20 Under 40 - 2004 Profile: Daniel Paris

PRESSTIME

By Presstime Magazine

First Published: December 2004

Director of Printing | Idaho Press-Tribune, Nampa

In the hurly-burly of the newspaper world, the difference between success and failure often comes down to recognizing an opportunity and seizing it.

When Daniel Paris, director of printing at the Idaho Press-Tribune in Nampa, learned that a commercial printer planned to cut loose its publication printing jobs in early 2004, he wasted no time in acquiring the client list. With help from the Press-Tribune's marketing department, Paris won over nearly 50 of the accounts.

Paris' quick thinking and tenacity have boosted the paper's commercial printing revenue by more than five times over the previous year, according to Press-Tribune President and Publisher Stephanie Pressly. By hiring two more pressmen and lining up a new stacker and stitch-and-trim machine, Paris had the pressroom running to capacity.

And then some.

In March, a fire crippled the pressroom of the Press-Tribune's competitor, The Idaho Statesman in nearby Boise, prompting Paris and company to extend a helping hand.

"We called it 'hell week,' " Paris says. The extra work "just buried us. We were printing 24/7." The workload included the Press-Tribune's new and pre-existing commercial work, its own editions and sections of the Statesman, some of which the paper continues to print.

Paris' management of the situation was "nothing short of a miracle," Pressly says.

Paris credits his production know-how to his parents, who ran their own commercial print shop. "I was collating from the time I was old enough to walk," he says.

Education: 1985, Caldwell High School, Caldwell, Idaho.
Career: 1994-present, pressman, assistant production manager, production manager, printing director, Idaho Press-Tribune, Nampa.
Personal: Age, 36. Born, Nampa, Idaho. Married, wife DeeAnn, four children.
Diversions: Playing golf, camping and boating, watching football, basketball and baseball, watching his children play sports.
Connections: Idaho Press-Tribune, 1618 N. Midland Blvd., Nampa, Idaho 83651, (208) 465-8135, dparis@idahopress.com.