Image is Everything

Spring has arrived, but there is no blossoming economy in sight. Unemployment rates climbed to 8.1 percent as of February, and companies that didn’t resort to layoffs are cutting costs through other methods. The current climate has, in turn, forced everyone to become more image-conscious. A sharp-looking suit, a perfectly coiffed ‘do and manicured nails are essential and so is what an employee or job applicant carries to that meeting. Nothing says polished like a colorful folder or sleek binder.

New York-based Gussco Manufacturing, a supplier of custom-made file folders used for complicated filing jobs and corporate identity, is developing a range of items that make an impression.

“[These items] will fill the bill for other business-to-business promotional demand, especially professional buyers or executives, or [a] salesperson who needs to impress, or the job seeker, in order to stand out among the crowd, which will also give us the opportunity to provide items that can be used for free gifts with purchase promotions—items that are not too expensive to entice buyers to buy something more expensive,” said Alan Snider, vice president sales and marketing.

When it comes to presentation products, Doug Campbell, director of sales and marketing for the Ste. Genevieve, Missouri-based Silvanus Products, agreed it’s all about getting noticed. Campbell noted that material and decoration/art design are what make a presentation product stand out. “The expanded supported materials we use for our seal-cut binders are all derived from the upholstery industry. So, colors change each year as well as patterns and embossing,” he said. “Our specialty decorating technique is still a silk screen or foil combination deboss. We also have a newly-decorated technique called Iceprint, which is essentially multiple hits of silk screening and [it] creates an embossing effect.”

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Silvanus Products produces highly customized presentation products using vinyl, supported vinyls, polyolefin’s litho labels and coated paper materials. These substrates are, in turn, converted into binders, tote boxes, sample cases, passbooks, wallets and folders. The company works with distributors of varying experience and assists them in educating end-users on materials and capabilities.