John Andersen

Margins are high and the future is bright for this market niche MOST DISTRIBUTORS KNOW commercial printing is not the typical sale. It involves greater interaction with manufacturers and end-users. Most orders are not simple reorders of the exact same product. There are a lot of colors and shapes and innovative designs and, for some distributors, that is a lot of work compared to a basic form sale. But, for those wondering whether or not commercial printing is worth the effort, a pep talk from John Andersen, sales manager for Admore, a division of Ennis, Macomb, Mich., just might change things. To him, commercial

From the document-oriented to the whimsical, ad specialties can help distributors increase form sales. This year, the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) released a report indicating that promotional product sales in 2003 totaled an estimated $16.34 billion—up from 2002's sales of $15.63 billion. In fact, last year was the first year that sales within the industry rose since a record-high $17.85 billion was reported in 2000. Of the 2003 sales, desk products and calendars ranked third and fourth respectively as the most popular items sold. Armed with this information, it is no wonder that manufacturers of these forms-related products would want to

Two major promotional products suppliers discuss how working with print-savvy forms distributors is a win-win situation for both industries. If you ask two promotional products powerhouses why their industry pairs well with the business forms industry, they'll be quick to attribute that success to forms distributors' extensive print backgrounds. "Because the forms distributor is already print savvy, we are seeing more unique designs with multiple graphic enhancements and colorful concepts being created for their customers," said John Andersen, sales manager at Admore, Macomb, Mich. "The result is better promotions that get the message out and have a 'wow' factor when designed properly." Stan Dohan,