By Jean-Marie Hershey December 19, 2005 -- "Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale/Her infinite variety…" Shakespeare was talking about Cleopatra, not printing, but the phrase aptly describes an industry that is often termed staid, mature and slow to change, but in reality is anything but. One would have to have had one’s head in the sand to miss the cavalcade of news and events over the past 12 months. Drama, conflict, a hint of intrigue-it’s all there, all of it reported, documented, and subject to commentary and analysis by WhatTheyThink.com. Below, some highlights. [Some of the linked Web pages may require Premium Access. For those of you who are not subscribers, try the 15-day free trial and enjoy all the details behind the news.] 1. MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG: 2005 Mergers/Acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions came in all sizes and all flavors in 2005. Amazon.com snapped up red-hot BookSurge LLC (Amazon.com Acquires BookSurge LLC). Adobe bought Macromedia, and variable cutoff web and hybrid press manufacturers Drent Goebel and RDP Marathon announced their merger on Aug. 1. (Adobe Completes Acquisition of Macromedia, Drent Goebel Acquires Majority Shareholding In RDP Marathon). WhatTheyThink subsequently discussed details of the Drent/RDP joint venture with Rob Teunissen, CEO, Drent Goebel, and Eric Short, president, RDP Marathon in a pre-Print 05 interview ( Print 05 To Take First Measure of the Sum of the Parts in the Recent Merger of Drent Goebel and RDP Marathon) . Mergers and acquisitions came in all sizes and all flavors in 2005. As part of a strategic expansion drive in the small-format sheetfed offset market, German press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer AG agreed to purchase Czech counterpart Grafitec, maker of the Polly line of sheetfed offset presses ( KBA acquires Czech press maker Grafitec ). In an interview with WhatTheyThink senior editor Patrick Henry, KBA president and CEO Ralf Sammeck explained the integration of the product lines and commented on the outlook for the markets that KBA now addresses with an expanded portfolio of equipment ( KBA Sees Demand from Both Ends of the Market For Its Expanded Line of Medium-Format Presses. WhatTheyThink also spoke with KBA’s Midwest regional vice president, Walter Chmura as part of its Print 05 coverage ( Printer-Turned-Press-Salesman Puts "Trust and Honor" First: An Interview with KBA North America’s Walter Chmura). Consolidated Graphics was on a roll in 2005, completing or aiming to complete three major acquisitions by year’s end. These included $100 million Kelmscott Communications LLC, Graphcom, Inc., and an affiliated group of commercial printing companies operating as Nies/Artcraft Printing, Valcour Printing and Impression Label in St. Louis, MO (Consolidated Graphics Completes Kelmscott Acquisition;Consolidated Graphics Completes Graphcom Acquisition ; Consolidated Graphics To Acquire Leading Commercial Printing Companies in St. Louis). Industrial wide-format inkjet suppliers enjoyed some high-profile attention as acquisition targets. Inkjet is slowly but surely coming into its own. R.R. Donnelley rolled up The Astron Group, a provider of integrated business process outsourcing (BPO) solutions, following up with the purchase of Wells, Maine-based Spencer Press, Inc. ( RR Donnelley Completes Purchase of The Astron Group,RR Donnelley Completes Purchase of Spencer Press). As this article was being posted, Donnelley announced its acquisition of U.K.-based Critical Mail Continuity Services Limited (CMCS) in a move to enhance its BPO capabilities ( RR Donnelley Expands Document-Based Business Process Outsourcing Capabilities) . At the time, WhatTheyThink’s Expert Row columnist, Andy Tribute, wrote, "With many large corporate organizations focusing on core businesses, outsourcing is a major growth business. Printing is one of the major sources of external expenditure for corporate organizations, and many such companies are seeing the benefits of outsourcing all such operations." ( RR Donnelley & Astron Deal: The Outsourcing Opportunity). Further validation of the business process outsourcing opportunity arrived with the merger of New York-based NewLine Management and Santa Clara, CA-based Noosh, Inc. WhatTheyThink spoke with Dave Hannebrink and Peter Faucetta Jr., principals of the combined entity, about their plan to address the demand for accountability, transparency and cost control in the print outsourcing environment ( Newline and Noosh Merge, NewLineNoosh Crafts BPO Solution To Answer Critical Print Procurement Needs). "In a time of declining membership among all trade associations, we must question the need for duplicated organizations and events." Industrial wide-format inkjet suppliers enjoyed some high-profile attention as acquisition targets. Screen acquired flatbed specialist Inca Digital, and Hewlett-Packard (HP) acquired Scitex Vision in a deal that marked HP's entry into the highly competitive industrial super-wide category. Expert Row columnist Andy Tribute mulled these developments while WTT senior editor Jean-Marie Hershey discussed the market opportunities for industrial inkjet with Scitex Vision president and CEO Dov Ofer. " Whatever happens when a company with the influence of HP moves into a new market space," wrote Tribute, "all other suppliers will watch with nervous anticipation." ( For HP Now Read Scitex, Now Flying the HP Banner, Scitex Vision Aims to Bring Wide-Format Inkjet to Commercial/Industrial Print Markets.) Bowne & Co., Inc. announced an agreement to sell Bowne Global Solutions to Lionbridge Technologies, Inc. ( Bowne Sells Globalization Business to Lionbridge ). The MATLET Group completed its acquisition of five of Quebecor World's U.S. commercial printing facilities in a management buyout ( MATLET Group Acquires Five US Commercial Printing Facilities from Quebecor World ), while ColorGraphics, one of the largest family-owned commercial printers in the western United States, acquired George Rice and Sons, Los Angeles, another Quebecor property ( ColorGraphics, Inc. acquires Quebecor's George Rice & Sons). Ditto Grafikom, which acquired Canadian Commercial and Specialty Printing Network from Quebecor in November (link) . As noted above, EFI paid $281 million to play in the grand format market. Company CEO Guy Gecht discussed the VUTek acquisition with WhatTheyThink senior editor Cary Sherburne ( Largest EFI Acquisition to Date Opens Path for Entry to New Markets: A Conversation with Guy Gecht ). Then, in October, Cary talked with EFI’s president, Fred Rosenzweig, to get the inside scoop on the company’s "outstanding" Q3 performance ( EFI: In the Industry’s Sweet Spot? An Interview with Fred Rosenzweig). "The 'China factor' has the power to wipe out those who are caught unaware, who make no adjustment or who deny its reality." In other M&A news, Allegra Network signed a purchase agreement to acquire the assets and franchise agreements of Signs Now Corp. (Allegra Network LLC To Acquire Signs Now Corporation), while Flint Ink Corp. and XSYS Print Solutions agreed to merge. (Flint Ink and XSYS Print Solutions Agree To Merge Under Sponsorship of CVC).The latter deal was the subject of an interview by Linda Casatelli with Peter Koivula, former CEO of XSYS and Vice Chairman of the Board for the new company ( Frescoln Discusses the Flint/XSYS Merger). And the list goes on and on. Follow the links below for details on more 2005 M&A activity: • Big Earth Publishing Acquires Johnson Books (link) • basysPrint Goes Direct in U.S. (link) • Celartem Technology Announces Merger of U.S. Holdings (link) • Danka Announces Americas Group Realignment (link) • Fourth Generation Printer Grover Daniels Acquires Boston’s Copy Cop Chain (link) • Grafikom Acquires Canadian Commercial and Specialty Printing Network from Quebecor (link) • IKON To Close Business Document Services Centers, Cut 1,500 Jobs (link) • Visual Edge Technology, Inc. Acquires Copeco (link) • General Binding Corp. To Merge with ACCO World Corp. (link) • Pitney Bowes Acquires Imagitas (link) • Pitney Bowes To Acquire Compulit (link) • Sandy Alexander Acquires Federal Label Systems (link) • Saratoga's Sale of Sericol to Fujifilm Is Completed (link) • Sun Chemical Realigns North American Ink Operations (link) • Vertis Acquires Elite Mailing and Fulfillment Services, Inc. (link) • Transcontinental Acquires JDM, Inc. (link) • Zinio and Blue Dolphin Group Merge (link) PAPER: NEVER A DULL MOMENT No stranger to upheaval, the U.S. paper industry saw its fair share of M&A activity this year. Among the transactions: • Georgia Pacific agreed to be acquired by Koch Industries (Koch Industries to Acquire Georgia-Pacific for $21 billion). The departure of Cenveo’s Chairman, President and CEO Paul Reilly early in the year triggered a hostile takeover bid from Robert G. Burton and Burton Capital Investment. • International Paper transferred its Fine Papers business to Mohawk Paper Mills (International Paper Completes Sale of Fine Papers Business to Mohawk)(Mohawk Paper Mills Now Mohawk Fine Papers Inc.), sold its Industrial Papers business to Kohlberg & Co., Inc. (International Paper Completes Sale of Industrial Papers Business to Kohlberg & Company, LLC), and moved to grow its corrugated box business with the acquisition of a Moroccan corrugated packaging company (International Paper Signs Agreement to Acquire a Majority Share of Leading Moroccan Corrugated Packaging Company). • MeadWestvaco reinvented itself as NewPage (MeadWestvaco Completes Sale of Papers Assets for $2.3 Billion) (NewPage Corporation Begins Operations). • Fraser Papers, Inc. sold its Midwest pulp and paper assets to SMART Papers ( Fraser Papers Completes Sale of Midwest Operations to SMART Papers). HINDSIGHT IS 20/20 WhatTheyThink also revisited the 2004 acquisitions of Heidelberg Web by Goss International; the acquisition of Kinko’s by FedEx Corp.; and Presstek’s 2004 acquisition of ABDick. WhatTheyThink also spoke with Presstek president and CEO Ed Marino to get his perspective on what’s next for Presstek. (For details, see Goss International Continues Integration of Heidelberg Web Systems; Goss CEO Bob Brown Speaks Out; FedEx Kinko’s - One Year Later; Presstek Accelerates Integration of ABDick, To Close Illinois Location; Presstek Reports on Progress of ABDick Integration; Presstek Takes ABDick Integration to Next Level.) 2. INDUSTRIAL AND WIDE-FORMAT INKJET As noted earlier, inkjet is slowly but surely coming into its own, and the future of industrial inkjet technology was the subject of several premium features, news stories and market research throughout the year. See Agfa Gets Ready to Cover the Waterfront – with Inkjet Ink; All Together Again in Inkjet; Competition Heats Up Between Wide Format Solvent Inkjet Technology and UV-Curable Technology; Forecast Shows Wide Format UV-Curable Inkjet Printing Systems Gaining Worldwide Popularity; Market Leaders Vye for Share in Ink Jet; Future Growth of Wide Format Aqueous Inkjet Printers Remains Stable, According to InfoTrends/CAP Ventures; Wide Format Worldwide UV-Curable Inkjet Printer and Supplies Market; Worldwide Ink Jet Revenues for Narrow Format Ink Jet and Wide Format Graphics Ink Jet to Reach $58 Billion by 2009. 3. ASSOCIATIONS AND INDUSTRY GROUPS The Graphic Arts Marketing Information Service (GAMIS) and Market Research Committee of NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies combined to form PRIMIR, the Print Industries Market Information and Research Organization, helmed by NPES Vice President William K. "Kip" Smythe (New PRIMIR Group Unites GAMIS and NPES Market Research Committee). Print 05 marked the public debut of the "new" (read "digital") Kodak Graphic Communications Group. The company’s long anticipated acquisition of KPG finally took place amid speculation that Creo would be the next. Kodak's acquisition of Creo quashed plans of a group of dissident Creo shareholders. Frank Romano touched an industry nerve by speculating about the eventual (hypothetical) merger of the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL) and PrintImage International. "In a time of declining membership among all trade associations," said Romano, "we must question the need for duplicated organizations and events." Many WTT readers agreed and some were provoked, but the last word came in the form of a thoughtful essay from Ronnie Davis, Chief Economist, PIA/GATF. Davis urged caution, pointing out that the top three trade associations (PIA/GATF, NAPL and PrintImage International) coexist productively by providing different products and services to their memberships. (See NAPL and PII Merger, and Other Association Commentary; More on Association Consolidation: Article Generates Strong Reaction; An Economic Perspective on the Printing Industry Association Market.) And speaking of associations, NPES elected Tom Saggiomo, President of Agfa Graphic Systems, as its new Chairman, succeeding Regis Delmontagne, who is retiring at the end of the year. Of his new role, Saggiomo said, " I would certainly like to leave NPES a better place and to effect change. One area of focus would be the graphic arts shows...We are embarking on an initiative to understand better what the membership needs in terms of shows, starting from the market back-understanding the role shows play for the printer." (See Agfa’s Saggiomo Discusses The New York Times Deal, New Role at NPES.) 4. CHINA WhatTheyThink took the bull or rather, the dragon, by the horns with a series of reports on the rise of the Chinese printing industry. In a two-part report posted in early February, Cary Sherburne offered an overview of what’s going on in China’s Guangdong "print province" and shared the insight of Kodak Polychrome’s Dan Trautmann, then on a six-month assignment in China (China: The Awakening Dragon) . "From the beginning...we always believed that real power would come from being able to use networks to connect remote design to centralized printing." In October, WTT reported a week-long tour by NPES chairman Regis Delmontagne and NPES Greater China Project Director Ya-Ping Zhou of China’s Wuhan University and Beijing Graphic Communication Institute. (See NPES VIPs Visit Wuhan University and Beijing Graphic Communication Institute.) In China – A Growing Print Market, Expert Row columnist Andy Tribute weighed in with his report from a Shanghai conference, in which he assessed both the growth in the Chinese print market as well as the challenges and opportunities it may generate for the rest of the world. " It is a market with over 94,000 printing establishments," he wrote, "and it is claimed to be the third largest base for printing in the world after USA and Japan. Unlike other world print markets it is growing substantially, and has seen up to 15% growth rate for a number of years. Ongoing growth rates are expected to continue at around 15% for commercial printing and packaging, with a 30% growth rate being expected in the adoption of computer to plate and digital printing. By 2020 the industry is predicted to have a size around US$120 billion." Having released its China Copier Paper Report a month earlier, InfoTrends/CAP Ventures in November announced the launch of a comprehensive study of the Chinese production printing market (China's Production Printing Industry Represents New Opportunities and Threats for Vendors and Service Providers). The results of the research, said InfoTrends/CAPV, "will provide insight into the speed and nature of the migration to modern printing equipment and integrated workflows, the adoption of CTP, and the opportunity for digital printing." WTT started the year as an interested tourist but wound up November with a four-part cautionary tale about China’s potential impact on the North American printing industry. In Deja Vu All Over Again: Is the Printing Industry Avoiding the Reality of Chinese Competition and What Can We Learn?, The EAGLE’s Steve Aranoff and Robert Fitzpatrick analyzed "the China factor," which, they wrote, "has the power to wipe out those who are caught unaware, who make no adjustment or who deny its reality." 5. MOVERS AND SHAKERS HEWLETT-PACKARD’S WILD RIDE Hewlett-Packard Chairman and CEO Carly Fiorina stepped down in February, signaling a realignment of the company’s priorities under the leadership of its new President and CEO Mark Hurd. Then, in July, HP announced that it would no longer support its long-time Indigo user group, the Indigo Customer Exchange (ICE) and announced the introduction of the HP Indigo Customer Forum, a new networking and user group designed to help HP Indigo customers grow their businesses and use their equipment more effectively ( HP Withdraws Support from Long-Time Indigo User Group, HP Officially Launches Competitive Indigo Customer Forum, Competes with ICE ). By the end of July, the company had announced a restructuring plan that called for the company to trim its workforce by 14,500 by 2007. In September, Indigo press owners, users, HP representatives and Indigo specialists debuted the Digital Solutions Cooperative (Dscoop), a new user-focused, user-driven organization dedicated to helping Indigo owners and operators leverage their investment in HP digital technology ( HP Indigo Press Owners and Operators Launch New User Group ). Finally, in November, Cary Sherburne trekked out to Las Vegas to attend the annual meeting of the Indigo Customer Exchange (ICE) to get a feeling for where the organization is headed sans HP support. Read all about it in Rolling the DICE: What Happened at the Indigo Users Meeting. CENVEO The departure of Cenveo’s Chairman, President and CEO Paul Reilly early in the year triggered a hostile takeover bid from Robert G. Burton and Burton Capital Investment. The issue would not be resolved until September, with Burton’s appointment as Cenveo’s new Chairman and CEO. The links below form a timeline leading up to Burton’s appointment as the new Chairman and CEO of the struggling company. (For a detailed chronology, see Cenveo Chairman, President and CEO Paul Reilly To Resign, Burton Attempts Hostile Takeover of Cenveo, Cenveo Losses Continue to Mount Amid Burton’s Takeover Attempt: Summary of Cenveo’s Q1 Earnings Call, Cenveo To Lay Off 125 Executives, Comments on Meeting with Burton, Cenveo Names James R. Malone New CEOLetter to Cenveo, Inc. from Robert Burton, Expresses Disappointment, WhatTheyThink Talks with New Cenveo CEO James R. Malone, New Cenveo CEO James Malone Explains Restructuring Initiatives: Summary of Q2 Earnings Call, Cenveo CEO Jim Malone Sends Letter To StockholdersRobert G. Burton, Sr. Issues Letter To Shareholders Of Cenveo, Inc. Cenveo Caves to Burton's Demands, Burton named Chairman & CEO. KODAK: ON THE ROAD TO DIGITAL Print 05 marked the public debut of the "new" (read "digital") Kodak Graphic Communications Group, which is, in effect, a rollup of Heidelberg Digital, Scitex Versamark, Kodak Polychrome Graphics and, most recently, Creo. "Our digital transformation is going well," Kodak’s new CEO, Antonio Perez, told WTT in September. "It is not an easy change, and is actually a drastic change for the company. But we set out a strategy and that strategy is unchanged. Our transformation is built on a set of core competencies, our aim of making technology easy to use, and our brand reputation." The question is whether there is "room in the market for Agfa, Fuji and Kodak—relying on plates as a major funding source—to sustain global leadership in the printing industry." Kodak’s newly hatched Graphic Communications Group is the beneficiary of several important acquisitions, including Heidelberg’s digital businesses (NexPress), Scitex Versamark, Kodak Polychrome Graphics, and most recently, Creo. The company’s long anticipated acquisition of KPG finally took place amid speculation that Creo would be the next. In fact, that is precisely what occurred, and WhatTheyThink followed the breaking stories from beginning to end, interviewing Jeff Jacobson, formerly CEO of KPG and now Kodak’s Graphic Solutions & Services President and COO of its Graphic Communications Group in April, while the Creo acquisition awaited regulatory approvals, to get his insight into the new organizational structure and its future objectives ( New Kodak Unit Taking Shape: A Conversation with Jeff Jacobson ). (For much, much more, see Kodak Moments: Graphic Communications Group Steps Up Pace; Carp Steps Down, Kodak to Become Sole Owner of Kodak Polychrome Graphics, Inside Analysis of the Kodak and KPG Deal, It’s Time to Back Creo, Kodak Announces Agreement to Acquire Creo Inc., Kodak Acquires Creo, Special Report and Discussion with Jim Langley, Creo/Kodak – From the Creo Perspective, An "Outside Analysis" of the Kodak/KPG (and now Creo) Deals - Kodak is Back!, Kodak’s Acquisition of Creo: Welcome, My Friends, to the Show That Never Ends! , Kodak Acquisition of Creo – The Details, Kodak's Four Challenges, Kodak Completes Acquisition of KPG, Clarification on Creo and Kodak Deal: More Prepress Commentary, Creo President Judi Hess Talks to Cary Sherburne Rationalization has Started at Kodak, The Latest on the Kodak Transformation .) Kodak’s acquisition of Creo quashed plans of a group of dissident Creo shareholders who signaled their intention to nominate a slate of directors who would appoint Robert G. Burton, Sr. to the post of Creo's Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors. To learn more, see Creo Board Recommends Shareholders Reject Dissident Slate of Director Nominees, Dissidents Propose Contradictory and Ill-Conceived Strategy for Creo, Burton vs. Michelson, Round Two – Creo’s Shareholder Challenges , All Change at Creo? VISTAPRINT In early June, VistaPrint, online supplier of high-quality graphic design services and customized printed products to small businesses and consumers, filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission relating to a proposed initial public offering of its common shares. WhatTheyThink reported on the IPO, then asked CEO Robert Keane to explain the VistaPrint business model. Said Keane: "From the beginning…we always believed that real power would come from being able to use networks to connect remote design to centralized printing…When Xeikon and Indigo came out at IPEX 1993 with their new presses, I became convinced that integrated but remote desktop publishing combined with centralized printing presses would be the way of the future." (See VistaPrint Files Statement for Initial Public Offering, Hopes to Raise $120 Million ; VistaPrint Announces IPO Price of $12 Per Share; More About VistaPrint: Recent Comments from Robert Keane, CEO; and A Review of VistaPrint’s SEC Filing for a $120 Million IPO for details.) 6. PRINT 05 WhatTheyThink’s show coverage includes over 400 news items, 50 exclusive reports, a show guide and a collection of show pictures. 7. SHOWTIME! Year after year we hear that there are too many overlapping trade shows competing for a shrinking pool of attendees. Not so, declared the organizer of Print Fest, a new show to launch this spring in southern California ( New Industry Trade Show to Launch On the West Coast, Print Fest ,Chris Jacobson announces launch of Print Fest 2006, The Organizers of Print Fest Want To Know: What Are You Doing To Remain Competitive and Profitable? ). And while the industry mourned the loss of Seybold Seminars San Francisco the launch of Adobe’s Momentum in Print in San Francisco next month gave cause for new celebration ( Seybold Seminars No More: The End of An Era, Will Adobe Be the New Seybold? Momentum in Print Scheduled for January 2006). Finally, PennWell Corp. announced that it had acquired CMM International, a trade show for the converting and package printing industry ( PennWell Acquires CMM Trade Show ). 8. PLATES Moves by Agfa, Fujifilm and Kodak to acquire or expand into non-offset technologies prompted considerable discussion at WhatTheyThink. Those discussions intensified with Konica Minolta Graphic Imaging’s announcement that it would enter the plate business with the purchase of American Litho, Inc. The EAGLE’s Steve Aranoff and Robert FitzPatrick observed that Konica’s commitment further exacerbates the overcapacity problem faced by the Big Three, and wondered whether there is "room in the market for Agfa, Fuji and Kodak – relying on plates as a major funding source – to sustain global leadership in the printing industry." Read Follow the Plates, Parts 1 and 2, Follow the Plates - Follow-up , When the Horse is Dying – Get off!, Konica Minolta Graphic Imaging U.S.A. Acquires American Litho, Can Plates be the Mover into Digital Printing?, Fujifilm-South Carolina Celebrates Opening of New Plate Line, Fujifilm Announces New Plate Plant in the Netherlands, Kodak to Close Middleway, West Virginia Printing Plate Manufacturing Plant for the details. 9. PEOPLE IN THE NEWS Here are just a few of the many prominent names in the news: • Kodak CEO Antonio M. Perez Receives 2005 Prism Award for Graphic Communications Leadership (link) • NPES President Regis J. Delmontagne To Retire at End of 2005 (link) • Ralph J. Nappi To Succeed Delmontagne and Lead NPES, GASC, GAERF (link) • Tom Saggiomo Elected Chairman of NPES (link) • Hewlett-Packard Names Mark Hurd To Serve as CEO and President (link) • Karl S. Puehringer Named President and COO of Baldwin Technology (link) • Mike Bruno Passes Away (link) • Susan McLaughlin Takers the Reins at ABDick (link) • Mitsubishi Imaging Appoints Christopher Hung Vice President of Graphic Arts Division (link) • Robert Stabler Joins Nipson America as President (link) • Dr. Joseph Webb Recognized by GAMIS (link) • Jesse Williamson Named Sheetfed Executive of the Year (link) • Frank Romano Wins Cary Award (link) • Former HP President and CEO Lew Platt Remembered (link) • Pictorial Offset’s Donald R. Samuels Inducted into Printing Impressions/RIT Hall of Fame (link) • Paul Madill, Glunz & Jensen Receive NPES Gegenheimer Awards (link) • R.R. Donnelley and CEO Mark A. Angelson Receive United Negro College Fund’s Harold H. Hines Jr. Award (link) • GAA Announces Bill Martin as Executive Vice President (link) • Tom Quadracci Inducted into PIA/GATF Society of Fellows (link) • Serigraph’s J. Thomas Ravn Receives PIA/GATF William D. Schaeffer Environment Award (link) • Adobe Promotes Shantanu Narayen to President and COO (link) • Canon USA Appoints Yoroku Adachi as President and CEO (link) • H. Howard Flint, II Passes Away at Age 66 (link) 10. NOTABLE, QUOTABLE and MISCELLANEOUS Three Special Reports this year deserve special attention. In February, in light of the increased focus on print and copy services offered by the office superstores, Office Depot, OfficeMax and Staples, WhatTheyThink interviewed senior print/copy executives at each company to gain an understanding of this renewed interest. Read this four-part report by senior editor Cary Sherburne at Print/Copy Heats Up at Office Superstores Parts 1-4. Let's not let ourselves be relegated to being defined as Offline Media, or even worse, Obsolete Media. Let's pull ourselves together and ‘speak with one voice.' Later that month, Cary took a look at the print e-commerce market and produced a two-part report that provides an overview of the current state of the market as well as a comparison of their offerings. See The Print e-Commerce Market, Part 1and The Print e-Commerce Market Part 2for more. Identity theft is the number one "growth" crime in the U.S. In April, a timely two-part series by Gail Nickel-Kailing discussed the issue of data privacy and security, summarizing the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and providing some compliance advice for companies offering printing and mailing services to the financial industry. A must-read for anyone who handles files containing customer information or who provides data processing and/or printing services for the financial industry. See Data Privacy and Security – What, Me Worry? Part One and Data Privacy and Security – What, Me Worry? Part Two for all the pertinent details. 11. EDUCATION AND ADVOCACY WhatTheyThink kept close tabs on the activities of the newly formed Print Council this year and will continue to follow its fortunes in 2006. In November of 2005, however, WTT senior editor Cary Sherburne wrote in support of the group’s efforts, urging those in the industry not to "sit back as a fragmented industry and let the opportunities pass us by. Let’s not let ourselves be relegated to being defined as Offline Media, or even worse, Obsolete Media. Let’s pull ourselves together and "speak with one voice." (The Print Council: Is It Really On the Right Track To Keep Print from Joining the "Obsolete Media"?) Amen, Cary. WhatTheyThink will be watching and working for the same results.