Editor’s Note The Road of Resilience This year’s Top Shops list is a remarkable tribute to their resilience and continued relevance. By Denise M. Gustavson 4 Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016 www.PrintingNews.com Published by SouthComm Business Media, Inc. PO Box 803 • 1233 Janesville Ave Fort Atkinson WI 53538 920-563-6388 • 800-547-7377 Vol. 24, No. 4 GROUP PUBLISHER Kelley Holmes kholmes@southcomm.com | 800-616-2252 x6104 EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Denise M. Gustavson dgustavson@southcomm.com | 800-616-2252 x6218 Contributing Editors Toni McQuilken Pamela Mortimer Richard Romano Anita Shaw Jeffrey Steele Mark Vruno Joann Whitcher Account Executives Kimberly Jorgensen x6103 | kjorgensen@southcomm.com Paul Zimmerman x6214 | pzimmerman@southcomm.com Production Director Steve Swick | 920-568-3796 | sswick@southcomm.com Production Manager Connie Wolf x1679 | cwolf@southcomm.com Art Director Meredith Pennewell x1304 | mpennewell@southcomm.com CIRCULATION Jackie Dandoy jdandoy@southcomm.com | 800-547-7377 x1711 For change of address or subscription information, call 877/382-9187, fax 920/563-1704, or circ.MyPrintResource@Omeda.com SOUTHCOMM, INC CEO – Chris Ferrell CFO – Ed Tearman COO – Blair Johnson VP, Production Operations – Curt Pordes VP, Technology – Eric Kammerzelt VP, Marketing Gerry Whitty Excecutive Vice President Gloria Cosby Subscription Customer Service 877-382-9187; 847-559-7598 Circ.magazine@omeda.com (see attached list) PO Box 3257 • Northbrook IL 60065-3257 Article Reprints Brett Petillo Wright’s Media 877-652-5295, ext. 118 bpetillo@wrightsmedia.com For me, the April issue has traditionally been my favorite, and gives me the opportunity to reflect and examine the business habits, struggles, and triumphs of some of the best wide-format print and signage providers in North America. In many cases, I’ve had the opportunity to watch some of these companies grow and evolve over the last eleven years. There have been challenges and struggles for everyone. We’ve been through a recession and out the other side, and it only goes to show the resilience of these shops and the industry as a whole. Just look at the definition of resilience (according to Merriam-Webster). Resilience is the ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change. For those who are interested in the history of language, the roots of the word go back to 1620-30 and the Latin word resili is the present participle of resilire, which essentially means to spring back, rebound. I think the Top Shops on this year’s list embody the meaning of the word resilience. Even though they have to fight (in some cases for every job), they power through the challenges of a consolidating industry, increasing price pressures, and declining margins (for some commodity-based applications). They struggle to find and train the right people that will inspire them to even greater heights. And the industry rewards them each and every time. These shops work with some of the top brands and companies because they trust them to honor their brand identity and get the job right. This year, the Top Shops sent in so many fantastic and eye-catching jobs from 2015 that the list almost reads like a who’s who. It includes: Calvin College, Nissan Stadium, San Diego Comic Con, Hugo Boss, Mickalene Thomas and the Queens Museum, Kiehl’s, Nike, BCBGMAXAZRIA, San Diego Padres’ Petco Park, Herve Leger, Faconnable, UnderArmour, Harland Clarke Holdings Corporation, Children’s of Alabama—Gait & Motion Lab, the Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium, the Charles & Anne Morrow Lindbergh exhibit at the Morven Museum & Garden, National Geographic, Uber, GE, Utah Olympic Park (check out our cover this month), Outdoor Retailer event, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum, Utah State Aggie Recreation Center (ARC), Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia, Indiana Goodwill Stores, and Howard Hughes Corporation. And that’s just the start. The Top Shops represent the best and the brightest our industry has to offer, and it brings me a great deal of pleasure to have the opportunity to recognize and honor them every year. These are the shops who “get it,” and who embrace the changes and conquer the challenges. Congratulations to all of this years honorees, and I can’t wait to see the fantastic creativity and innovation the next 12 months will bring. Find this article at PrintingNews.com/12186401
WideFormat_And_Signage_April_2016
To see the actual publication please follow the link above