Capturing the Look

Mark Hartnett, president and owner of One Right Business Printing, Lewiston, Maine, admits demand for multi-parts might not increase in years to come, but he’s confident it won’t disappear. For starters, there are more than enough businesses that prefer tried-and-true, tangible multiple-part forms over the alternatives. More importantly, companies large and small don’t want to jeopardize the brand they worked so hard to establish­—something the high-quality and color correctness of multi-part forms helps them maintain.

Image is Everything

Brand reinforcement greatly influences the success of multi-part forms. It’s a matter of using high-quality Heidelberg and Canon presses versus unsophisticated office laser printers and boring e-mail text files. Because multi-part forms are often used for documents such as invoices and job tickets, some companies began printing multiple copies of this information on their own laser printers, or to reduce cost they turned to e-mail to disseminate the information.

While this may be no secret to distributors, the unforeseen backlash of these alternatives might be surprising.

“Companies started looking alike, especially via generic e-mails lacking colorful logos and creative fonts,” said Hartnett. “One of the beauties of print is that you can do nice things to create and maintain brand recognition—something that helps clients separate themselves from the competition.”

Greg Lovensheimer, business manager for carbonless security products for York, Pennsylvania-based Glatfelter, agreed. He said many companies that moved away from multi-part forms began to realize the creativity, color accuracy and company-specific details that distinguished them from others were diminishing. However, he believes this has more to do with reliance on unsophisticated laser printers.

“The laser just won’t produce the right color, whereas high-quality Heidelberg, Canon Express and rotary forms presses can match PMS colors to make sure images are right. What’s more, manufacturers employ pressmen who ensure all print elements have registered,” Lovensheimer noted. “As a result, many companies have fallen back to multiple-part forms to save the integrity of their brand. Otherwise, they miss out on a level of professionalism that is necessary in maintaining and cultivating more business.”

One of the growing product areas at Glatfelter is digitally-printed, carbonless multiple-part forms. In addition to image, the need for standard signatures from various parties maintains demand for these forms.

A perfect example is a moving and storage company. The company not only receives considerable business through its image, but also for the caution it exercises by including specific terms and conditions on its forms, which govern every move and mandate signatures along the way.

That company, explained Lovensheimer, orders preprinted forms with brand lines and PMS colors, as well as specific terms and conditions printed on the back side—something that would be impossible to produce on a laser printer. The forms are also hole-punched so drivers can fit them into their clipboards.

“Movers can take these customized forms out into the field and have home owners sign-off on them regarding the condition of their furniture. Those tangible records with signatures prevent ‘he said-she said’ situations over disputes concerning a scratched hope chest or torn sofa,” said Lovensheimer.

Who’s Saving Integrity?

Some distributors may be wondering which companies still benefit from multi-part forms and their attributes.

According to Hartnett, One Right sells large quantities of carbonless forms to smaller businesses that don’t go through many forms a day. He said it’s just easier for such businesses to pull out manual forms to record data. Furthermore, One Right often produces job tickets and order acknowledgments for those in retail and manufacturing.

Allen Simon, president of Datatel, Monaca, Pa., is seeing sales from vertical markets in manufacturing, distribution, uniforms and apparel, laboratories and auto rentals. “Any product or service that requires a form to be filled out by hand can use multi-part forms,” he observed. “Membership enrollment forms, such as gym membership forms, with national distribution are good examples.”

At Glatfelter, invoices, statements and purchase orders requiring signatures are a mainstay of the business. This includes health-care forms, insurance billing forms and hospitality forms, where the objective is to foster a personal relationship rather than treat people as numbers.

“Under the category of signature-based forms, you have anything from retail for a car purchase or two-part forms in restaurants,” said Lovensheimer. “But, we’ve also received orders from companies involved with home ownership and package deliveries. Although the United States Postal Service has gone to an electronic base and Fed Ex is taking a stab at e-forms, we still have a good share of delivery-type forms requiring paper-based signatures.”

Pat Mudd, Eastern region and Canadian sales manager for Glatfelter, adds that general bills of lading are currently in demand, as are hazardous waste forms needed by the U.S. Department of the Environmental Protection Agency.

And, while Mudd noted that orders for four-, five- and six-part forms have definitely decreased, he still experiences significant demand for two- and three-part forms. “Small businesses and some retailers will also generate multi-part orders for sure,” he asserted.

Who isn’t buying? Orders for restaurants and retailers have diminished significantly, Mudd stated. “So many of them have moved to thermal forms,” he said.

Positive Affirmation

Despite good news surrounding the comeback of multiple-part forms, Simon concurred that this niche is probably considered the most conventional and most mature. “Many would argue that multi-part forms are beyond mature and are really a declining segment of the business, but our business for them is not slow,” said Simon. “There are two reasons for this. First, we’ve figured out how to be a low-cost provider to the industry. Second, we alter our equipment to react to unique opportunities that require us to make changes.”

While Simon didn’t want to divulge exactly how low-cost his forms are or what kinds of equipment changes he was referring to, he did say Datatel has made modifications to collating equipment that allow the company to perform inline functions that previously would have occurred offline.

As a result, Datatel can fill orders in a niche market that might not be economical for other suppliers. “We’ve also been fortunate to have other product lines increase so as to offset non-growth in multi-parts,” said Simon.

For distributors who may be looking to pick up forms business, Hartnett offered some pitching advice: Don’t put the cart before the horse. “Clients don’t want to spend thousands on programming issues and electronic technology to find out later they should’ve used manual forms,” he said. “Some companies decide they’ll just e-mail invoices and create PDF files.” But, more than likely, not all customers have adapted their workflows to accommodate such technology and they may “experience internal problems as a result.”

Hartnett pointed out that multi-part forms are easy for anyone to use and even if clients plan to move to a fully electronic business system in the long-term, in the short-term, they may still want to use a form-based application to avoid spending thousands on programming issues only to experience unforeseen problems. “Everyone wants to embrace new technology, but if they jump too quickly they may sacrifice something,” warned Hartnett.

Lovensheimer, on the other hand, urged distributors to promote multiple part forms even to those clients who have already gone electronic. “Distributors shouldn’t assume that just because some clients replace impact printers with lasers that they are going to lose forms in that shop,” he said. They think their days are numbered for selling forms and they think their clients are going to print everything on-demand.”

In fact, last year, Glatfelter conducted a study using three-color carbonless forms showing that it cost the company about $.11 cents for us to produce print and produce them. Because of toner and equipment maintenance, it costs office laser printers about $.20 cents—almost double—to create the same forms.

“Knowing this, I think distributors are committing a great disservice to clients by not driving this point home,” Lovensheimer asserted.