Market, Interrupted

The continuous forms market is struggling, but surviving

Continuous forms were considered the main product of the printing industry for years. But, it's no secret to industry insiders that this particular market niche has been a sinking ship for well over a decade thanks to the digitization of society.

Despite their decline in usage, continuous forms still have their place for appropriate applications due to their speed and capacity to generate data onto several areas at one time.

So, instead of throwing in the towel, smart companies specializing in forms are becoming creative by adding value and vitality to their product lines and paying attention to customers and their needs.

"While the industry has been experiencing a decline in continuous products, Paris sales have been steady," Gerry Toscani, chief executive officer for Westampton, New Jersey-based Paris Business Products, explained.

"Some of this business can be attributed to new customers coming to Paris because their previous supplier has closed shop or reduced its product offering. In addition, while stock and custom cut-sheet products have become more prevalent throughout the industry, continuous forms still play a critical role in many vertical markets; and Paris has many steadfast customers using continuous forms for data processing, reporting, statement processing and other applications."

Mike Daughenbaugh, vice president of Tiffin, Ohio-based Quick Tab II, concurred.

"Over the last two years, we have experienced about a 20 percent drop in the continuous market," he noted.

"Continuous forms and checks have been a dying market for several years since the onset of laser printers. However, there will remain a need for impact printers for businesses where the environment is not user-friendly or the cost of toner makes it cost prohibitive."

He elaborated, saying Quick Tab II evolved as the check and forms division of Quick Tab, Inc., a tab card manufacturer founded in 1987.

"Diversification is a necessity as markets begin to mature," Daughenbaugh continued. "We recognized such a necessity as the tab card market diminished and now as continuous forms show similar signs. We have been in business for over 22 years and have 75 employees with sales in excess of $9MM."

Regardless of the decline, Daughenbaugh said the company produced more than 11 million continuous checks and more than 8.5 million continuous forms last year.

"Many of our distributors say we are the best kept secret around since most of our advertising comes via word of mouth," he added.

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