Goodwin Graphics

The fun doesn't stop at 50. Additional suppliers responded to this year's Top Suppliers survey, but just missed this year's list. Here are some of them:

There’s a running joke about the forms business. It chooses you, not the other way around. So what’s a fated print supplier or distributor to do when, just to survive, he or she has two major opponents to battle: technology and the economy?

1 Ennis Headquarters: Midlothian, Texas Annual Sales $(000): 584,713 Principal Officer(s): Keith Walters, Chairman, President, CEO Employees: 6,200 Locations: 44 2 Champion Industries Headquarters: Huntington, W. Va. Annual Sales $(000): 145,188 Principal Officer(s): Marshall T. Reynolds, CEO Employees: 740 Locations: 22 3 Western States Envelope & Label Headquarters: Butler, Wis. Annual Sales $(000): 117,900 Principal Officer(s): Mark S. Lemberger, President Employees: 731 Locations: 5 4 Printegra Headquarters: Peachtree City, Ga. Annual

Ask 10 different people to define commercial printing and you’ll get 10 different answers. One thing, however, is a given—whether it’s a glossy, high-color poster on a rich substrate, a black-and-white owner’s manual on uncoated stock or a business card with a PMS logo, the job must be done perfectly and delivered on time. Considering various prepress services, including design (in some cases), the actual printing, finishing options and fulfillment services, there are plenty of opportunities for manufacturers and distributors to demonstrate their talents and skills, proving their value to customers. One-stop-shop trends are making it more and more likely that distributors will be

Offset and digital printer Goodway Graphics, Burlington, Mass., has installed its second Xerox iGen3 digital production color press. The company has seen increased demand for quality short-run static color, as well as mid- to high-volume variable data direct marketing collateral. In June, Goodway Graphics leased floor and office space to Eagle Mail, formerly of Billerica. Under terms of the agreement, Eagle Mail will remain its own entity while serving as primary back-up to Goodway’s own mailing department. These changes double Goodway’s digital color capacity and quadruple its mailing capacity, while allowing Eagle to offer print services to its mailing clients. Goodway Graphics’

Rank: 1 Company: Ennis, Midlothian, Texas Sales $(000): 559,397 Principal Officer(s): Keith Walters, Chairman, CEO, President Employees: 6,200 Locations: 42 (*Does not include sales figures for Block Graphics, acquired 08/09/06.) Rank: 2 Company: Champion Industries, Huntington, W. Va. Sales $(000): 135,000 Principal Officer(s): Marshall T. Reynolds, CEO Employees: 768 Locations: 22 Rank: 3 Company: Western States Envelope & Label, Butler, Wis. Sales $(000): 111,000 Principal Officer(s): Mark S. Lemberger, President, CEO Employees: 733 Locations: 5 Rank: 4 Company: Printegra, Peachtree City, Ga. Sales $(000): 87,706 Principal Officer(s): Casey Campbell, President, CEO Employees: 822 Locations: 14 Rank: 5 Company: PrintXcel, Montrose,

DMIA’s annual Print Solutions conference and exposition will be held Oct. 3-5 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill. The conference will provide three days of educational sessions, including a presentation by this year’s keynote speaker, Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House and co-author of “Contract with America.” Join Gingrich as he analyzes the current political climate in Washington, DC, and educates attendees on effective leadership. This year’s conference will feature equipment demonstrations, offering distributors better insight into how various applications are produced. In addition, exchange centers will be located on the show floor with more than 34 hours of

Market-specific trends shed some light on what it takes to get mailers opened and responses generated INSIDE DIRECT MAIL is a monthly publication offering reviews and analyses of the plethora of mailers being sent out across the United States. Many of the pieces are catalogued in the magazine's "Who's Mailing What? Archive," and are used to generate the MailWatch section featured in each issue. Here, BFL&S reviews some of the trends identified in the column throughout 2005. To Each His Own Specific markets and business sectors have clear format preferences for reaching target markets. For instance, nonprofits favor envelope packages, as opposed to self-mailers,

Manufacturers and distributors report on what's working, what's changing and what's in store for the future. End-users continue to demand the best for the least, as fast as possible, driving distributors and manufacturers to draw on their creativity and problem-solving skills to make it happen. Meanwhile, dynamics within the independent channel, as well as within the ranks of the major directs, are shifting, creating both opportunities to be explored and obstacles to be surmounted. Several manufacturers and distributors spoke with BFL&S about their products and services, relationships within the supply chain, the impact of the major directs and their outlook for the future.

Distributors can still find success with mailers despite the technology and competition that's eating into the business. With more than 20 years of experience in the mailer business, Tim Goodwin, president of Goodwin Graphics, Carrollton, Texas, knows a thing or two about the sale of mailers. He can spout price quotes off the top of his head and discuss design elements like he's reciting the alphabet. He can also give you a good history of how successful mailers have been. And, according to him, they are still fairly successful, except for one little thing—e-commerce. "If one were to go back 10 years and try