Acme Book News

Wells Bindery

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 01:16:52 GMT

Acme-HFGroup
acquires Wells Bindery

Acme-HFGroup has acquired the assets and customer base of Wells Bindery, Inc. of Waltham, MA. In business since 1908, Wells has a strong tradition of quality binding and superior customer service. With rapid change occuring in the book manufacturing market, the time was right for Charles McGinn to find a partner to continue his business. Charles has agreed to work with Paul Parisi and the Acme team to make the transition smooth for his many loyal customers. Wells plant manager Kevin Cochran has joined the management group at Acme-HFGroup and has responsibility for all Wells clients.

Thank you Charles for your vote of confidence. Your customers will be well treated.

Please call our office at 617-242-1100 to learn more details of this exciting news.

Grateful in Scituate

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 12:11:44 GMT

Better than Gorgeous....

Just got the book from Lori who picked up the box of 12 books this pm waiting for her as promised at the front desk. I have to tell you that these are gorgeous!! I mean better than gorgeous....The paper is wonderful and solid and the book cover and binding is superb!!! It has taken a long time to bring this project to fruition and I hoped it would look nice but .... it is BETTER than nice.

Plz remind me when I bring the next project in that it will be PERFECT as have the last two!!!
You really deserve a raise for this effort, well, would a huge round of applause be okay???

Know that you have made this woman's Thanksgiving as she gives her book of handwritten grandchildren sayings from the past to her now grown grandchildren on her 79th birthday!!!

Doesn't get any sweeter than that!
Huge thanks...

Grateful in Scituate,
Anne

Acme HFG Merge

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:31:02 GMT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 1, 2012

Acme Bookbinding and
The HF Group to merge!

Charlestown, MA and Chesterland, OH – Acme Bookbinding Company (Acme) and The HF Group (HFG) are pleased to announce a new partnership and that, effective immediately, these two established family businesses have merged.

Acme and HFG are industry leaders in the fields of trade & edition binding, library binding, pre-binding, digital printing and binding, print on demand (POD), deluxe leather hand binding, book and paper conservation, digital conversion of books and paper documents, and records & data storage and management. The merger of Acme and The HF Group brings their combined resources, vision and commitment to new opportunities created by recent market transitions.

"The book manufacturing industry has experienced rapid change as the Internet Revolution has necessitated new products and services. With this merger, Acme and HFG not only leverage their strengths in mature markets, but increase their capacity in growing markets. Acme and HFG, while growing and investing in these new markets will continue to preserve historic treasures, build tomorrow’s collectible, convert analog to digital for wider access, store and secure data, deliver a book that memorializes a life, or a creative dream, and with a product that always brings a smile," said Paul Parisi, President of Acme.

The focus of the new company will be to provide affordable products that exceed client expectations in its core book and binding markets, while growing in emerging markets. Jim Heckman, Vice President of The HF Group, said, "By joining forces, our new company will increase manufacturing scale so that we can be the best provider for the continuing demand for high-quality traditional book products, but more importantly, strengthen our capability in growth areas such as short-run digital and on-demand books."

Both Acme and HFG have roots in the library binding industry. Both have also invested heavily in technology to diversify their product mix and to maximize efficiency. Acme has focused on the trade binding segment. Acme’s "coffee table" hard cover and soft cover bindings are considered to be of the highest quality and the Boston, Massachusetts operation is a unique facility qualified to serve discriminating publishers, designers, printers and authors. HFG has diversified and grown its

historical preservation services through Etherington Conservation, its book and paper Digitization division and County Records restoration division. Both Acme and HFG have experience in digital short run and print on demand book manufacturing, producing a myriad of book products including travel books, year books, children’s books, photo books and books for the self-publishing author. The combined company is committed to further investment in its digital and on demand production, which it currently serves from its facilities in Boston, Massachusetts and North Manchester, Indiana.

Jay Fairfield, President of The HF Group says, "Publishers, scholastic, and library markets, booksellers, printers and binders are all looking for partners and service providers who evolve, grow and remain financially strong as industry paradigms change. The heart of this merger and the partnership among the Parisi, Heckman and Fairfield families is our combined experience, manufacturing resources and leadership in our core markets as well as in our growth markets."

Acme Bookbinding Company, Inc. - a family-owned business with roots to 1821, has been a leading force in the trade book binding and library binding markets. Additionally, Acme owns and operates the Harcourt Bindery division, producer of hand-tooled leather bindings and custom clam shell boxes, and its AM Sulkin division serves city, county and municipal registries. From its 100,000 square foot facility in Boston, Massachusetts, Acme produces hard and soft cover books in quantities of hundreds of thousands alongside thousands of orders of one book. The company currently employs approximately 125 people.

The HF Group, LLC - a library binding and preservation leader for over 50 years. In addition to its binding operations, HFG is the owner of Etherington Conservation Services (conservation), Book Partners (digital book production), Digital Conversion solutions (book, paper and document conversion), RecordSave (county records restoration) and AssureVault (records and data storage and management). HFG (The former Heckman Bindery, Inc. and ICIBinding Corporation) operates production, sales and transportation facilities in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, Texas, Washington and Hawaii. The HF Group is headquartered in Chesterland, Ohio, and employs approximately 325 people.

The individual plants of the merged company will continue to operate under their current names. The combined company, its partners, managers and staff look forward to an exciting future celebrating the book and the opportunities this business combination promises.

Both companies are association members of the Book Manufacturers Institute (BMI) and Hardcover Binders International and The Library Binding Institute (HBI/LBI).

ABLE 7.0

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 21:12:27 GMT

Advanced Bindery Library Exchange (ABLE) Software

Press Release

The Library of Congress Preservation Directorate has announced the release of version 7.0 of the Advanced Bindery Library Exchange (ABLE) software, a web-based software product that automates preparation for monographs and serials for commercial binding.

The ABLE software was originally developed jointly by a group of binding vendors. The new version is the result of the implementation of a series of enhancements requested by the Library of Congress that supports enhanced functionality needed for a variety of vendors and libraries.

ABLE version 7.0 is available from Acme Bookbinding.

For more information on the ABLE 7.0 software and its new enhancements, visit www.loc.gov/preservation/

Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. The Library seeks to advance the knowledge and creativity of the American people through its collections, programs and services. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at www.loc.gov

Fife Design

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 19:43:42 GMT

Loved the Book

I heard from the director of The Franklin Square House Foundation, that his board members loved the book, The House that Love Built. "They were beside themselves." Coming from Bob, this is a great compliment. He is pleased because I think this project started at least 4 years ago.

Thank you all for working with us on this project. It was a real team effort to piece it together and get it completed.

Best,

Robin + Erin