
We go back to 1969 when our New York founders, who sold business forms, decided they could do a better job of
operating a printing company than the guys they were buying from. So they moved to Florida and set up shop
producing computer punch cards for a small number of customers in the Miami area. The sun was warm, life
was good and the fact that we were a small fish in a big pond didn't matter a bit.
By the early 1980's, trying to leverage our investment in a new printing press, we stuck our toe in the water
with a new product line - business reply cards. (It took us another decade to learn that you should have a
market before you introduce a product). As fate would have it, about ready to pronounce the idea a bust,
we snagged on to an emerging market - shared mail. Shared mail involves the bundling of multiple
advertisements into a single home delivery via the United States Postal Service. This bundling creates a cost
advantage over other direct mail methods (for example, solo mailing). More importantly, it takes billions and
billions of a product very much like a business reply card to get those bundles routed through the postal
system. The sun was warm, life was good and in 1986 we opened
a second plant.
Although we frequently tell people it was intentional, our foray into shared mail was mostly good fortune. It led us to
establish a specialization in a product line that appealed not only to shared mail marketers, but also to
newspapers, ad agencies and retailers of all shapes and sizes. We had a strong sense that if we could create a
set of competencies that catered to this unique market, that we could grow and prosper. Well, we were right.
We now operate five plants and cater exclusively to that part of the advertising insert market that demands fast
turnaround (five days or less including delivery) of highly versioned inserts. This market wants business
process integration, guaranteed levels of performance and over the top customer service. And we give it to them.
We now find ourselves nearing the completion of one of the most exciting projects we've ever undertaken. We
challenged the notion that "brand" can not exist in a commodity industry such as printing. We've arrived at
our answer. Our name change is just the beginning.
Stay tuned.
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