Major Products: Offset, gravure, inkjet and specialty inks.

Tony Staniak, CFO; Julie Currie, EVP and chief revenue officer; Josh Golden, chief marketing officer; Eric Ashworth, EVP, president, Quad Agency Solutions and EVP, product and market strategy.

Number of Employees: More than 11,000 worldwide; approximately 150 in CR/T. (Ink World estimate)

Operating Facilities: Hartford, WI; Lomira, WI; Martinsburg, WV; Greenfield, IA.

Comments: One of the largest global printers, Quad/Graphics is transforming its business in recent years, shifting resources to the creative field and becoming a leading marketing solutions provider. Quad/Graphics produces the majority of its inks at its Chemical Research\Technology (CR\T) subsidiary and does not sell inks outside of Quad.

In 2024, Quad’s net sales were $2.7 billion, a decrease of 9.7% compared to 2023, primarily due to lower paper sales and lower print volumes. Adjusted EBITDA was $224 million in 2024, and free cash flow was $56 million. Quad reported that it had reduced net debt to $350 million and achieved net debt leverage of 1.6x at Dec. 31, 2024.

“I am proud of the strategic and financial progress we made in 2024 as we continue to advance our revenue diversification strategy on our path to net sales growth, which we estimate in our mid-term outlook will happen between 2027 and 2028,” Joel Quadracci, chairman, president and CEO of Quad, said. “Our full-year 2024 results reflect our disciplined operating performance, including increased profitability margins and continued strong cash generation that we used to further reduce debt despite the expected decrease in sales.”

In a significant move, Quad/Graphics completed the sale of its European operations to Capmont GmbH, a German-based entrepreneurial private capital investment manager. This includes all employees and facilities for Quad/Graphics Europe print and ink-manufacturing headquartered in Wyszków, Poland. Quad expects to use the proceeds from the sale to reduce debt and make further investments in solutions that advance its MX offering.

Major Products: Offset, gravure, inkjet and specialty inks.

Number of Employees: More than 25,000 worldwide; approximately 150 in CR/T. (Ink World estimate)

Operating Facilities: Hartford, WI; Lomira, WI; Martinsburg, WV; Greenfield, IA; Wyszków, Poland.

Comments: With sales of $3 billion in 2023, Quad/Graphics remains one of the largest international printers. The company is also making significant headway in the creative field, transforming into a leading marketing solutions provider. Quad/Graphics produces the majority of its inks at its Chemical ResearchTechnology (CRT) subsidiary and does not sell inks outside of Quad.

Quad’s net sales declined 6.7% to $3 billion in 2023, with adjusted EBITDA of $234 million in 2023, down 7.1% from 2022. Free cash flow was $77 million. Quad reported that it reduced net debt by $79 million and the company is maintaining a net debt leverage of 2.0x, with the aim of reaching 1.8x by the end of 2024.

“We delivered solid full-year results primarily due to our strong operating performance, which was partially offset by revenue challenges created by significant postal rate increases and ongoing economic uncertainty that negatively impacted print volumes,” Joel Quadracci, chairman, president and CEO of Quad, said in announcing the results.

“Despite these challenging macro factors, we achieved our 2023 financial guidance, and were pleased with our cash generation, which we continued to use to strengthen our balance sheet through debt reduction. We ended the year having reduced net debt by $564 million or 55% since January 1, 2020,” added Quadracci.

Major Products: Offset, gravure, inkjet and specialty inks.

Number of Employees: More than 25,000 worldwide; approximately 150 in CR/T. (Ink World estimate)

Operating Facilities: Hartford, WI; Lomira, WI; Martinsburg, WV; Greenfield, IA; Wyszków, Poland.

Comments: In recent years, Quad/Graphics has been actively transforming its business, from being a primarily publication printing operation to making headway into the creative field, becoming a leading marketing solutions provider along the way. As the company celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2021, it has a lot to look forward to in the coming years,

The pandemic impacted the printing industry, and Quad/Graphics was no exception. Net sales declined 25% in 2020, to $2.9 billion. Free cash flow was $129 million, up $23 million from 2019.

“Early on in the pandemic, we took swift action to offset the impacts so we could maintain our focus on running the business well,” said Joel Quadracci, chairman, president and CEO of Quad/Graphics. “Our consistent and strong operating performance delivered solid full-year results with higher adjusted EBITDA margin and cash flow. At the same time, we were able to reduce debt by $184 million. In 2020, we pivoted from transforming the company to advancing our competitive position as a worldwide marketing solutions partner.”

Chemical Research\Technology (CR\T), Quad/Graphics’s ink manufacturing subsidiary, supplies the vast majority of offset, gravure, inkjet and security inks to Quad’s printing plants, and does not sell inks outside of Quad.