[3][4] It provides a range of marketing solutions, including omnichannel media, creative and content production, retail display and packaging, postal optimization, and consumer analytics.

[8] By the mid-1990s, the company was printing magazines like People, Sports Illustrated, Playboy, Architectural Digest, and catalogs for LL Bean and Lands' End.

[17][18][19][20][21] 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.

[23][24] 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.

[23][24] By 2016, Quad, continuing to expand its marketing services, had built a $200 million packaging company and added offerings for in-store displays.

[25][26] 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.

[3] In February 2021, Quad and the Quadracci family's Windhover Foundation committed $1 million to a three-year partnership with The BrandLab, a non-profit organization that supports young people from diverse backgrounds to advance in the marketing industry.

[3][8] Between 2020 and 2023, Quad hired Julie Currie (formerly Nielsen Company) as Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer,[47][8] Josh Golden (formerly Ad Age) as Chief Marketing Officer,[48][3] and Joshua Lowcock (formerly IPG-owned UM Worldwide) as President of Quad Media.

[54][55] From 2010 to 2013, Quad engaged in a series of acquisitions and consolidations in response to shifting market conditions, including the slow decline of print, the rise of digital and mobile technologies, and the economic downturn created by the Great Recession in the late 2000s.

[25][3] The company closed more than 50 printing plants and began building production studios and providing marketing services to longtime catalog clients like LL Bean and Cabela’s.

[56] On January 16, 2013, Quad acquired Vertis Holdings, Inc., a printer of retail inserts, direct mail and in-store marketing materials.

[60] In July 2016, Quad announced a $12 million minority investment in Rise Interactive, a Chicago-based digital marketing agency.

[61] The majority interest investment was made soon after Quad’s acquisition of Ivie & Associates Inc., a marketing and advertising firm with North American headquarters in Flower Mound, Texas.

[67] In November 2018, as part of its continued diversification, Quad agreed to purchase Minneapolis-based advertising firm Periscope, Inc., for $132 million, a deal which closed in January 2019.

[68] At the time, Periscope employed over 500 people, providing services across creative advertising, packaging, production, and media buying.

[73] In October 2023, Quad announced that it would cease operations at its Effingham, Illinois print manufacturing location by the end of the year, impacting 350 employees.

[74] Quad attributed the decision to industry-wide volume declines due to ongoing economic uncertainty and increasing postage rates.

[74] For employees unable to relocate to other Quad facilities, the company offered separation pay, continuation of health care benefits, and career transition assistance.

"[76] The walk-out was led by a group strategy director at Periscope who, weeks earlier, had started a movement to address the "systemic racism that is afflicting our industry."

[77][78] After the walkout, Quad gave Periscope editorial independence over its social media posts and apologized for being “slow to communicate its commitment to ending systemic racism".