Linda Martinelli

Meet the women who are paving the way for a new generation of female executives in the print and promotional products industry. This week’s spotlight features Linda Martinelli, president of Proforma Graphic Printsource…

Proforma owners maintained their dominant presence on Inc. magazine’s list of the 5000 fastest-growing, private companies in America, as eight owners earned a spot on the 2012 list. First appearing on the Inc. 500 list in 1985, Cleveland-based Proforma now represents the greatest number of franchise locations on the list, as well as the strongest presence in the printing and promotional products industry.

Proforma owners shifted their businesses into full gear in 2010, earning seven owners a prestigious spot on Inc. magazine’s list of the fastest-growing, private companies in America. Cleveland-based Proforma has the greatest number of franchise locations on the list, as well as the strongest presence in the printing and promotional products industry.

women Have made valuable contributions to the printing industry as far back as the Renaissance. Printing businesses were typically family affairs and all members participated. Men usually cast the type, which involved blacksmithing, and managed labor-intensive paper-making tasks, while women set type, folded paper and stitched bindings. When husbands died, wives continued running the shops and supporting their families with the permission of the industry-ruling guilds. But, by the early 1800s, women in America and Europe began being shut out of the industry, as developing technology and increasing demand for books and newspapers moved printing from family shops into the hands of male-only unions. Fast forward