Bruce Drummond's Osborne Park-based printer Leader Press has bought out Dennis Booth's nearby Parmelia Print. Both printers have been established in Perth for decades, and are well known in the West's dynamic commercial printing sector.
The takeover is a continuation of the consolidation sweeping the industry. Leader and Parmelia are almost a match with similar equipment and market approach. Tough times in WA have increased the pressure on commercial printers. In just one instance, April 2016 Optima Press bought out Imatec in Perth.
Leader Press is recognised as an industry leader in the West Australian capital. Known as an important supplier to government, it is also a successful trade supplier. With a history of 25 years in instant and general print it prides itself on a complete service, with high-speed large-format digital and offset printing, in-house finishing, and graphic design, layout and typesetting. Drummond's business operates a Shinohara F52 four-colour offset press, a Shinohara F52 two-colour perfector, a Shinohara F52 single-colour press, and a Fuji Xerox C75 digital press, plus bindery and finishing equipment.
Parmelia, which opened in 1987, also offered both digital and offset printing, and according to its website, produced 99 percent of its work in-house. It had similar Shinohara offset equipment so it's unlikely much of the the kit will be transferred across. Parmelia's website already lists Leader Press's facility on Donovan Street as its address, rather than its former offices on Scarborough Beach Road.