Semper International

Semper International, in a recent survey, found evidence of a revitalized printing marketplace, with a true business surge in nearly every category it measured in the third quarter—including the highest percentage of companies reporting profit in years.

Semper International's Industry Insight survey has seen a sharp decrease in profitability compared to last quarter. “We've never seen such a large contraction in profitability from one quarter to the next,” said Dave Regan, CEO of Semper International. “Combined with stagnating sales over the last two weeks, it's very troubling.”

According to Semper International’s latest quarterly survey, 73 percent of companies had a profitable fourth quarter of 2011, up 12 points from the third quarter, and 18 percent are planning to hire new people, up from just 12 percent last quarter.