Superior Trade Letterpress and Bindery Services

Announces New Website

Superior Trade Letterpress and Bindery Services, a leader in providing specialized print finishing and bindery services to the trade, is pleased to announce that they have upgraded their website to provide customers and prospects with more information about the company and its capabilities, and streamline communications. In addition, they have also designed a new logo for the business.

The new website, www.SuperiorTradeTampa.com, includes improved descriptions of their capabilities, product pictures, equipment videos, and upgraded contact pages for use by its customers for project information and pick up details.

Allan Gutcher, Owner of Superior Trade, said, “I am very pleased with the new site and the ability to provide more information about our services. We are dedicated to providing creative and value added services that will help them to meet their customer expectations. I invite everyone to visit our site, and to contact us if they have a project that may require our assistance.”

As part of this change, Superior Trade has also upgraded its e-mail programs to streamline communications and save time for its customers.

For more information, visit www.SuperiorTradeTampa.com.

Handy Ladies Incorporated changes its name

Pinellas Park, FL. – Handy Ladies has been exceeding client expectations for over 18 years through customized services and project management. The company specializes in providing finishing, assembly and mailing services to organizations that require superior accuracy and speed to get their products and messages to market. To better describe that role, Handy Ladies will change its name to Priority Project Resources (PPR), effective immediately.

“We recently completed a comprehensive evaluation of our operations to improve our services to meet the current and future needs of our clients,” explains Susan Wilson, President of PPR.

“We offer a broad range of services and believe that our new name, Priority Project Resources, better describes our business and the value we bring to the market.”

As part of this change, PPR has upgraded its website and e-mail programs to streamline communications. “The new website will provide our customers and prospects with more information about our products and services, and how we can meet their needs” Wilson continues. “PPR has the resources, capabilities, and expertise to save our clients time and money, and allows them to focus on their core business.”

For more information, visit www.priorityprojectresources.com.

Original Impressions installs new press

Original Impressions, a full service marketing communications company headquartered in Miami, Fla. and specializing in creative design, web development, printing, mailing/fulfillment and strategic marketing consulting, recently installed a Speedmaster SM 52 5-color perfecting press with aqueous coater and high-pile delivery. The new press, which is deployed chiefly to short-run, quick-turn commercial work, will enable the company to meet the demand for even faster turnarounds, as well as to eliminate the need for offline coating and varnishing. Furthermore, said company vice president Henry Herrera, the SM 52 turns over quickly and efficiently from straight to perfecting mode, while the fully automated perfecting device ensures smooth sheet travel and excellent register accuracy.

According to company officials, Original Impressions is very satisfied with the remote and on-site support it receives from Heidelberg’s service organization, which sees to the repair and maintenance needs of Original Impressions’ extensive pressroom line-up, including a Speedmaster XL 105 6-color press installed in 2008, a 5-color Speedmaster SM 102, a 2-color Heidelberg SORZ, a pair of Printmaster QM 46-2s, and a 10x15” Windmill letterpress. In the company’s full-service bindery, cutting is accomplished with the aid of two 45” POLAR cutters.

ALLPRO Direct Marketing teams up with Xerox

It was as good as a home run, when two big players got together on Thursday, March 3, for an open house  in Odessa, Florida. ALLPRO Direct Marketing and Xerox teamed up to deliver ALLPRO Expo 2011. Over 70 customers and suppliers were present as a pretty impressive line-up was unveiled.

First, there was a ribbon-cutting ceremony, followed by Kevin Warren, President, Xerox USCO, who spoke about the state of digital printing today and how this industry has changed the way marketers talk to their customers.

“Being a good vendor isn’t good enough. Today it’s all about being a trusted partner… looking beyond our own products and services to help our customers and their customers

achieve their goals,” Warren emphasized. He then gave the three keys to success: “Get the business model right; Get the technology right; Get the workflow right. That’s the right business model.”

Next at bat was Mickey Call, also from Xerox, who gave the components of a successful cross media marketing campaign. Michael Wright from Xerox, who reviewed the Xerox iGen4 EXP Digital Press technology. ALLPRO Direct Marketing was the first company in Florida to acquire this press.

“The majority of our work is variable data, short runs. With the iGen4 EXP, we can print quicker and less expensively compared to presses that only print smaller sheet sizes,” said Tom McLaren, President and CEO, ALLPRO Direct Marketing. “Since we can offer our customers much more in terms of digital printing and personalization, we’re thinking about installing an additional iGen4 EXP.”

Tom De Groot pitched ALLPRO’s strategies for successful marketing campaigns.

Following the speakers, the final delivery came when all who attended enjoyed a tour of the plant, got to mingle, and enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and refreshments.

Rinaldi prints Fortune 500 materials with DesignMerge

Rinaldi Printing Company in Tampa, Florida has provided exceptional service, quality, and value to their clients and business partners for over 100 years! They have an impressive list of clients, from Elvis Presley to Fortune 500 companies. Sure Rinaldi has great equipment, but what really sets them apart is their staff and their commitment to customer service. When it comes to “ink on paper” very few companies have more experienced employees than Rinaldi Printing!

Following is a short interview with Steve Kimbler, Vice President of Rinaldi Printing, discussing how DesignMerge has helped meet their unique challenges with a solution that has resulted in increased profits and expanded business opportunities. “Our century of experience allows us to combine the historical craftsmanship of “ink on paper” with the digital tools of today, giving our clients the solutions they need. In addition to offset and digital printing, we provide the services required for our clients to be efficient: direct mail, storage and fulfillment.”

What business challenges have you faced in the VDP market?

Our most frequent challenge is educating our clients on the relationship between the data and art files, and the technical limitations of digital output. We have many clients who are completely on-target when it comes to their list formatting, variable content and creative intentions. Others know what they want to do, but don’t have suitable data or art to efficiently execute their ideas. We work with them to refine their files and develop a solution that meets their needs.

Why did you choose DesignMerge for your VDP implementation?

It is very typical for a client to call and start the conversation with, “How can we?” or “Is it possible to?”

At Rinaldi, we position ourselves as the “go-to” company when a project needs to be done right, has a difficult production timeline, or needs extra effort to work out the most efficient specifications.

We evaluated several variable data printing solutions but decided on DesignMerge for several reasons:

- Pricing - DesignMerge offered the most “bang for our buck” compared to other VDP solutions we reviewed.

- Ease of Use - DesignMerge is simply a plug-in for InDesign and QuarkXPress. There is no new software to learn because DesignMerge simply adds variable data features to our composition software. Our designers work within InDesign or QuarkXPress and deliver perfect output every time.

- Training - The training we received from the staff at Meadows Publishing Solutions was excellent.

- Technical Support - The quality of technical support is excellent and always available whenever we have questions.

What were the results of your DesignMerge implementation?

Implementing DesignMerge at Rinaldi Printing enabled us to offer and produce variable data jobs almost immediately. This translated into a new revenue stream that we previously did not have. We were able to talk to our existing customers about this new service, as well as gain new clients because of our VDP capabilities. DesignMerge has helped keep us on the leading edge of the digital print industry and our customers are very satisfied.

ASSOCIATION NEWS

PAF Launches First Group FSC Certification

PAF, in cooperation with 16 other of its sister Printing Industries of America affiliates, has launched the first-of-its-kind group FSC certification for printers in North America.  Its aim: to enable member companies to meet customers’ needs at a price which minimizes FSC certification costs compared to individual certification.

The group is able to serve member printers whose printing sales (exclusive of other services, like design and mailing) are $5 million or less.  The majority of printing companies in the nation has sales less than this threshold and has generally struggled with the process and cost of FSC compliance.

By aggregating participating firms, costs are significantly lower than with individual certification, since the full costs are prorated across the entire group.

A firm has been engaged to manage the group and provide trademark review and approval.  In addition, an auditing and certification firm conducts the audits and is assisting with group organization.

Over 50 printers across the sponsoring Printing Industries of America affiliates are already participating, and the number is growing rapidly.

If your company’s sales are within the group’s parameters and you’re interested in pursuing this, call Member Services at (800) 331-0461.