For almost twenty-five years the name Seybold has been a name and a brand to be respected in the graphic arts and media markets. The Seybold Report has become synonymous with quality and in-depth coverage of all the key issues that have affected and changed this industry. Unfortunately that is now likely to change. Seybold Publications has been based for their whole life in the town of Media, Pennsylvania. The current owners of the Seybold brand, a company under the name of MediaLive International, has decided to move the company to San Francisco to sit alongside all the other operations of their company. The editorial staff of Seybold Publications has been made redundant from mid March. MediaLive states that they will recruit a new Editor to be based in San Francisco, and they will utilize freelance staff to continue the publications.

In my opinion, and I speak as a long-term Seybold writer, this is the end of Seybold as we all know and respect it. The group of editors in Media, who have been declared redundant, are more than just editors and writers, they are the heart and soul that makes Seybold special. As a group they have all been together for more than fifteen years, some for twenty years. They understand, live and breathe the industry. You cannot just put in a new editor without any background and understanding of what Seybold means, and continue with the brand.

This move is just the final stage in the ongoing history of Seybold. I have been expecting to write this article for at least the last five years. With my understanding of Seybold's owners, I am surprised I have not had the opportunity to write it before. Let's first look back at what Seybold is, and what Seybold was.