Political Jobs Boost Printers on Both Sides
By Graphic Arts Online Staff -- Graphic Arts Online, August 18, 2008
As conventions near, presses gear up to supply Republican and Democratic candidates and their supporters. Taking advantage of digital storefronts, both parties' conventions and candidate sites are selling ad specialties, signage and party-specific print, with an added emphasis this year on green.
The Republican National Convention, for instance, offers made-in-USA commemorative notebooks from 100% recycled paper. Meeting to nominate its candidate Sept. 1-4 in St. Paul, the group is expected to inject $140 million into the local economy, including plenty of printing for signs. Democrats will have a similar impact for the Aug. 25-28 convention in Denver.
IDW Publishing, San Diego, says it will publish 32-page comic book biographies of the two parties' candidates Oct. 8, a month after the nominating process is finished. But the publisher is already displaying the covers, and a tally of pre-orders, now running 49% for Obama, 33% for McCain.
Midwest printers have strongly benefited from Barack Obama's candidacy. A.B. Data, The Strategy Group and Diamond Marketing Solutions are among print and mailing services firms near Chicago benefiting from Barack Obama's presidential run. A.B. Data, a mailing and list services firm that does digital print at its Milwaukee plant, earned $11.3 million since the campaign season started. (A.B. Data had acquired printing assets Paragon Group from Outlook Graphics in July 2007.) The company runs an IBM Infoprint 4000 monochrome laser printer in some of this work.
The Strategy Group, a direct mail firm in Chicago, provided $7.3 million in services. Progress Printing, a small commercial shop, has done more than $1.5 million. Democratic figures are based on publicly available reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, and analyzed by the Chicago Tribune.
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