Quad/Graphics, Inc.

Founding and first national contracts

Harry V. Quadracci founded Quad, originally named Quad/Graphics, on July 13, 1971, in an abandoned Pewaukee, Wisconsin, factory. He raised the funds to establish the printing company, in part, by taking out a $35,000 second mortgage on his house, and began with 11 employees. Some of the company's first contracts were with Investor magazine and the national Fishing Facts magazine. By 1973, Quad had 25 employees and $2.8 million in sales.

In 1973, Quad founded its first division, Duplainville Transport. It continues to operate as Quad’s trucking division. Over the next few years, Quad continued to grow and had 100 workers and three presses by 1976, and 300 workers and six presses in 1979.

In the late 1970s, Quad was awarded its first substantial national contract with Newsweek. Contracts with Harper's, Time, and US News & World Report followed.

Publishing growth

By the mid-1990s, the company was printing magazines like People, Sports Illustrated, Playboy, Architectural Digest, and catalogs for LL Bean and Lands' End. In 1991, Quad had almost 9,000 employees and annual sales of $509 million. In 2000, Quad acquired the contract to print National Geographic, producing 9 million copies of the magazine monthly.

In 2002, Tom Quadracci took over as company president and CEO after the death of his brother Harry. The company had around 14,000 employees, $2 billion in annual sales, and 15 plants on three continents. It was the largest privately owned printing company in the world. In 2004, Tom took over as chairman and CEO, and, in 2006, Joel Quadracci, Harry’s son, was promoted to president and COO.

New York Stock Exchange

On July 6, 2010, Quad began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: QUAD) following the acquisition of Canadian rival World Color Press in an all-stock deal worth between $1.3 billion and $1.4 billion. Quad’s listing was not an IPO because it was not done in order to raise cash, but instead was necessary to complete a stock exchange with World Color as part of the acquisition.

Quad is still controlled by the Quadracci family through ownership of high-voting class B shares.

Expansion to marketing and business services

In 2010, Quad became LL Bean’s exclusive provider for studio photography. The company managed studio operations in cooperation with LL Bean’s Photography Operations and Creative Department. The agreement covered photography for LL Bean’s catalogs, including Men’s, Women’s, Kid’s, Fly Fishing, Hunting, Traveler, and Home titles, as well as its websites and e-commerce business.

By 2016, Quad, continuing to expand its marketing services, had built a $200 million packaging company and added offerings for in-store displays. BlueSoho, initially formed in 2004 as a digital art and image retouching studio, was repositioned in 2015 with the addition of a mobile marketing agency and media planning and placement group. Quad reported $4.3 billion in net sales in 2016.

In September 2017, Quad won a $450 million contract to print all of Bluestem Brands' catalogs. In 2019, Quad began producing 100% of Condé Nast ’s titles, expanding a previous partnership that began in 1993. Publications under the partnership included Allure, Architectural Digest, Domino, Golf Digest, GQ, GQ Style, Teen Vogue, W Magazine, Wired, Bon Appétit, Condé Nast Traveler, Glamour, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Brides, and The New Yorker.

In 2018, Quad further expanded its capabilities through the acquisition of Ivie & Associates, a Texas-based marketing production services and marketing execution company that had dedicated teams located on-site at client locations. That same year, Quad gained a majority interest in Rise Interactive, a Chicago-based digital marketing agency. One year later, Quad completed the acquisition of Periscope, a creative agency headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

In February 2019, Quad announced a name and logo update, changing its name from Quad/Graphics to Quad. This was in an effort to focus more on the company’s marketing services. The company is still known as Quad/Graphics, Inc., legally.

In February 2021, Joel Quadracci testified before a Congressional committee about the need for major reforms in the U.S. Postal Service. Quadracci spoke both as the CEO of Quad and on behalf of the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service. It was the fourth time in a decade that Quadracci testified before Congress about the Postal Service.

In 2021, Quad expanded its relationship with Package InSight, an organization that uses biometric technology to study brand packaging performance, consumer attention, and shelf-impact. In 2024, Package InSight’s Consumer Research Labs expanded inside Quad’s Marketing Experience Innovation in West Allis, Wisconsin, to let brands test packages and research the reactions and preferences of real shoppers in mock retail environments.

In 2022, Quad’s creative agency launched Favorite Child as its brand design house, which offers design strategy, brand identity, packaging and retail design services. Favorite Child supports brands such as Titleist and Aldi.

In 2024, Quad launched a new creative agency named Betty, in honor of the late Betty Quadracci. This new entity consolidates Quad's creative capabilities, including the creative and content production agency brands Ivie & Associates Inc. and Periscope.

Additionally, in 2024, Quad introduced InStore Connect, an in-store retail media network technology. Partnering with The Save Mart Companies, the initial rollout of this technology will be across 15 stores. Since its launch, Quad has added other retailers, including Homeland Stores and Vallarta Supermarkets.