David vs. Goliath

Hiawatha, Iowa-based J&A Printing has taken similar measures. “We have had black laser digital and color digital. The majority of influence has been black laser, as we have many large customers that print four-color shells, then personalize them and mail on a weekly or monthly basis,” stated David Jensen, sales and marketing director. “In the past two years, we have [also] added specialized mailing equipment for attaching pieces to mailings, a diecutter and folder/gluer. We’ve achieved more diversity in our service offerings and improved turn-time and control on die-cut, score and perf projects.”

Specialized direct mail, specifically involving personalization, has been a fast-growing sector for the company in recent years, along with fulfillment services such as warehousing, daily order receipt and shipping, reports and invoicing.

Thorn Hill Printing (THP), Freedom, Pa., is another printer making headway with direct mail. “Not only does direct mail seem to be on the upswing, but the print requested is changing. Customers appear to want four-color process printing for their mailings and it is not unusual to see up to four-color print as part of the specifications,” said Dan Reid, marketing manager. “With the larger quantities, pricing on four-color print does not seem to be as major of an issue as in the past. To keep up with this trend, we added a new eight-color web press with great flexibility.” Furthermore, because THP’s parent company is a large mail shop, Reid said THP can therefore offer all print and mailing services required on most print projects.

What’s in It for Me?

There’s no doubt about it—times are tough. But, price will always be a sensitive issue, regardless of the country’s struggles and achievements. In the meantime, there are still plenty of ways to alleviate the painful effects of the economy—educate and get real.

“The current energy crunch has caused many print buyers to slow down on marketing. This reminds me a lot of ‘01 where companies did not know how they were going to identify themselves in the marketplace. The costs we are faced with because of energy, for the most part, are out of our control. However, as a manufacturer, we must help educate the distributor on the reasons for cost increases (such as the cost of energy in a paper mill or the use of petroleum in inks, film laminates and coating materials),” Griffith affirmed. “There is not a manufacturing segment in the marketplace who is not facing the same issues. We are all facing the added expenses from environmentalists to add costs and be green, added expenses for energy to operate plants, employee transportation issues, raw material expenses [increasing] on a weekly basis, and at the same time, distributors looking to reduce product cost.”