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I have some experience in the printing industry and this doesn't come as much of a surprise to me. Printing is a hugely difficult business to turn a profit with. The harsh reality is that the cost of doing business is so high that profits are usually depressing by comparison.

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It'd be amazing if we could see an income statement with a full breakdown of costs of goods sold, operating expenses, etc. -- itemized and all!

I spent several years working for a very small commercial printer and was in charge of the billing/inventory system there. Eventually, since I was tracking the raw materials, I was put in charge of ordering paper.

We only three mid-sized printing presses and I was dropping just under six figures every month on paper alone. Of course, we weren't printing on the kind of paper you get with the NYT. This was higher quality stuff but you can get an idea of the costs involved.

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