Benton Announcements, Inc

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IN THE MATTER OF DENTON ANNOUNCEMENTS, INC.

CO~IPLAI:":T, FI:":DINGS, AND ORDER IN REGARD TO THE ALLEI.ied VIOLATION OJ<' SEC. 5 OF AN ACT OF CONGRESS APPROVED SEPT. 2G, lf•14 Docket S4i~S. Complaint, May 18, 19.38-Det'ision, Sept. 18, HL~O ""here a corporation engaged in printing stationery for social and business purposes, including ilrl"'itlltions, calliug car1ls, letterheads, ern·elope!<, und similat· products, and in sale and distribution thereof to purchasers in other States and in the Distt·ict of Columbia, in competition with others Pngaged in• similar sale and distrilmtlon of stationery pt·oducts for social and busiupsspurposes, anti Including those who produce and sell gPlluine engraved stationery products and truthfully advertise themselves as engravers atllt their products as engraving, awl otltet·s who sell non-engraved stationery products and do not thus represent themselves; iu cit·culars and othet'· ndn•rtising matter such as letters of solicitation, price lists, sample hooks; of wedding announrPments, cards, and other social forms circulated throughout the United States to customers and pro;;pecth·e customers, including- Prospective brides nnd bi'itlegrooms- Represented itsplf as nn PngrnvPr and its products as engraved and gpnuiueplate engraving, through use of such words and statements as "Yon may have the finest plate engra\"Nl wedding stationery at half the usual cost," "Genuine plate' engraying," "Compare this price with other fine engravet·s, .. "It is a plensnre indeed to SPud yon these truly fine samples of engrnviug att, etc.," "The most economieal nwthod <le\"iscd for producing gennint> vlate engraving";

Facts being its stationery was produced IJy printing on 11rinting press witfl printing thereafter "bnmr)('d nv" or embossed by use of plate, Pngrave<l h~· pantograph method, and it did not print from plate through inking same and printing therefrom as done by genuine Pngravers, but used same onl~· for embossing or rah;ing vrinted letters nhove plane of tmper, plate was ust><l dry and not inked for eneh impn•ssion u~ t>essential to true engraving process, involving taking of impression on hl:.lllk paper' from lnkPd plnte in one operation, and its sail! products could not properly be represented ot· described as engraving Ot' engraved stationery, cost of which greatly exceeds that of producing stationery otherwise comparable, by process employed by it ot· any printing process, and was not such engraving as long nrulerstoo<f from words "engraving" or "eugraYed," used in connection with busines,;; or social stationery, by trade and consuming public as meaning sueb prodnets containing letters, etc., raised from general plane of the stationery surface through use under pressure of specially engmved, cut or carved metal plates, used as above indicated, and for which genuine t'ngravt'<l stationery substantial portion of purchasing public has decided prefprpnce O\'Pr stationery produced by it or any similar procf'ss; With effect of mlslPading and deceiving substantial portion of pnrehaf'ing public Into erronPons belief that it owne<l or op<>rated an engraving company and was in the business of producing and selling engraved or plate engraved stationrry, with lt'ttet·s, words, and designs contained thereon engraved ot· BENTON ANNOUNCEMENTS, INC. 883 Complaint plate engraved, ns result of process described abo,·e, nud with result, ns direct cousequ!'nce of such mistaken nnu erroneous lwlief, induced b~· sn<'i1 nets, advertisments, nml repres£•ntntions, that substnntinl numh!'r of con- !'Uming public purchnsed snbstnntial volume of its l'mid stationery product>', and trade wus unfairly diverted to it from its competitors aforesaid who do not misretwesent thpir business status, character, and nature of their products or process by which produced, to tile injm·y of it;; competitm·s and that of public:

Held, 'flint such acts and prncti<:e,; umlet· the circumstances s!'t forth are all to the prejudice and injury of the public and competitors nnd ('OII>'tltute unfair metlwtls of competition.

Before 1Ur. John J. Keenan, trial examiner. Jh. Merle P. Lyon for the Commission.

Bresnahan, lloage & Eberly, of 'Vashington, D. C., and Mr. Om·lton A. Fi.<d1er, of Buffalo, N. Y., for respondent. CO:HPJ.Also Pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act, and by virtue of the authority vested in it by said act, the Federal Trarle Commission, hnvin~ rt-ason to belien~ that Benton Annotmceme.nts, Inc., a corporation, hereinafter referred to as the respondent, has violated the provisions of the said act, and it appearing to the Commission that a proceeding by it in respect thereof would be in ths }mblic interest, hereby issnps its complaint, statin~ its char~es in that respect as follows:

PARAGRAPH 1. Respondent, Benton An11ouncements, Inc., is a corporation organized and doing business under and by virtue of the laws of the State of New York, and having its principal office and place of business at 16 East Tupper Street, in the city of Buffalo and State of New York. Respondent is now, and has been for more than a year last past, engagl'd in the business of printing, by a specitll process, statimwry for social and businrss purposes, including invitations, announcements, calling cards, letterheads, envelopes, and similar products, and in selling said products in commerce as hen•in set out. P,\R. 2. Snitl respondent, aling engaged in business as aforesaid, causes said stationery so printed, when sold, to be transported from its principal office and place of business in the State of New York to the purchasers thereof located in other States of the United States and in the District of Columbia. There is now, and has been at all times nwntioned herein, a course of trade and commerce in said stationery !'o printed or produced and sold by respondent, between and among \he various States of the United Statl's and the District of Columbia. PAn. 3. In the course and conduct of its said business, rpspondent is now, IHHl has bt>en in ~ubstnntinl <·ompPl it ion with other corpora- Complaint 31 F. T. C_ tions, and with firms, partnerships, and individuals likewise engaged in printing stationery for social and business purposes and in selling such stationery in commerce among and betwe€n the various States of the United States and in the District of Columbia, and also with individuals, partnerships, firms, and corporations engaged in producing engraved stationery for social and business purpo.<>es and in selling such stationery in commerce between the various States of the· United States and in the District of Columbia. PAR. 4. In the course of the operation of said business, and for thepurpose of inducing individuals, firms, and corporations to purchase said stationery products, respondent has printed ~nd circulated throughout the senral States to customers and prospective customers a circulnr containing, among others, the following statements: Yon May Have the Fine!';t Plnte Engraved Wedding Stationery at Half the Usual Cost.

Genuine plate engraving • • • fot· as little as $7.05 for one lmndred • • • Complete Including Engrnving of the Plate. Compare this price with that of other fine engravers. The enclosed card 'which is to be signed and returned by the prospective cnstonwr contains the following: "Please send the Benton Specimen Portfolio of Plate Engraved '\Vedding Invitations and Announcements by return mail."

After the respondent receins a request for the Benton Specimen Portfolio, it mails to the prospective customer a sample book of its products together with prices, and an order blank for use by the prospective customer. All orders thus received are filled by respondent and the stationery deliwred by mail to the customer prepaid or on a C. 0. D. basis. The order blank used by respondent contains the heading, "Benton Announcements, Inc., Engrawrs and Embossers." All of said ~tatements, together with similar statements, purport to be descripti,-e of respondent's business and the products manufactured and sold by it. In all of its circulars, pamphlets, order forms, and adwrtising literature, respondent refers to the product manufactured by it as being "genuine plate engraving" and holds itself out to the public as being an "engraver."

PAR. 5. Respondent, in the course of its business, as described in paragraphs 1 to 4, inclusive, prints invitations, announcements, calling cards, letterheads, envelopes, and social and business stationery by a process which is designated by it as "plate engraving," although such process is not the process used in producing genuinely engrawd stationery. Respondent do{'S not own or operate an "engraving" company, and l'{'Spondent is not engaged in the business of "engraving." The letters, wonls, or designs upon stationery products manufactured, BENTON ANNOUNCEMENTS, INC. 885 882 Complaint offered for sale, and sold hy respondent, in the manner aforesaid, are not the result of "Pngraving" according to the trade and public understanding of the term.

PAR. 6. The word "engraving" as it is used in the graphic arts, may be applied either to an engraved intaglio plate, upon which letters, words, or designs have been incised or cut, or to impressions made from such a plate. Sue]) plates are cut or incised by hand, by machine, by etching with acid, by a transfer from other engravings, and by other means, but in all cases the letters, words, or designs so to be produced upon stationery are cut below the surface of the plate. To make impressions from such plate, the ink is applied to the plate1 then the plate is wiped so that the ink remains only in the lines cut below the surface. The inked plate is then put upon a piece of stationery or article to be engraved, and pressure is applied sufficient to force the surface of the stationery into the lines cut in the. plate, causing the ink in such lines to adhere to the paper on which the impression is to be made.

PAR. 7. The words "engnn-ing'' and "engrand," when used in connection with, or descriptive of, business or soeial stntionery, Il1Pan, anti the trade and consuming public understand, and fot· many years have understood them to mean, that the stationery products so being referred to or described contain letters, words, or designs which are raised from. the general plane of the stationery surface, and are in relief, and are the result of the application thereto, under pressure, of inked metal plates which have been specially engrave(l, cut or carved for, and are used in, the production of such stationery by the process more particularly described herein in paragraph 6. PAR. 8. The cost of genuine engraved stationery exceeds the cost of stationery of like stock, grade, or eharaeter produced by the process employed by the respondent, as spt out herein, or produced by any printing process, and a substantial portion of the purchasing public has indicated, and has, a decided preference for engraved stationery over stationery produced by respondent's process or nny similar process.

PAR. 9. The use by respondent of the words "engraving,'' "plate engran.d," "plate engra,·ing," or "engravers," as set out in paragraph 4 hereof, either in describing its product or <lesignating its business, in offering for sale, or selling, its stationery products, was and is c~l­ C"ulated to, and hall, and now has. the. tendency anfl capacity to, and did, and now does, mislead and deeeiYe a snhstantial portion of the purchasing public into the erron('ous beliefs that rrspomlent owns or o1wrates an "engraving'' company; that respowlent is in the business of producing and selling "engrawd" or "plate engrawd" stn- 886 FEDERAL TRADE CO.Ml\IISSIO::-l DECISIOXS Findings 31 I•'. T. C. tionery; and that the letters, words, or designs contained upon the ~aid stationery offered for sale, and sold, by respondent were, and a.re, "engraved" or "plate engraved," and are the result of the engraving process described in paragraph 6. PAR. 10. There are among respondent's. competitors many who produce "engraved'' stationery products for business and social purposes, and who sell such "engrawd" stationery products in commerce as herein described, properly rept·esents and described as "engraved" stationery. There are others umong respondent's competitot'S who produce stationery products for business and social purposes, and who sell such stationery products in commerce as herein described, but who do not manufacture or sell "engraved" stationery products, and who do not, by any means or in any manner, hold themselves out, or represent themselves to be. mnnufact11rers of, or dealers in, "engraved" stationery products.

PAn. 11. As a direct consequence of the aforesaid mistaken and erroneous beliefs. induced by the acts, n<hertisements, and representations of respondent as hereinabove <letailed, a number of the consuming public has purclwsed a volume of respondent's station<?ry prodnets, with the result that trade has been unfairly diverted 'to respondent from its aforesaid competitors who do not misrepresent their business status, the charactet· and nature of their respective products, or the processl's by which they are produced. In consequence thereof injury has been done, and is now being done. by respondent to competition in commerce among and between the various States of the United States and in the District of Columbia. PAR. 12. The aforesaid act~", practices, and representations of the respondent as herein alleged, have been, and are, all to the prejudice of the public and of respondent's competitors as aforesaid, and constitute unfair methods of competition in commerce within the intent and meaning of the Federal Trade Commission Act. REPORT, Fnmnws AS TO THE FACTs, ANI> ORDER Pursuant to the provisions of the Fetleml Trade Commission Act, th~ Federal Trade Commission on the 13th day of May 19381 issued and thereafter Sl'rved its complaint in this proceeding upon the respondent Benton Announcements. Inc., charging it with the use of unfair methods of competition in comme.r·ce in violation of the provisions of said act. After the issuance of said complaint and the filing of re1;pondent's answer thereto, testimony and other evidl'nce in support of the allegations of the said complaint were offered by :Merle P. Lyon, Esq., attorney for the Commis."ion, and in opposition to the allegations of th~ complaint hy .John ~\. Bresnahan, Esq., BENTON ANNOUNCEMENTS, INC, 887 882 Findings and Carlton A. Fisher, Esq., attorneys for the respondent, before John J. Keenan, an examiner of the Commission therefore duly designated by it, and said testimony and other evidence were duly recorded and filed in the office of the Commission. Thereafter, the proceeding regularly came on for final hearing before the Commission upon said complaint, the answer thereto, briefs in support of the complaint and in opposition thereto, and oral argument of counsel aforesaid. The Commission having duly considered the matter, and being now fully ad vised in the premises, finds that this proceeding is in the interest of the public and makes this its findings as to the facts and conclusion drawn therefrom.

FINDINGS AS 'fO THE FACTS PARAGRAPH 1. The respondent Benton Announcements, Inc., is a corporation duly organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the State of New York, with its office and principal place of business located at 16 East Tupper Street, Buffalo, N. Y. Said respondent is now engaged, and for more than 3 years has been engaged, in the business of printing stationery for social and business purposes, including invitations, calling cards, letterheads, envelopes, and similar products, and in the sale and distribution thereof in commerce between and among the various States of the United· States and in the District of Columbia. Respondent causes said stationery so printed, when sold, to be transported from its principal office and place of busiMss in the State of New York to the purchasers thereof located in States of the United States other than the State of New York, and in the District of Columbia. PAR. 2. In the course and conduct of its said business, respondent has regularly advertised, solicited the sale of, and has sold its products through the use of circulars and other advertising matter which responde.'nt has printed and circulated throughout the United States to customers and prospective customers. In contacting the public and its prospective customers, the respondent gathered from various newspapers and other publications the names of prospective brides and bridegrooms to whom it forwarded its literature through the United States mails. This literature consisted of letters of solicitation, price lists, sample books of wedding announcements, cards, other social forms. Among business people its efforts were confined to business forms, letterheads, envelopes, etc. Among and typical of the state.'mE.'nts and ~'('presentations made by the respondent in said letters, circulars, and literature, are the following: You May llnve the Finest Plate Engravpd Wedding Stationery at Half the Usual Cost.

2D6:>t6m-4t-vol. 81-59 Findings 31F.T. C.

Genuine plate engraving • • • for as little as $7.95. For One Hundred • • • complete including engraving of the plate. Compare this price with that of other fine engravers. The above statements are contained in the original letter forwarded to prospective customers, which letter, while containing the name and address of the respondent, is signed, Mavis Dee, indicating that a Miss Dee is an authority on social forms and requirements. There is no such person as Mavis Dee in the employ of the respondent. The name is fictitious. With said letter is enclosed a card and selfaddressed envelope for reply requesting sample of respondent's products.

In other letters and literature forwarded to prospective customers the following statements are made:

• • • It Is a pleasure indeed to send you these truly fine examples of engraving art,-invitations and announcements by Benton. • • • First and foremost, make certain that those offered are genuine plate engraved.

And you will find everything that wedding stationery should be,-genuine plate engraving, of course,-but more than that, superb engraving by Benton's exclusive craftsmanship method.

Then when you look at Benton prices, you will receive your most pleasa"nt surprise. For Benton engraving, despite its obvious quality, is by far the most reasonably priced genuine plate work obtainable anywhere. Benton craftsmen have evolved the most economic method devised for producing genuine plate engraving.

All of the said statements, together with similar statements appearing in respondent's other advertising matter, purport to be descriptive of respondent's business and the sales methods used in disposing of the products manufactured and sold by it. In the various catalogs, letters, and other literature distributed by respondent, there appear numerous statements wherein the respondent refers to the process by which it prints letters, words, and designs on stationery as a process of engraving and refers to the products manufactured by it as being genuine plate engraving and to the respondent as an engraver. PAR. 3. The word "engraving," as it is used in the graphic arts, may be applied either to an engraved intaglio plate upon which letters, words, or designs have been incised or cut or to the impressions made from such a plate. Such plates are cut or incised by hand, by machine, by etching with acid, by a transfer from other engraving, and by other means, but in all cases the letters, words, or designs so to be produced upon stationery are cut below the surface of the plate. To make impressions from such a plate, the ink is applied to the plate, then the plate is wiped so that the ink remains only in the lines cut below the surface. The inked plate is then put upon a piece of stationery or BENTON ANNOUNCEMENTS, INC. 8S9 882 Findings article to be engraved, and pressure is applied sufficient to force ths surface of the stationery into the lines cut in the plate, causing the ink in such lines to adhere to the paper on which the impression is to be made.

PAR. 4. The words "engraving" and "engraved," when used in connection with, or descriptive of, business or social stationery, mean, and the trade and consuming public understand, and for many years have understood them to mean, that the stationery products so being referred to or described contain letters, words, or designs which are raised from the general plane of the stationery surface, and are in relief, and are the result of the application, under pressure, of metal plates which have been specially engraved, cut or carved for, and are used in, the production of such stationery by the process more particularly described in the foregoing paragraph. PAR. 5. The cost of producing genuine engraved stationery greatly exceeds the cost of producing stationery of like stock, grade, or character produced by the process employed by respondent, as set out herein, or produced by any printing process, and a substantial portion of the purchasing public has indicated, and has, a decided preference for engraved stationery over stationery produced by respondent's process or any similar process.

PAR. 6. The use by the respondent of the words "engraving," "plate engraved," "plate engraving," or "engravers," either in describing its products or designating its business, in offering for sale and selling its stationery products, had, and now has, the tendency and capacity to, and did, and does, mislead and deceive a substantial portion of the purchasing public into the erroneous beliefs that respondent owns or operates an "engraving" company; that respondent is in the business of producing and selling "engraved'' or "plate engraved" stationery; and that the letters, words, or designs contained upon the said stationery offered for sale, and sold, by respondent, were and are, "engraved" or "plate engraved," and are the result of the engraving process described in paragraph 3 hereof.

PAR. 7. In truth nnd in fact, all of the statements and representations made by respondent are false and misleading. The respondent is not an engraver and the stationery offered for sale and sold by it is not engraved stationery, but is, in truth and in fact, a printed product. Respondent's stationery is produced by printing on a printing press, and after it is printed it is allowed to dry for a day, and then th~ printing is "bumped up" or embossed by the use of a plate. The plate. is engraved by the pantograph method, principally an acid etch, nnd an engraving tool is used only for touching up imperfections. Th~ respondent doei not print from the plate, by inking the plate and Findings 31F.T.O.

printing therefrom in the manner employed by genuine engravers, but the plate is used only for embossing or raising the printed letters above the plane of the paper. The plate is used dry, and is not inked for each impression as is the practice of engravers. It is absolutely essential to the true engraving process that the plate be inked and the impression taken on a blank paper from the inked plate in one operation. Respondent's products are not produced in this manner, and cannot properly be represented or described as "engraving," but rather as "raised printing."

PAR. 8. In the conduct of its business as hereinbefore set out, respondent is in competition with various persons, partnerships, and corporations who are engaged in the sale and distribution of stationery products for social and business purposes. Said competitors cause said products, when sold, to be transported from their respective places ()f business to the purchas~rs thereof located in the various States of the United States other than the State of the origin of such shipments and located in the District of Columbia. Among such competitors in commerce between and among the several States and in the District of Columbia are those who produce and sell genuine engraved stationery products and truthfully describe themselves as engravers and their products as engraving. There are others who sell non-engraved stationery products who do not represent that they are engn\vers or that their products are engraving.

PAR. 9. The acts and practices of the respondent as above set out, in designating, describing, and referring to itself as an "engraver" and to its stationery products as "engraving," "engraved," or "genuine plate engraving" have the capacity and tendency to, and do, mislead and deceive a substantial number of the purchasing public into the mistaken belief that respondent is an engraver and that its stationery products are produced by the genuine engraving process known to the trade and public generally.

As a direct consequence of the aforesaid mistaken and erroneous beliefs induced by the acts, advertisements, and representations of respondent us hereinbefore set out, a substantial number of the consuming public has purchased a substantial volume of respondent's stationery products, with the result that trade has been unfairly diverted to respondent from its aforesaid competitors who do not misrepresent their business status, the character and nature of their respective products, or the process by which they are produced. As a result thereof, trade in said commerce has been, and is, unfairly diverted to the respondent from its competitors in said commrrce to their injury, and to the injury of the public. BENTON ANNOUNCEMENTS, INC. 891 882 Order CONCLUSION The aforesaid acts and practices of respondent as herein found are all to the prejudice and injury of the public and of respondent's competitors, and constitute unfair methods of competition in commerce within the intent and meaning of the Federal Trade Commission Act. ORDER TO CEASE AND DESIST This proceeding having been heard by the Feueral Trade Commission upon the complaint of the Commission, the answer of respondent, testimony, and other evidence taken before John J. Keenan, an examiner of the Commission theretofore duly designated by it, in support of the allegations of said complaint and in opposition thereto, briefs filed herein, and oral arguments by Merle P. Lyon, counsel for the Commission, and by Carlton A. Fisher, counsel for the respondent, and the Commission having made its findings as to the facts and its conclusion that said respondent has violated the provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act.

It is ordered, That the respondent, Benton Announcements, Inc., a corporation, its officers, representatives, agents, and employees, directly or through any corporate or other device, in connection with the offering for sale, sale, and distribution of stationery products in commerce, as "commerce" is defined in the Federal Trade Commission Act, do forthwith cease and desist from:

1. Using the words "engraved," "engraving," or "engravers," either alone or in conjunction with any other word or words, to designate, describe, or refer to stationery products on which the lettering, inscriptions, or designs have been printed from inked type faces, electrotypes, or similar devices, and which lettering, inscriptions, or designs have been given a raised letter effect by an embossing process wherein the plates used have not ooen previously inked so as to make an inked impression on the paper stock at the time the embossing impression is made.

2. Using the words "engraved," "engraving," or "engravers," either alone or in conjunction with any other word or words, to designate, describe, or refer to stationery products, or the nature or character of respondent's business, unless and until the respondent produces the stationery products so designated, described, or referred to by a process which consists essentially in the application of blank stationery to an inked intaglio plate under pressure sufficient to force the surface of the stationery into the letters or designs, which are cut or incised on the plate, so that the ink in such plate adheres to the sta- Order 31F. T. C.

tionery to form letters, words, characters, or designs which are in relief and raised from the general plane of the surface of the stationery.

It is further ordered, That the respondent shall, within 60 days after the service of this order, file with the Federal Trade Commission a report in writing setting forth in detail the manner and form in which it has complied with this order.

KANT-SLIP MANUFACTURING CO. 893 Complaint