In a statement announcing the deal Standard Group CEO Scott Vaughn, said, "Our mission is to simplify the art of communication for our customers, clients and partners, and Donald Blyler Offset fits squarely into achieving that mission. We've admired the company, the way it treats its customers and employees, and the high quality of products it produces for a long time. The addition of DBO to the Standard Group is a great fit."

DBO specializes in offset specialty services such as die cutting and finishing. Its printing assets include a Manroland six-color 28 x 40" with aqueous coater as well as two Mitsubishi and two Heidelberg presses, Heidelberg die-cutters, an 18,000 sqft warehouse and a full-service in-house bindery.

The deal was put together by the Rutherford, NJ-based NAPL and the NAPL M&A Consulting Practice. The NAPL is a non-profit group representing printing companies and senior vp John Hyde, who has nearly two decades of experience consulting on just these kinds of deals, said in a PrintWeek interview, "The trend in the printing industry in the US toward consolidation is a long-term trend that's been already been happening quite a number of years and will continue to happen. The economic conditions only accelerate that trend, adding fuel to the fire."

Hyde stressed that DBO wasn't facing any immediate financial pressures, but noted that, like others in the printing industry, they were an older family business facing issues on how to move forward. "Upwards of 90% of the printing companies in the US are privately owned and what that means for us is that it's a family-owned business," he explained. "Many are facing the issue of whether to invest further in the business or start looking at their retirement planning."

For companies in a buying mood, these private printers can offer a lot more than just equipment and warehouse space, Hyde indicated.

"Strategic acquirers are looking for two things: they're looking for intangible assets like strong customer relationships because those have real significant value. And sometimes they're looking for enhanced capabilities, such as experience in data management or digital print, specifically variable data printing."

The Standard Group provides commercial and digital printing as well as direct mail, data and list services and warehousing and fulfillment and touts experience with variable data, Web-to-print, and 1:1 marketing technologies for a range of clients both in non-profits and traditional business segments. It boasts revenues of $25m.