SUSSEX, Wis.--March 31, 2003-- Quad/Graphics has opened its seventh Imaging Regional Service Center in San Francisco, Calif., as part of the company's ongoing expansion plan. Bay Area catalogers, publishers, direct marketers, retailers and other businesses that use the digital imaging center will benefit from face-to-face customer service and shorter print-production cycles. "This new imaging center is part of Quad/Graphics' long-standing practice of growing internally to increase the value of our integrated technology and manufacturing platform for clients," said Quad/Graphics President and CEO Tom Quadracci. The 4,600-square-foot San Francisco center opened earlier this month, becoming the 16th site in Quad/Graphics' network of imaging service centers, which includes Regional Service Centers, Customer Service Centers (located at clients' facilities), Processing Centers (complete imaging and printing services) and Print Centers (plating and printing services). Like Quad's six other Imaging Regional Service Centers -- in Minneapolis, Dallas, New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Anaheim, Calif. -- the San Francisco site offers "vertical scheduling," or continuous workflows, through onsite color management and output services. The center -- which features the same modern, high-tech equipment used at all of Quad/Graphics' imaging sites -- is seamlessly linked to each of Quad/Graphics' print-production plants via a high-speed telecommunications system. This enables clients to prep and print anywhere in the Quad network while benefiting from production cycles significantly shorter than the industry average. The San Francisco center's convenient location - just blocks away from Market Street and Pacific Bell Park - "will help us build close, personal relationships with clients and streamline our processes with theirs," said Tom Frankowski, vice president of Imaging Operations for Quad/Graphics. Quad/Graphics' San Francisco sales team has relocated from its long-time office in Sausalito, Calif., to the new downtown center to further increase synergy between Quad employees and clients. "The integration of our sales and imaging employees enhances our ability to offer prepress and printing as a package," Mr. Frankowski said, adding, "clients will be frequent visitors to the site for production-related purposes and continuous training opportunities." Publisher Conde Nast is already using the new San Francisco center to enhance its turnkey print-production process for Wired magazine. Other Bay Area businesses are currently transitioning work to the facility. Quad/Graphics had $146 million in imaging sales in 2002 and expects to achieve 15 percent growth in 2003. The company has 900 imaging employees and has invested more than $55 million in prepress technology during the last five years. As part of its ongoing growth plan, Quad/Graphics recently announced that its new Oklahoma City printing plant currently under construction would launch web offset printing services this fall with weekly production of Newsweek magazine. The plant will add gravure printing services in fall 2004.