Printing pressed: cost-conscious firms cut back annual reports.It's annual report season and that means the massive presses at Lithographix Inc. in Hawthorne are humming 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Even at 3 a.m., corporate types are lined up, waiting frantically to approve pages as they are pulled off the presses. But this year, the season, which stretches from mid-February through April, seems slightly less hectic. That's because many companies are skipping the bells and whistles A slang English term for exceptional features in some product. In the computer field, it typically refers to functions in software that may be greatly appreciated by some users, even though they may not be necessary most of the time. of the annual report. Rather than spend a few hundred thousand dollars creating a glossy corporate advertisement for shareholders and clients, some public companies prefer to just post their financial results on the Internet. "At one time, the annual report was a company's pride and joy," said Herb Zebrack, 72, president of Lithographix, one of the largest privately held commercial printing firms in the U.S. It has $120 million in sales and 450 employees. Lithographix prints 70 to 80 annual reports a year, down from more than 100 a few years ago. Clients include Exxon Mobil Corp., Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is an aerospace and defense conglomerate that is the result of the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company is the third largest defense contractor for the U.S. Corp., Wells Fargo Wells Fargo armored carriers of bullion. [Am. Hist.: Brewer Dictionary, 1147] See : Protectiveness Wells Fargo company that handled express service to western states; often robbed. [Am. Hist. & Co., Southern California Edison Southern California Edison (or SCE Corp), the largest subsidiary of Edison International (NYSE: EIX), is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California. It provides 11 million people with electricity. and Gap Inc. Zebrack says consolidation among Fortune 1,000 companies and an obsession with costs have further cut into the annual report market. More often, firms are printing their financial statements, adding a color-wrap cover and skipping the added costs. "A lot of our clients are being asked to do much more with smaller budgets and less people," he said. Annual reports now make up a small portion of Lithographix's overall business. The company just bought an 81-inch press--one of the largest in the world--to print billboard advertisements and movie posters. Lithographix also does a brisk business in car brochures for Chrysler Corp. and foreign automakers. Annual reports can take up to six months to design and produce, presenting a challenge for many companies, said Gary Baker Gary Baker is a former NASCAR driver. He made one Winston Cup start at Talladega Superspeedway in 1980. He started 15th and finished 22nd, earning $3,440. He was driving the #4 Waylon Jennings Chevrolet fielded by G.C. Spencer. In 2007, he purchased the Busch Series team Brewco Motorsports. , president and executive creative director at Baker Brand Communications, a consulting firm Noun 1. consulting firm - a firm of experts providing professional advice to an organization for a fee consulting company business firm, firm, house - the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments; "he worked for a in Santa Monica Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. . "It's a very important document but it can be a difficult internal challenge," he said. Though some companies assign the annual reports to their public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most or communications departments, the process can seem overwhelming. Designers, photo editors, stylists and brand specialists all play a role in creating some annual reports, most of them with themes or tag lines that try to convey a positive corporate message. "Everyone needs a theme to keep the reader engaged, Baker said. "You need a hook, a thematic starting point." Baker said that it has to be believable, though. "I can't tell a good story about a failing company." |
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