel and plastic — heavy carbon emitters through their production. Trees are the only abundant, biodegradable and renewable global resource."

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01.16.2013
Lundgren Says States Will Benefit from Online Sales Taxes

Macy's president and CEO Terry Lundgren says he doesn’t know when it will happen or how. But ultimately, he believes every consumer – and ecommerce merchant – will have to pay an online sales tax.

"The states are in such (financial) trouble," Lundgren told a group of reporters during an off-site event held in conjunction with the National Retail Federation Big Show in New York on Monday. "The states are looking for revenue, and they are worried about raising any kind of taxes (on residents)."

Macy's Inc. saw its December sales grow just 3.6%, its season was saved by its ecommerce growth. Online sales for macys.com and bloomingdales.com combined were up 51.7% in December and 40.4% in 2012 year-to-date compared with the same periods in 2011.

"I'm growing (ecommerce) at 40%, and we have a $2.5 billion business already," Lundgren said." But we pay tax on our Internet sales. Pure play merchants don't. There should be fewer loopholes, there should be fewer exceptions."

The ones who get hurt the most by the loopholes are small businesses, Lundgren said.

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01.16.2013
More Print Ad Declines Coming

Last year was bad for print and this year won’t be much better, according to the Advertising Consensus Forecast from the World Advertising Research Center, which predicts further declines for both magazines and newspapers in the U.S. in 2013-2014.

Following a 4% decline in 2012, the WARC forecast sees U.S. magazine ad spending decreasing 4% in 2013 and 5.1% in 2014. That prediction looks rosy compared to WARC’s forecast for U.S. newspapers, where ad spending will fall 6.7% in 2013 and 8.4% in 2014. WARC estimates that U.S. newspaper ad revenues fell 7.2% in 2012.

U.S. newspapers’ ad revenues have declined every year since 2006, according to the Newspaper Association of America, tumbling from $49.4 billion in 2005 to $23.9 billion in 2011, the latest year for which full figures are available from the NAA. Combining the NAA figures with WARC’s forecast, total newspaper ad revenues will continue to drop from around $22.2 billion in 2012 to $20.7 billion in 2013 and $19 billion in 2014.

Meanwhile, according to the Publishers Information Bureau total magazine ad revenues (based on official rate cards) have declined from $27.5 billion in 2007 to about $21.1 billion in 2012. Combining these figures with the WARC forecast, revenues will sink to $20.3 billion in 2013 and $19.2 billion in 2014.

A separate forecast released by eMarketer in September sees smaller decreases in U.S. magazines’ print ad revenue over the next few years, with drops of 0.4% and 0.3% in 2013 and 2014, respectively. The consultancy estimated U.S. magazines’ total print ad revenues at around $15.2 billion in 2012. The same forecast has newspapers’ print ad revenues declining 6.1% in 2013 and 4% in 2014, to about $17.3 billion.
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01.16.2013
HP and Walgreens Extend Mobile Print Options for Customers on the Go

HP today announced that customers can now print directly from their smartphone or tablet to more than 8,000 U.S. Walgreens stores, bringing the HP Public Print Locations (PPL)(1) network to 30,000 sites worldwide.

By downloading the free HP ePrint Service iPhone app,(2) users can order prints of their photos, which can be picked up from a local Walgreens in as little as an hour.

“Providing HP ePrint users with access to more than 8,000 Walgreens locations makes their printing experiences easy and convenient,” said Jasbir Patel, senior director and general merchandise manager, Photo and E-commerce, Walgreens. “HP’s integration of the Walgreens QuickPrints technology gives customers expanded access and provides another level of valuable engagement.”

This fall, HP ePrint mobile printing apps reached more than 6 million downloads, and the number of people printing to the HP PPL network is doubling every six months.(3) In addition, HP recently enhanced its HP ePrint Service app to feature more cloud service content, including direct integration with Dropbox and Facebook.

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