Annex Business Media adds to its large portfolio of B2B mags with the purchase of PrintAction from Youngblood Publishing, including its associated properties and the Canadian Printing Awards.

"PrintAction is a very strong title in the sector," said Mike Fredericks, Annex president. "It's a great brand and a great part of the industry. We're constantly looking for that type of environment."

As both a publisher and a printer itself, Annex was attracted to the idea of owning a mag that served the printing and graphic arts industry. "Not that I would buy a magazine about printing just because I'm a printer, but there's certainly some affinity to that. It's a good fit for us," Fredericks said.

PrintAction was founded in 1961 by John Young, father of current publisher Sara Young. In 1994, an associated annual Buyers' Guide was launched, and in 2006, PrintAction presented the inaugural edition of its annual Canadian Printing Awards.

Young joins Annex and will continue as the magazine's publisher. All employees received offers of employment and Fredericks said the staff will move north from Toronto to Annex's office in Aurora over the next two or three months.

"I personally look forward to continuing to build the PrintAction brand, and creating new opportunities for members of Canada's printing industry to communicate with one another," Young said in a release. According to Fredericks, the brand will leverage Annex resources to build on its digital presence, which includes the PrintAction.com portal.

PrintAction prints 12 issues a year and, according to an Alliance for Audited Media publisher's statement, has an average circulation of 10,140.

(In the spirit of full disclosure, we should note that Masthead parent company North Island Publishing also owns Graphic Monthly Canada and PrintCAN.com, which compete with PrintAction.)