Introducing emerge Magazine

Every year, we invite our top customers to emerge, our annual conference for clients that highlights print, technology and marketing innovation. The event features breakout sessions, showcases major developments from print suppliers and manufacturers, and shares best practices from some of the biggest names in business: Merck, Aviva, Tyco, Adobe and more.

While we've gotten rave reviews about emerge over the years, one of the things we've discovered is the need to continue education and knowledge transfer among our clients in-between the annual conferences. As a result we recently launched a bi-monthly magazine (also called emerge).

Our goal for emerge, both conference and magazine, is simple: to explore new perspectives and solutions so that we, our customers, suppliers and the entire industry can improve our respective businesses. We want your input, comments, thoughts and musings, and we've also put together an online digital subscription version for you to conveniently view anytime, anywhere.

Frederic Printing's InfoPrint 5000

Part of what makes CGX such a strong company is the relationships we hold with our suppliers. Our customers tell us what they need, we translate that need to our suppliers, and they provide us with the appropriate technology. This gives us the ability to package this technology into a complete solution that makes our customers' lives easier and their marketing efforts more effective.

Frederic Printing, a CGX company in Aurora, Colorado, recently partnered with InfoPrint to install the InfoPrint 5000, which improves our ability to create print-on-demand textbooks, direct mail pieces, election ballots, and other high-volume variably-printed collateral. For more info on the InfoPrint, check out Chris Greene's guest post on the InfoPrint blog.

Joe Davis Selected as Print CEO of the Year Finalist

Joe Davis, CEO of Consolidated Graphics, was just announced as a finalist for the WhatTheyThink.com Print CEO of the Year award. While no surprise to us, it's always nice to be recognized by such a premier online resource for all things print-related.

Mr. Davis was selected from a prestigious group of thirty nominations for the first annual Print CEO of the Year award. Criteria for judging includes a demonstration of "inspirational and innovative leadership," metrics like revenue and profit growth, corporate transformation initiatives, and/or environmental leadership, and other qualifications that the nominator deems important.

We're not sure if it's his support for innovation shown through groundbreaking events like emerge, his commitment to young talent displayed through the Leadership Development Program that he founded, or the solid CGX financial performance, but whatever it is, we are in full agreement that Mr. Davis is worthy of such an honor.

Awards will be presented at the second annual Print CEO Forum scheduled for October 2nd and 3rd in Chicago, Illinois, and the winner will be selected by a group of industry peers. “We assembled a panel of 10 industry experts to narrow the list down to the top five,” said Randy Davidson, president of WhatTheyThink. “Hundreds of Print CEOs from around the globe will be invited to submit their votes to determine who will be named the Print CEO of the Year. All 5 finalists will receive a unique award crafted by a talented artist. It was a tough choice for our industry experts since all 30 nominees were highly qualified. Our congratulations to all 30 nominees, and especially to the final five.”

The five finalists, in alphabetical order, are:

* Joe Davis, Consolidated Graphics, Houston, Texas

* Robert Keane, Vistaprint, Lexington, Mass.

* John Lacagnina, ColorCentric Corp., Rochester, N.Y.

* Joel Quadracci, Quad/Graphics, Sussex, Wis.

* Adam Slutsky, Mimeo, New York, N.Y.

Congratulations to all!

CDS Publications Receives Prestigious ISO Certification

CDS Publications, a Consolidated Graphics company located in Medford, Oregon, has completed its ISO certification process, which it has maintained since 1994. ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, is the world's largest developer and publisher of international standards, and governs national standards of 163 countries. The organization forms a bridge between the public and private sectors, ensuring that companies meet the requirements of both business and society at large.

CDS renews its certification every three years, after receiving approval from a 3rd party auditor on specific processes, initiatives, and standards that have been determined as best practices for the print and manufacturing industry.

"The ISO 9001:2008 certification is a signal to our customers that we are protecting the data they send us, producing their work with the utmost quality, and staying ahead of the curve when it comes to our internal processes," said Steve Brown, President of CDS. "While not required by the industry, it's an important step in assuring our customers that we will deliver not only a superior product, but a superior experience."