North Chelmsford, Mass. - Courier Corporation, one of America's leading book manufacturers and specialty publishers, today announced that it will be closing its manufacturing plant in Stoughton, Massachusetts on April 30, 2011 due to competitive pressures and technology shifts affecting the one-color paperback books in which the plant specializes.

Courier's Stoughton plant currently employs 110 people. It is the smallest and least versatile of Courier's six manufacturing facilities, and has seen its volume decline in recent years as customers have increasingly turned to four-color production, shorter print runs and more efficient short-run alternatives such as digital printing, in which the company has invested heavily in the last year.

In connection with the closing, Courier estimates pre-tax restructuring costs of approximately $6 million for severance, pension withdrawal liabilities and other expenses. In addition, the facility's lease obligates Courier to pay an aggregate of $2.7 million through 2015, although the company is pursuing options to reduce those costs. Overall, Courier expects the cash impact of the closing to be approximately $3 million over the remainder of fiscal 2011 with the majority of the remaining cash impact spread over 5-20 years.

"As we noted last month, advancing technology, increasing customization, shorter run-lengths and the continuing shift to four-color production have not only reduced demand for one-color work, but intensified competition for the one-color work that remains," said Courier Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James F. Conway III. "I deeply regret having to close this long-time Courier facility, but after due deliberation we are convinced that it is the only available solution to bring our one-color capacity in line with today's economy.

"We are grateful to all our Stoughton employees for their professionalism and loyalty over the years, and we will make every effort to help them through this inevitably painful transition, including by helping affected employees find new jobs at other Courier facilities. I know our customers appreciate the quality and service we provided in Stoughton, and I want to assure them that all their work will remain in good hands. We are determined to remain the service leader in our industry."