Sun Chemical Raising Prices
Sun Chemical will increase prices across a broad portfolio of its packaging and commercial sheetfed inks, coatings, and adhesives in North America, effective July 1, the company announced. The global raw material environment continues to demonstrate significant inflationary pressures, says the company. Raw material shortages are an ongoing concern and logistics costs have soared as the economic recovery drives demand for these services, says the company.
“The dynamics within the ink market are unprecedented,” said Chris Parrilli, president of North American Inks, Sun Chemical. “The lingering effects of the Texas weather event and the international logistics challenges coupled with the ongoing impacts of the COVID pandemic are all significantly impacting our operations.” Sun Chemical will communicate specific increases directly with its customers. Sun Chemical Corporation is a subsidiary of Sun Chemical Group Cooperatief, the Netherlands, and is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey.
News Media Alliance Raises Alarm on Proposed Postage Increases
USPS has filed proposed postage increases that are, in some cases, seven times the rate of inflation, says the News Media Alliance. The average increase for market-dominant mail, including first class, periodicals and marketing mail, is 6.9 percent. Periodical mail, which is used by local newspapers across the country, will see a rate increase of more than 8 percent on average, says a statement from the News Media Alliance.
“This increase will have detrimental effects on small businesses, including small-market and rural newspapers that cannot afford the increased costs, particularly as they strive to recover from the economic impact of COVID-19,” says the News Media Alliance in a statement on the proposed hikes. These new rates, on top of rates increased earlier in the year, will push mail out of the system and, in some cases, may put companies out of business, says the statement. The new rates come after a decision by the Postal Regulatory Commission on Nov. 30, 2020, that overturned a congressionally mandated inflationary price cap for mail products that USPS has a monopoly on delivering: first class, periodicals, and marketing mail. This change, which was based on USPS’s financial standing in 2017, allowed the Postal Service to raise rates that exceed the Consumer Price Index.
QIPC Celebrates 25-year Jubilee
Q.I. Press Controls, the Dutch specialist in automation solutions for the printing industry, is celebrating its 25-year jubilee. Since its start in 1996, the company has grown to an internationally operating organization with a worldwide network of offices and agencies. QIPC’s founders Erik van Holten and Menno Jansen started in 1996 in a garage structure of van Holten. With their first patented IRS solution for automated color register control in 1997 and a first installation with Janssen/Pers in Gennep, the Netherlands, they reached the first of many milestones, says the company in press release.
In 2014 came the acquisition of EAE Engineering Automation Electronics in Ahrensburg, Germany. The company says the “icing on the cake” of the jubilee is that the first customer, Janssen/Pers Rotatiedruk, has placed a new order, 25 years on.
Paxton Media Group buys Landmark Community Newspapers
Paxton Media Group has bought Landmark Community Newspapers, a chain of daily and weekly papers based in Shelbyville, Kentucky, the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Kentucky) reported. The deal includes all 47 papers in the Landmark chain, the paper said. “We are very excited to add these newspapers into the PMG portfolio,” said Jamie Paxton, PMG president and CEO. “PMG believes strongly in the value of local newspapers and the vital role they play in the communities that they serve. We appreciate Landmark choosing us to be the new stewards of these important community assets.” PMG is headquartered in Paducah and will now possess a total of 120 publications in 15 states.
LMC, GNI Offer Digital Advertising Revenue Playbook for Small, Midsize Publications
The Google News Initiative, in partnership with the Local Media Consortium, announced the publication of the GNI Advertising Revenue Playbook, a guide for small and midsize news organizations on how to monetize web content and grow digital advertising revenue, says a press release from LMC. This is one of the pillars of GNI’s Digital Growth Program, which also includes audience development, reader revenue, data and product. The playbook is designed to instruct both publishers who do not yet have a digital advertising business or would like to better understand the basics of programmatic advertising and those who already have a digital advertising business but are looking for ways to improve their strategies or gain new insights to improve revenue.
“Digital advertising is a great way for local publishers and broadcasters to increase their revenue, but many do not have the resources or know-how to get started or maximize their digital ad revenue,” said Fran Wills, CEO of the LMC.
More News
- Monday saw the last shift for the printing press operated by Sun Media Group, the Sun Journal (Lewiston, Maine) reported. The group has consolidated its print and distribution at a South Portland site. The newsroom, advertising, circulation and customer service staff will go on working in the building at 104 Park St. in Lewiston.
The New York Times may buy The Athletic, sources tell Axios, which itself had been reported as in negotiations to merge with The Athletic. - Canada wants to make YouTube, TikTok and other sites spotlight more of Canada’s creators, The Wall Street Journal reports. Law experts call the move among the “most aggressive internet regulations yet from a Western country,” says WSJ.
- Koenig & Bauer has announced a “moderate price adjustment” for its entire product portfolio. “The reduced availability of raw materials such as copper, plastics, additives, sheet metal and wood, and higher shipping and logistics costs require an adjustment in prices,” says a news release on the matter. The release also cited the global chip shortage.
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