Starline Printing to merge with Colorado-based commercial printing company

Two commercial printing companies — one based in New Mexico, the other in Colorado — are combining forces, a shift aimed at streamlining costs and efficiencies in an evolving commercial printing industry.

Starline Printing, which shares ownership with the Journal, will merge in the coming months with CPCneutek, a company that specializes in flexo, packaging and wide-format solutions.

Starline Printing will remain the merged business’ name, company officials said.

“Our strength is our reputation with our clients,” said William Lang, president of Starline Printing. “That’s really our strength in the market and we wanted to maintain that — and with 66 years in the market, we want to take it to the next level.”

The combined staff of CPCneutek and Starline Printing will grow to 140 when the merger is complete. And, CPCneutek President Mike Antonucci said, the number of employees may increase because of the large amount of work the soon-to-be merged company has lined up.

Its manufacturing space will also increase. CPCneutek boasts locations in Grand Junction, Colorado — a 150,000-square-foot space — and a 45,000-square-foot space in Ogden, Utah. And Starline has a printing operation at 7777 Jefferson NE.

Additionally, the merger will open up room for clients in other states for Starline Printing, whose base has mostly been businesses in New Mexico such as the national labs and local private school Albuquerque Academy.

Starline Printing traces its roots back to 1957.

CPCneutek was established in 1947 as Colorado Printing Co. before changing its name to CPCneutek after the company merged with Neutek Print in 2017.

Antonucci said the merger with Starline will increase the company’s efforts in short-run packaging, “which is a huge growth market.”

“The typical turn time in the folding carton industry is eight to 12 weeks to get a box. With this press that we have now, the goal is to turn it in less than two weeks for a short run,” Antonucci said.