For its annual "Gold List" issue, which ranks Canada's top 100 printers by revenue, Graphic Monthly Canada (a sister publication to Masthead) has sent personalized covers with congratulatory messages to every printer who made the list. The back cover of the June 2009 issue also features a personalized ad from post press equipment manufacturer Müller Martini that in some cases mentions the exact model the printer has.

The job was handled by Sina Printing using a technique called variable data printing, which allows printers to customize text, graphics and images on invidual pages in the print-run. (For more on variable data printing, see the March/April 2008 issue of Masthead magazine.)

"After writing about variable printing, looking at hundreds of samples, and receiving a fair share of personalized material, we wanted to explore this much-hyped printing application for ourselves," editor Filomena Tamburri writes in her editorial.

As for the list of the top 100 printers, it was once again topped by Quebecor World, which had sales of $4.87 billion in 2008. Transcontinental Inc. ($1.88 billion), Cascades Boxboard Group ($1.3 billion), CCL Industries Inc. ($971 million) and Shorewood Packaging ($650 million) rounded out the top five.