Pinpointing the characteristics that make some printing companies more economically attractive than others is the short version of the mission of New Direction Partners (NDP), a consultancy specializing in mergers and acquisitions in the graphic communications industry. Some of these earmarks are classic indicators of the health of a business: cash flow, accounts receivable, EBITDA, and so on. Others, however, stem from emerging trends that NDP monitors as M&A influencers for the industry as a whole.

For example, NDP founding partner Paul Reilly says he now sees a “huge correlation” between the adoption of customized Web-to-print (W2P) services and business success—along with a corresponding link between mediocre performance and the failure to implement W2P.

Underlying the advantage for W2P adopters who customize the capability, says Reilly, is competitive differentiation. Twenty years ago, differentiation was mostly about press capability: the shop with the high-end, six- or seven-color litho press possessed a clear edge over the shop with simpler equipment. Add the human factor—as Reilly puts it, the prized skills of “the guy running the press who could make the dots dance”—and the meanings of craftsmanship and differentiation became almost synonymous.