• R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company and Consolidated
    Graphics, Inc. have jointly announced the expiration of the waiting period
    under the Hart-Scott-
Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976
    (“HSR”) in connection with the previously announced merger agreement
    under which RR Donnelley will acquire all of the outstanding common stock of
    Consolidated Graphics. The waiting period expired on Friday, December 13.
    Expiration of the HSR waiting period satisfies one of
    the conditions to the closing of the proposed merger, which remains subject to
    approval by the shareholders of Consolidated Graphics and other customary
    closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter
    of 2014.
    Link to blog post on October 24th
    about Donnelly’s acquisition of Consolidated Graphics:
    Blog Publisher’s
    comments:
    In the
    “Reprographics 101 Winding Down” post I put up on the blog the other day, I
    mentioned “consolidation” in the “printing” industry.  Donnelly’s acquisition of Consolidated
    Graphics is not just a  perfect example
    of printing industry consolidation, it is a very large deal within the context
    of the overall printing industry.  Two of
    the industry’s top ten firms combining forces. 
    Two arch competitors combining forces. 
    Why?  Well, the printing business
    is in decline (total printing industry revenues are shrinking), and that
    situation is not expected to change over the years to come.  In spite of the fact that the number of
    “documents” being created continues to expand exponentially, the number of
    documents actually being committed to “hard copy” print is in decline and, of
    the documents actually being committed to print, volumes (quantities) are in
    decline.  The consolidation of these two
    printing-industry giants represents a significant opportunity for the survivor,
    RR Donnelly & Sons, to benefit from economies of scale (reduce duplicative
    operations and expenses).  And, in my
    opinion, the consolidation of these two companies into one will have at least
    some effect on pricing power (since the deal will reduce competition).  Altogether, this should allow RR Donnelly
    & Sons to report improved gross margin and profits over time, but, if the
    printing industry continues to shrink, overall-revenue-wise, the effect on RR
    Donnelly’s bottom line may be short term (i.e., over the next few years) rather
    than long term (i.e., over the long-haul). 
    (Don’t be surprised if, in the future, you hear that Donnelly announces
    plans to cut plants and employees.)  To
    put this deal in perspective for “reprographers”, if ARC Document Solutions and
    Thomas Reprographics and NRI merged together, that combination would not be
    altogether different from the combination of Donnelly and Consolidation
    Graphics.  (Note:  I’m just giving you an example; I don’t
    foresee ARC and Thomas Repro and NRI ever getting together, but, having said
    that, someone reminded me to “never say never.”)

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    On a
    completely different note:  Consolidated
    Graphics’ sales are in excess of $1 billion annually, it is profitable, and its
    market cap is around $650 million. 
    Textura Corp, which has yet to earn a profit (and whose losses, to date,
    have been very significant compared to its annual revenues) reported annual
    revenues of less than $40 million in its last fiscal year, yet, despite that,
    Textura’s market cap is over $800 million. 
    Conclusion, turn your reprographics (or printing) business into a “cloud
    software” business so that you, too, can benefit, enterprise-value-wise, from hype and
    fluff.
  • November 25, 2013
    Filed under: 3D printing,Additive Manufacturing — Terry Wohlers @ 10:12
    Note: The following was co-authored by senior consultant Tim Caffrey and
    principal consultant Terry Wohlers, both of Wohlers Associates.
    From London and Paris to Dayton and Denver, a number of independent
    brick-and-mortar 3D print shops have opened, offering customers a local
    resource for 3D printing. These retailers typically offer print-on-demand
    services using material-extrusion 3D printers. Many also sell 3D printers,
    offer 3D scanning services, and provide training and demonstrations of the
    technology for potential customers. For example, the 3D Printing Store in
    Denver, Colorado operates three MakerBot Replicator 2 machines and one
    Stratasys uPrint and sells premade and custom 3D items. It also provides the
    chance for more advanced customers to schedule time on machines for
    time-consuming projects.
    The new Bmore3D is the first retail store in the mid-Atlantic region
    focused on 3D printing and 3D scanning. Customers can shop a curated gallery of
    rings, earrings, necklaces, vases, and a range of Baltimore-themed pieces. The
    store also includes ShapeShot, a fully automated 3D photo booth developed by
    Direct Dimensions. Customers can order 3D-printed busts, bobbleheads, jewelry,
    and ceramic coffee mugs that include a scale model of their face. Babies, pets,
    and entire families are candidates to be scanned and 3D printed.
    The business model of using 3D printing (also referred to as additive
    manufacturing) to build parts for customers is not new. AM service providers,
    also known as service bureaus, have been around nearly as long the AM industry
    itself. However, design and manufacturing companies are the typical customers
    of these industrial-oriented companies. Using high-end professional-grade
    equipment, they build parts for companies in automotive, consumer products,
    medical, and many other industries. Contrast
    this with the new 3D print shops, which are targeting a new type of customer
    that is much less familiar with the technology.

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    One has to wonder
    whether sufficient demand—and 3D content—will develop for these new companies.
    Long-term success for these independent brick-and-mortar 3D print shops could
    prove to be a challenge. Meanwhile, corporate heavyweights Staples and UPS have
    launched trials for local 3D printing services in a select group of stores. It
    will be interesting to see how this market develops and evolves over the next
    couple years.
  • I initially
    set up (and put up the first several posts on) the Reprographics 101 Blog in
    February 2009.
      This month (Jan 2014)
    completes five full years of pure unadulterated dribble.
      For those of you who have been frequent
    visitors to the Blog over the past five years, my thanks to you for visiting
    the Blog and, most of all, for bearing with me.
    At the time
    the Blog first commenced, the county (I’m referring to the U.S.) was already
    well into what eventually proved to be the worst, deepest and longest-lasting
    recession since the Great Depression. 
    Which is why someone coined the term “Great Recession” to describe this
    past one.  By all accounts, the Great Recession wreaked havoc on the reprographics
    business and industry
    ; my own estimate is that the industry’s revenues,
    nowadays, are some 35-40% less than they were before the Great Recession
    started.  In addition to a decline in
    plan & spec printing revenues caused by a vast slowdown in the A/E/C
    industry, revenues have also been negatively impacted by A/E/C customers
    adopting ways to “print less”, the latter brought on by – or, I should say,
    “enabled by” – further “digital developments”, the latter, itself, made
    possible by the computers, laptops, tablets, readers, software, and, of course,
    the big bully in the room, the Internet (the latter, now including “the
    Cloud”.)
    Around
    1989-1992, the reprographics industry got rocked by a recession that seriously
    impacted the A/E/C Industry, but, when that recession ended, reprographics
    industry revenues rebounded – and, eventually, rebounded to revenue numbers
    well above what the industry’s revenues were before that recession
    started.  In fact, reprographics industry revenues during the period 1992 to 2007
    advanced at a startling rate and, by 2007, reached numbers that I think no one
    would have imagined possible.
     (Yes,
    I’m aware that some realized a blip brought on by the dot.com bust around 2000,
    but many reprographers were not hurt by the minor recession the A/E/C Industry experienced
    because of the dot.com bust.  If
    anything, a slow-down in/around 2000 gave everyone in our industry time to
    catch a breath.)
    But, the rebound that reprographers are now
    experiencing, now that the A/E/C Industry is growing again, is not on par with
    the rebound that reprographers experienced after 1992, and, yes, the difference
    is attributable to the “digital developments”
    I mentioned two paragraphs earlier.  Today and going forward, reprographers are
    going to have to rely less and less on plan and spec printing revenues and are
    going to have to focus on, push into, rely more and more on other areas of the
    imaging business; large-format color graphics, MPS/FM services, document
    management services (including scanning and archiving) and software/technology
    that assists the mission of firms involved in the A/E/C Industry (and other
    industries as well.) Just my own personal opinion, the reprographics business
    of and in the future will be very, very different than it was in past times.  Very challenging times ahead, but there will
    be opportunities for those who are up to
    the challenge and who face the future with their eyes wide open
    .
    That said, I do expect that the reprographics
    industry will experience further consolidation.
      We
    are seeing that in the “printing” industry, and the reprographics industry will
    experience the same sort of thing over the next decade.
    Another reason why I founded the Blog – the
    IRgA, the industry’s only independent
    group bringing information to the
    reprographics community, wasn’t doing a good job of that
    , and, when the industry continued to plunge,
    that situation got worse, and worse, and
    worse
    .  By 2012, IRgA membership had
    plunged to an all-time low, not just because reprographers wanted to reduce
    expenses, but also because the IRgA wasn’t giving reprographers a good reason
    to belong and participate.  Long being an
    advocate for an independent industry
    association, I took on the role to rebuild IRgA membership and, in an effort to
    support that, I moved the Reprographics 101 Blog to the IRgA web-site during
    the ten-month period I was the Managing Director of the IRgA (Aug 1, 2012 thru
    May 31, 2013).  During the time I was
    IRgA Managing Director, I paid Ed Avis to author articles for the IRgA web-site
    and Ed was tasked to solicit sponsors for the IRgA.)  On June 1, 2013, Ed Avis took over as
    Managing Director of the IRgA, and, speaking quite frankly, Ed has done an
    outstanding (repeat, outstanding) job in his role as Managing Director; he
    built a brand-new web-site for the association, and his efforts to put forth
    interesting, relevant content have been terrific and have well exceeded what I
    was capable of doing.  My “hat’s off” to
    Ed for the direction he’s taken, and is taking, the IRgA.  And,
    the competency that Ed Avis displays is one of the reasons why I feel that
    “it’s about time” for me to wind-down the Reprographics 101 Blog.  Industry vendors who are not supporting the
    IRgA should be very, very embarrassed. 
    Since
    founding the Blog in February 2009, I’ve put up more than 2,000 posts.  (Over 1,600 of those appeared on the
    Blog-site hosted by Google’s “Blogger” blog service, and about 400 of those
    appeared on the Repro 101 Blog when it was hosted on the IRgA web-site.)  So far, the posts I’ve put up have hade more
    than 250,000 “page-views”.  The Blog has
    been visited by people from around the globe (reportedly, the Blog has had
    visitors from more than 75 different countries.)  Admittedly, some of the posts on the Blog
    have been very mundane, but some of them have bordered on the
    controversial.  Taken altogether, I do believe that the Blog has been informative –
    which was my intent – and I hope, sincerely
    hope
    , that you’ve enjoyed visiting Repro 101.  I’ve never wanted to waste anyone’s time,
    mine or anyone else’s.
    The Blog is not going to shut down
    completely.  But, from here on out posts
    will appear less frequently
    .  Every post that’s ever appeared on the Blog
    will continue to be available on or through the Blog.  (A link to the posts that were put up on the
    Blog when it was hosted on the IRgA web-site is explained in the right-hand
    column of the Blog.)  For those of you
    who have been bringing, and are continuing to bring, younger people into the
    reprographics industry, consider pointing them to Repro 101 as “homework” for
    their education about the industry – and, especially, for information about the
    industry’s challenges.
    Although I
    knew a lot of reprographics industry
    people before I started Repro 101, publishing Repro 101 (and my brief tenure as
    Managing Director of the IRgA) enabled me to meet hundreds more.  Although few took the time to post “comments”
    on the Blog, many, many people took the time to contact me via e-mail and phone
    calls.  I value the many friendships I’ve
    made over the 43+ years I’ve been in and around the industry, including the
    friendships I’ve made because I’ve been publishing a Blog about the
    reprographics business and industry.
    To each and
    every one of you who are still involved in the reprographics business, my best
    wishes to you for luck and success.
    To those of
    you who are now retired from the business, I hope you are enjoying
    retirement.  Take the time to contribute
    to the IRgA web-site; there are many young people who could benefit from your
    wisdom. Share!
    Very truly
    yours,

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    Joel Salus
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    This post
    has nothing to do with the reprographics business and industry.
    For those of
    you who are James Bond fans, please note that BBC America (an off-shoot, affiliate of BBC UK) is soon going to be launching a new TV
    series called “Fleming”.
    Although
    everyone knows that Ian Fleming created the James Bond character and wrote a
    bunch of awesome James Bond novels, many people are unaware that Fleming was a
    member of MI-6 (the UK’s equivalent of the OSS/CIA) during WW2.  This new series from BBC America is about
    Fleming’s life before and during his time in Mi-6 during WW2.
    Check your
    local cable listings for the BBC America channel in your area.
    SEASON: 1 | EPISODE: 1
    | AIR DATE: 29 JANUARY, 2014
    In
    London, 1938, Ian Fleming is a dissolute playboy, eclipsed by his dead war hero
    father and successful brother.
    While
    propping up the bar at a jazz club, he meets Ann O’Neill, an alluring
    socialite. Unlike many of his conquests, Ann is more than a match for him. She
    already has a husband and a lover, Esmond Rothermere.
    Fleming
    finds solace in the arms of a beautiful dispatch rider named Muriel. Following
    a frosty morning-after encounter with Muriel, Fleming’s domineering mother
    secures him a job assisting Naval Intelligence’s Admiral John Godfrey. He
    quickly incurs Godfrey’s wrath when he cooks up an unorthodox scheme to get
    information from two captured German submariners. However, Fleming’s valuable
    findings make it apparent that an imaginative approach could be just what the
    war effort requires.

  • As
    previously reported on the Repro 101 Blog, Marathon Reprographics filed a
    lawsuit against Kevin Rowe (and others), and Kevin Rowe filed a counterclaim
    against Marathon.
    The most
    recent update on this matter – the Court set a date for the trial, March 3rd,
    2015.
    For more
    detailed information about the “scheduling and trial order”, visit the document
    posted in my Google Drive library: (Link):

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  • Please open your wallets:

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  • Well, there has to be an end to everything, and,
    so, this is the end of the line for the Reprographics 101 Repro PPoP Index.
    What we’ve been saying all along about this
    Index:
     – This index does not
    attempt to track “total sales” of A/E/C reprographers. It attempts to
    track only sales ofplans printed on paper”.
     – And, by “plans
    printed on paper”, I mean A/E/C “plans”, large-format, b/w
    and color, unbound or bound, full-size, half-size, whatever large-format size
    .
    If you click on the link that’s immediately
    below, you’ll find our final “report”:
    Blog Publisher’s comments:
    The first think I’d like to mention is a
    clarification of sorts. 
    The index readings in the reports
    we’ve been issuing were not readings based just on prints produced at
    reprographer-production centers, but were readings based on large-format
    plan-printing wherever it took place. 
    In other words, at reprographer-operated production centers and at
    reprographer-operated OnSite (FM) locations. 
    I.E., the “totality” of large-format plan printing.
    Observations.  Based solely on my own personal
    analysis of the Index readings (the numbers) we’ve reported over the past few
    years and the more recent index readings (the numbers) we’ve reported – it does
    not take a rocket science degree to understand that the bottom, literally,
    dropped out of the A/E/C plan printing business.  That happened sometime during 2009 for some
    and during 2010 for others. My SWAG (silly-wild-ass-guess) is that on an
    overall reprographics industry basis, revenues bottomed-out in 2010 (and,
    leading into 2010, 2009 was also an awful year for most), and that 2011 was
    another awful year.  In short, 2009, 2010
    and 2011 are years that reprographers would never, ever like to see
    repeated.  2012 brought a slight uptick
    in activity, followed by fairly decent uptick in 2013.  The more recent “up-readings” in the index do
    not necessarily mean that reprographers are busier in their production
    centers
    .  More and more large-format
    plan-printing volume is finding its way to OnSite (FM) sites.  There are a lot more reprographers offering
    OnSite services today than ever before [in spite of the fact that many of those
    now offering OnSite (FM) services don’t have a good understanding as to how
    promote, sell, cost, price, and operate that business.]  I’m positive that every reprographer knows
    that the volume of printing – on a per-project basis – has declined from what
    it used to be and that that particular decline was not caused by the recession,
    but by the “further digitization” of the industry.  The trend on the A/E/C side is to find ways
    to print less, and they (A/E/C customers) are doing that by distributing files
    rather than ordering and distributing hard-copy prints.  (Well, that said, they are still printing,
    but not as much as used to be the case.) 
    That trend will continue, much to the dismay of reprographers.  The A/E/C Industry was healthier in 2013 than
    in 2012, and, based on how things are going, it does appear that 2014 will be
    even a healthier year.  Similarly, and
    for reasons that are obvious to most reprographers, I fully expect that 2014
    will be a better year for most reprographers than 2013 was.  But, the growth in revenues from printing
    plans on paper, 2014 vs. 2013, will not be directly proportionate to the growth
    of the A/E/C Industry. 

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    To my reprographer
    friends – continue your efforts to diversify your revenues.  I do expect that 2014 will bring increased
    revenues from plan-printing services, but, given continuing digitization
    efforts going on in the A/E/C Industry, you can’t bank on that happening in a
    meaningful way.
  • Well, talk
    about a
    completely opposite stance,
    check this out:

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    Note that
    Goudy Park Capital posted this “note” on seekingalpha.com and did so before
    Citron Research released its second report on Textura.
  • The title of the
    post (see above) is the title of Citron Research’s “second report” on
    Textura.  Like the first report Citron
    issued, Citron’s second report is a “must read”.
    To refresh your
    memory, I put up a post on the blog after I read Citron Research’s “first
    report” on Textura; here’s the link to that post:
    Going further,
    here’s the lead commentary in Citron’s second report:
     – “There is NOTHING an analyst can say here
    except “Mea Culpa.””
     – “Textura CEO Patrick Allin’s bio is Highly
    Material to All Potential and Actual Textura Investors”
     – “IPO Investment Bank Analysts are
    Pro-Actively Complicit”
     – “Company Expenses are Beyond Analysts Worst
    Nightmare”
     – “Profitability is Mission Impossible”
     – “Citron Reaffirms Generous $4 Target”
    Here’s a link to
    the full second report that Citron published:
    Blog Publisher’s comments:
    I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, ‘If something sounds too good to
    be true, it probably is.’ Well, in the investment
    world, I say, ‘If something sounds too good to be true, it definitely is.’
    [from the 1997 Washington Times 3 June B7]
    So far, at
    least three different analysts have reacted to Citron’s first report by saying
    that Citron’s allegations are baseless. 
    They’ve reiterated their “outperform/buy” ratings on TXTR and have set
    forth (what I think are) lofty price targets for TXTR stock.  The latest analyst to say that is Barrington
    Research – see note at the end of today’s blog post for what, exactly,
    Barrington said.)
    Note that
    TXTR currently has approximately 24.87 million shares outstanding, and that, if
    TXTR stock gets to $55.00 per share, TXTR’s market cap will be in the
    neighborhood of $1.368 Bil.  That’s
    correct, you read that correctly, $1.368 BILLION.  After reading the note attributed to
    Barrington, I found myself wondering, “is Barrington based on Colorado, and, if
    so, they must have found some really good stuff!”
    At some
    point this year, it’s likely that the stock market will go into a correction
    period, i.e., fall down a bit (or maybe even more than just a bit.)  If that does happen, I do believe that it will
    affect, quite adversely, stocks of
    tech companies that are currently, stock-price wise, flying above the sky, especially those
    companies that have yet to show
    profits or even that they can earn
    profits.  Currently, TXTR is not
    profitable (in it’s last full fiscal year, it’s losses were greater than its
    sale revenues), and TXTR has never earned a profit.  So, when the overall market corrects this
    year, is it not likely, at least fairly likely, that TXTR’s stock will get
    crushed?  Well, time will tell.
    Early last
    year, TXTR purchased PlanSwift. 
    PlanSwift’s sales helped TXTR show
    growth.  More recently, TXTR acquired
    Latista.  I did not see anything
    published that indicated how much revenue TXTR picked up by buying Latista: all
    I saw published was a note that said that TXTR paid $35 mil for Latista.  Is TXTR on a path to buy revenue growth by buying, and folding in, other tech companies?  Without acquired
    revenues
    , is TXTR’s organic growth
    healthy, vibrant and on a rampant surge to the upside
    ?  Based on what I’ve read, so far, in TXTR’s
    financial-results-reports, I haven’t found any evidence to support that TXTR’s
    organic revenues are on a rampant surge to the upside.  I have seen TXTR press releases that talk
    about TXTR’s upside, but, to me, those press releases appear to contain a lot
    of fluff.
    And, having
    said that, I’m now going to repeat the first paragraph:
    I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, ‘If something sounds too good to
    be true, it probably is.’ Well, in the investment
    world, I say, ‘If something sounds too good to be true, it definitely is.’
    [from
    the 1997 Washington Times 3 June B7]
    Until I come across information that would cause me to think otherwise,
    you can, for now, count me firmly in Citron Research’s camp.  If TXTR isn’t able to buy its way out of red
    ink, I don’t see where TXTR is going to be profitable in 2014 or 2015 or
    2016.  Prove me wrong!
    For the record, it’s 3:09 pm and TXTR stock is now trading at $28.33,
    off 11.47% for the day.  TXTR traded, in
    2013, as high as $47.25.
    Okay, here’s the note that I mentioned
    earlier in this post:
    Textura
    Corp (TXTR) Added to Barrington Research’s Best Ideas List
    January 6, 2014
    3:30 PM EST, from StreetInsider.com
    Barrington Research maintained an
    Outperform rating on Textura Corp (NYSE: TXTR) with a price target of $55.00. The
    stock was also added to the firm’s Best Ideas List.
    A rogue short
    report published
    (by Citron Research) the day after Christmas caused a 25% sell off in Textura’s
    stock.
    “While the
    report created an attractive buying opportunity, we view all of the issues
    mentioned as baseless,” said analyst
    Jeff Houston.”

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    “The
    company’s disruptive technology is revolutionizing and modernizing the
    commercial construction industry, which is large and underpenetrated. Besides
    first mover advantage, patent protection, pricing power, and opportunities to
    cross
    sell and expand globally, we like
    that sub
    contractors generate most (75%) of
    CPM revenue and are required by Textura’s GC clients to use the solution. Also,
    the recovering construction industry presents a tailwind. Despite execution
    risk, our forecast for a significant profitability ramp and continued 50%
    organic growth in 2015 justifies a significant valuation premium,” he
    added.
  • Very sad
    news.
    Roger Garner, long-time owner of Triangle
    Reprographics (Orlando, FL), passed away on December 31st.
    Our sincere condolences to the entire Garner
    family.
    I met Roger
    around 1984 when we
    (the first five “core founders”
    of ReproCAD)
    were in the
    process of recruiting the first 15 shareholders of ReproCAD.
    Roger was a
    stand-up guy, an outstanding person, and, later in my life when I was with NGI,
    a formidable competitor.

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    Obituary:

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    Garner, Roger age 75 of Orlando,
    FL.; passed away December 31, 2013. He is the dearest husband of Joanne F.
    Garner; loving father of Roger Echols “Reg” Garner Jr., & Cynthia
    (Warren) Garner Billings; proud grandfather of Lindsay (Gary) Hostetler, Ashley
    (Joe) Dringo, Warren (Carolyn) Billings IV, Victoria Billings, & Kaley
    Garner; great-grandfather of Shaela & Desmond; brother of Faye (Pete)
    Sharber; uncle of Melanie (Jeff) Merritt & Cheryl Thompson. The family will
    receive friends Friday, January 3, 2014, from 6 to 8pm at Baldwin Fairchild
    Funeral Home, 301 N.E. Ivanhoe Blvd., Orlando FL. A celebration of Roger’s life
    will be held Saturday, January 4, 2014; 11am at College Park Baptist Church,
    1914 Edgewater Dr., Orlando FL. Mr. Garner will be laid to rest in Evergreen
    Municipal Cemetery, Sanford FL; where he was born and raised. Roger is the founder
    and president of Triangle Reprographics in downtown Orlando, which has been in
    business since 1972. Roger was still very active in the business and was
    extremely loved by all his employees. Donations may be made to College Park
    Baptist Church in Roger’s memory.