<PAGE>   1
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                              Washington, DC 20549

                                   FORM 10-QSB


(Mark One)

(x) Quarterly report under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 for the quarter ended March 31, 2001.

( ) Transition report under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934 for the period from _________________ to ______________.

Commission file number:  0-11744

                        Publishers Equipment Corporation
        -----------------------------------------------------------------
        (Exact name of small business issuer as specified in its charter)



           Texas                                        75-1653425
-------------------------                  ------------------------------------
 (State of incorporation)                  (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)


16660 Dallas Parkway, Suite 1100, Dallas, Texas            75248
-----------------------------------------------          ----------
   (Address of principal executive offices)              (zip code)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: 972-931-2312


Check whether the issuer (1) filed all reports required to be filed by Section
13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12
months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such
reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90
days.

                           YES  X               NO
                               ---                  ---

Number of shares outstanding of the issuer's common stock as of May 11, 2001,
5,249,321 shares of common stock, no par value.



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                         PART I -- FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1.  Financial Statements

                          Index to Financial Statements


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                               Page
                                                                               ----

<S>                                                                            <C>
Publishers Equipment Corporation Consolidated
  Balance Sheet                                                                  3


Publishers Equipment Corporation Consolidated
  Statements of Operations                                                       4


Publishers Equipment Corporation Consolidated
  Statements of Cash Flows                                                       5


Publishers Equipment Corporation Notes to
  Consolidated Financial Statements                                              6
</TABLE>


In the opinion of management, the financial statements contained herein include
all adjustments, which adjustments are of a normal recurring nature, necessary
for a fair presentation of the Company's consolidated financial position and
results of operations and cash flows. Results of operations for the period ended
March 31, 2001, are not necessarily indicative of results of operations for the
entire year.




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<PAGE>   3

                        PUBLISHERS EQUIPMENT CORPORATION
                           CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
                                 (In Thousands)
                                   (Unaudited)


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                           March 31,
                                                                             2001
                                                                           ---------

<S>                                                                        <C>
                                     ASSETS

Cash and cash equivalents .......................................          $     11
Accounts receivable .............................................               637
Inventories .....................................................            10,177
Other current assets ............................................               126
                                                                           --------
    Total current assets ........................................            10,951

Property, plant and equipment, net ..............................               976

Non current assets ..............................................                61
                                                                           --------

TOTAL ASSETS ....................................................          $ 11,988
                                                                           ========

                      LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities ........................          $  2,234
Accrued warranty expense ........................................                64
Customer deposits ...............................................             1,599
Current portion long term debt ..................................               200
                                                                           --------
    Total current liabilities ...................................             4,097

Convertible subordinated note ...................................               500
Long term debt ..................................................             4,282
Other liabilities ...............................................                92

Shareholders' equity:
    Common stock ................................................            19,315
    Treasury stock ..............................................              (168)
    Retained deficit ............................................           (16,130)
                                                                           --------
       Total shareholders' equity ...............................             3,017
                                                                           --------

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY ......................          $ 11,988
                                                                           ========
</TABLE>




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<PAGE>   4

                        PUBLISHERS EQUIPMENT CORPORATION
                      CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
                (In Thousands Except Share and Per Share Amounts)
                                   (Unaudited)


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                       Three Months Ended
                                                                            March 31,
                                                                      2001                2000
                                                                   -----------        -----------


<S>                                                                <C>                <C>
Revenues ...................................................       $     1,499        $     3,307

Cost of revenues ...........................................             1,378              2,617
                                                                   -----------        -----------

Gross profit ...............................................               121                690

Selling, general and administrative expense ................               504                588
                                                                   -----------        -----------

Operating income(loss) .....................................              (383)               102

Interest expense ...........................................              (120)              (102)
Interest income ............................................              --                 --
Other income (expense), net ................................               (13)                 6
                                                                   -----------        -----------

Income (loss) before taxes .................................              (516)                 6

Provision for income (see Note 1) ..........................              --                 --
                                                                   -----------        -----------

Net income (loss) ..........................................       $      (516)       $         6
                                                                   ===========        ===========

Weighted average shares outstanding:
      Basic ................................................         5,249,321          5,249,321
      Diluted ..............................................         5,249,321          5,249,321

Income (loss) per share:
      Basic ................................................       $     (0.10)       $      --
      Diluted ..............................................       $     (0.10)       $      --
</TABLE>




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                        PUBLISHERS EQUIPMENT CORPORATION
                      CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
                                 (In Thousands)
                                   (Unaudited)


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                      Three Months Ended
                                                                          March 31,
                                                                     2001           2000
                                                                   -------        -------

<S>                                                                <C>            <C>
Cash flows from operating activities:
   Net income (loss) .......................................       $  (516)       $     6
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to
     net cash provided by operating activities:
           Depreciation and amortization ...................            42             38
           Provision for losses on doubtful accounts .......             7           --

Change in assets and liabilities:
           Decrease (increase) in accounts receivable ......           917         (1,043)
           Increase in inventories .........................        (2,269)          (147)
           Increase in other current assets ................           (30)           (38)
           Decrease in non current assets ..................            11           --
           Increase (decrease) in accounts payable and
                 accrued liabilities .......................          (398)           734
           Decrease in accrued warranty expense ............           (63)          --
           Increase (decrease) in customer deposits ........         1,520            (82)
                                                                   -------        -------
   Net cash used in operations .............................          (779)          (532)
                                                                   -------        -------

Cash flows from financing activities:
      Total borrowings .....................................         1,295          2,394
      Total repayments .....................................        (1,813)        (1,890)
                                                                   -------        -------
   Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities .....          (518)           504
                                                                   -------        -------

Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents ..................        (1,297)           (28)

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period ...........         1,308             43
                                                                   -------        -------

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period .................       $    11        $    15
                                                                   =======        =======
</TABLE>




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                        PUBLISHERS EQUIPMENT CORPORATION

                   Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
                                   (unaudited)


1.       The income tax provision for the three month period ending March 31,
         2000 of $2,000 was offset entirely by a corresponding tax benefit
         related to the reversal of previously unrecognized temporary
         differences, primarily net operating loss carryforwards.




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         MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND
                             RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The Company serves the printing industry worldwide with new and remanufactured
single-width, web-fed offset printing equipment through its wholly owned
subsidiary King Press Corporation. Its products meet the needs of printers and
publishers, and range from cost effective presses for newspaper production to
heatset equipment that meet the high quality requirements of commercial
printers. The Company's customer base includes a broad range of small
newspapers, commercial and semi-commercial printers.

                              Results of Operations

Three Months Ended March 31, 2001

REVENUES. Revenues of $1,499,000 for the first quarter of 2001 compare to
$3,307,000 for the first quarter of 2000, a decrease of approximately 55 percent
that reflects reductions in both domestic and foreign revenues in the current
period.

Revenues derived from sales to domestic customers decreased approximately 56
percent in the first quarter of 2001 compared to the first quarter of 2000.
Equipment shipments in the first quarter of 2001 included five small domestic
equipment orders, but no single high dollar value order as was the case in the
first quarter of 2000. The equipment shipped in the first quarter of 2001 was
from the Color King and Process King product lines manufactured by the Company's
wholly owned subsidiary King Press Corporation, and consisted primarily of
add-on printing units to existing installations of King Press equipment.

The Company's backlog at March 31, 2001, includes two domestic orders valued in
excess of $2 million each, one of which is scheduled for delivery in the second
quarter of 2001 and the second in the third quarter of the year. The order
scheduled for second quarter delivery includes King Press' newest Print King IV
printing units, which will form the center of a new press line containing King
Press' KJ8A folders and splicing equipment. The Print King IV printing unit
features high quality four-color capability and is vertically stackable to
provide space savings in both new press installations or as add-ons to existing
King Press equipment.

The domestic order scheduled for third quarter shipment includes King Press' top
of the line Process King printing units, which will form the center of a new
press line containing King Press' KC8A folder plus heatset, web handling and
coating equipment. Both of these orders for the second and third quarters, as
well as the equipment shipped in the first quarter, result from the requirement
for increased color capability that printers and publishers have experienced in
recent years. The Company responded to this demand by the introduction of the
Media King printing press, and more recently the Print King IV printing press.
The first domestic order of Print King IV equipment was placed in successful
production in 1999.




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The Company believes the King Press Corporation equipment offerings incorporate
design features and capabilities that meet the requirements of printers and
publishers in 2001. These needs include the production of high quality color
products for targeted distribution. Domestic newspapers have faced a slow
decline in circulation and readership in recent years due to the availability of
alternative news sources, primarily television. To reverse these trends, and
increase advertising effectiveness, newspapers have increased local news
coverage and included targeted supplements, inserts and circulars in their
publications. These short press-run products are produced more cost effectively,
with less waste, on single-width press equipment as sold by the Company. The
Company has delivered equipment for this purpose to a leading U.S. newspaper
group, and is pursuing other such orders. Advertising expenditures for inserts
in the first two months of 2001 were down only slightly from the year earlier
period, as reported in trade publications, and the Company expects there to be
continuing equipment sales opportunities for this application.

The Company's domestic market sales activity in the first quarter of 2001 was
not much affected by the slowdown in the U.S. economy, but the outlook for the
remainder of the year is less certain. Two components of the general economy,
and factors that are central to the health of the printing equipment industry,
are currently exhibiting adverse trends. Print advertising expenditures, which
represent the major source of income for the Company's customer base, are
declining and newsprint cost, which represents a newspaper's major production
expense, is increasing. Trade publications report that through the first two
months of 2001 national advertising dropped approximately 6 percent compared to
the year earlier period, while retail and classified advertising decreased
approximately 18 percent and 7 percent respectively. Estimates made earlier in
the year in these same publications predicted growth in 2001 over 2000 in each
of these advertising categories: approximately 10 percent for national
advertising, 3 percent for retail advertising and 5 percent for classified
advertising. The current slowdown in the U.S. economy places these estimates for
2001 advertising expenditure levels in question, and will affect the equipment
purchase decisions of printers and publishers during the year.

Domestic newsprint cost was volatile in the decade of the `90s, reaching a high
of over $700 a metric ton in 1995, declining to close to $500 a metric ton in
1997 and averaging approximately $559 per metric ton in 2000, an 11 percent
increase over 1999. Trade publications earlier estimated that domestic newsprint
cost will increase approximately 15 percent in 2001, but now question whether a
$50.00 per metric ton increase made in March can be sustained. Newsprint
consumption in the first two months of 2001 was significantly lower than a year
earlier, and reduced demand normally results in lower newsprint cost.

The Company strengthened its domestic sales force in 2001 by the addition of two
new sales representatives who will improve the Company's coast to coast printing
equipment market coverage. This added presence in markets served by the Company
is expected to increase the important spare parts sales component of its
business as well as opportunities for new press equipment sales.




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Revenues derived from sales to foreign customers decreased approximately 50
percent in the first quarter of 2001 compared to the first quarter of 2000, with
only spare parts orders being delivered to foreign customers in the current
quarter. The Company's backlog at March 31, 2001, includes an order for an
add-on of Print King IV printing units to an existing customer's press
installation in Nigeria in the third quarter of the year. These new units in
Nigeria will join Print King IV installations in the Netherlands and France to
provide important showcases for the latest King Press product line in market
areas where the Company sees opportunities for sales growth.

The Company's foreign sales activities are conducted through sales agents in
more than 50 countries around the world. For the first quarter of 2001, sales to
foreign customers accounted for approximately 19 percent of total revenues, well
below the Company's historical level. Steps are being taken to increase foreign
sales through the coordination of foreign sales agent activities by King Press
personnel, and the Company expects foreign sales to be a major component of its
total revenues in the future.

GROSS PROFIT. Gross profit of $121,000, or 8.1 percent of revenues, for the
first quarter of 2001 compares to $690,000, or 20.9 percent of revenues for the
first quarter of 2000. The reduction in gross profit expressed as a percent of
revenues in the first quarter of 2001 is attributable principally to the lower
level of revenues in the quarter.

SELLING, GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSE. Selling, general and administrative
expense of $504,000, or 33.6 percent of revenues, for the first quarter of 2001
compares to $588,000, or 17.8 percent of revenues, for the first quarter of
2000. The increase in selling, general and administrative expense expressed as a
percent of revenues in the first quarter of 2001 is attributable to the lower
level of revenues in the quarter.

OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE). Interest expense of $120,000 for the first quarter of
2001 compares to $102,000 for the first quarter of 2000 and is attributable
primarily to borrowings under the King Press Corporation term loan and revolving
lines of credit (See "Financial Position and Liquidity").

NET INCOME (LOSS). A net loss of $516,000, or 34.4 percent of revenues, for the
first quarter of 2001 compares to net income of $6,000, or 0.2 percent of
revenues, for the first quarter of 2000.

                        Financial Position and Liquidity

The Company's wholly-owned operating subsidiary King Press Corporation was
supported in the first quarter of 2001 by a secured $1,000,000 revolving line of
credit for domestic sales that matures May 31, 2003; a secured $2,000,000
revolving line of credit for foreign sales, guaranteed by the United States
Export-Import Bank, that matures May 31, 2003; and, a secured $3,000,000 term
loan that matures December 1, 2003. The loan agreement pertaining to the
revolving lines of credit and term note includes restrictions on indebtedness,
liens, the disposal of assets and requires that certain financial ratios be
maintained; and provides security through a cross collateralization of all King
Press Corporation assets and the guaranty of the Company.




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<PAGE>   10

At March 31, 2001, King Press had $232,000 outstanding under the domestic
revolving line of credit, $1,300,000 outstanding under the foreign revolving
line of credit and $2,950,000 owed under the term note, $200,000 of which is
current. King Press was in compliance with or had obtained waivers for all loan
agreement covenants at March 31, 2001.

At March 31, 2001, the Company has $500,000 owed under a Convertible
Subordinated Note due December 31, 2002.

The Company's backlog at March 31, 2001, totaled $6,029,000 compared to
$3,867,000 at December 31, 2000.

                          PART II -- OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1.  Legal Proceedings.

                  The Company and its subsidiaries from time to time become
                  involved in various claims and lawsuits incidental to their
                  businesses. In the opinion of management of the Company, any
                  ultimate liability arising out of currently pending claims and
                  lawsuits will not have a material adverse effect on the
                  consolidated financial condition or results of operations of
                  the Company.

Item 2.  Changes in Securities.

                  Not Applicable.

Item 3.  Defaults upon Senior Securities.

                  Not Applicable.

Item 4.  Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.

                  Not Applicable.

Item 5.  Other Information.

                  Not Applicable.

Item 6.  Exhibits and Reports on Form 8-K.

                  Not Applicable.




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                                   SIGNATURES


Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.


                                   PUBLISHERS EQUIPMENT CORPORATION


May 11, 2001                       By:     /s/ Roger R. Baier
                                           -------------------------------------
                                           Roger R. Baier
                                           Vice President Finance &
                                           Treasurer
                                           (Principal Financial Officer)




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