Heather Hunt, Customer Service

She understands both the rhythm of the dance floor as well as the beat of the print shop. You ask and she understands and delivers.

Heather Hunt is Executive Press' Customer Service Representative (CSR) and newest employee. But new does not describe her experience. A Dallas native, she grew up in the printing industry, starting with her dad's print shop.

"I started working in the shop when I was about 12," Heather said. "From bindery on through, I've done every job in a printing company over the past 20 years."

Heather's experience is key to her day job at EP. She writes up orders and estimates jobs for clients. She fulfills orders by providing quotes and requests for the services of the company. She may be the voice you hear when you call in for an order status or as a first-time customer. Every job originates at her desk.

"This is a fun place to work," Heather said. "the hardest thing for me is to let go of a project to someone else because I want to see them all through the shop."

Having fun is something Heather knows about in her away-from-work life. As a professional belly dancer, she performs in dance concerts throughout the United States. She also performs in local restaurants, private functions and at the Scarborough Renaissance Festival every Spring.

“I started dancing a few years back at the local Renaissance festival and it grew into a passion,” Heather said."It is a great way to stay in shape and the moves require a precision that my other life experiences fit right into, she added.

Executive Press is proud of our people and the work they do for our customers and in the community. When you call in, you can be assured that Heather and the rest of our team will do their best to meet your communication needs.

The Executive Pressman

Jennifer Beaty, Face of the Company

You know you’ve seen her before. She looks familiar, yet you can’t quite place her. Then, when she walks over and introduces herself to you and starts her “short introductory speech, you know.

Anybody who is out networking in the business community in North Texas has met Jennifer Beaty at one time or another. The visible owner of Executive Press, it is Jennifer’s job to be the face of the company, develop new business and make and manage relationships.

“I love the printing business,” Jennifer said. “That’s why I am in and stay in this business.”

With nine years in the business, she got into it after a career start in being a network administrator in the IT business didn’t take hold.

“I love math and seeing a finished product,” Jennifer told me. “I also like people and love to network,” she added.

The last part is what drives the rest of life. Besides all of the business associations she keeps up with from the North Dallas and Garland Chambers and networking groups like First Tuesday, her kids and their activities keep her running.

“We have two teenaged girls who are involved in sports,” Jennifer said, ”As a result, I am treasurer of the Garland High School Boosters Club.” But that’s not all.

“Every summer, our family gets involved together in a number of charities,” Jennifer continued. “We require the girls (and their two brothers) to volunteer or contribute to at least two charities each year. ”Habitat for Humanity, Komen for the Cure and Special Olympics have been the recipients of the Beaty clan’s attention in recent years.Those relationships will continue this year and for years to come.

Executive Press is proud of our people and the work they do for our customers and in the community.When you call in, you can be assured that Jennifer and the rest of our team will do their best to meet your communication needs.

The Executive Pressman

Using Soy Inks

Using soy inks is a part of being a green printer and being FSC certified.

What are soy inks and how are they made?
Instead of being made from petroleum, soy inks use a base of soybean oil. The soybean oil is refined and blended with pigments, waxes and resins. Using soy inks makes it easier to recycle the paper printed with soy inks.

Why use soy inks?
To be environmental friendly and supportive of our environment. The manufacture, use and disposal of soy inks do little, if any, harm to the environment. Since soybean oil is naturally cleaner than petroleum inks, the colors are brighter. Images printed with soy inks are sharper, studies show. While they can be used in most applications, they take longer to dry. But that tradeoff is minimal considering the advantages of image quality and cost.

When did soy inks take over?
Since the late 1980s, newspapers began using soy-based inks to save money (over expensive petroleum-based inks) and to give them sharper, cleaner images. In 2004, over 95% of newspapers in the US used soy-based inks.

Who uses soy inks?
Printers and suppliers who are either FSC certified or environmentally friendly or conscious, use soy-based inks and printing products. Plus anybody who wants to save money.

How do you make sure soy inks are used?
Ask your printer if they use soy inks. Or specify them when you place an order. Or ask your designer to specify soy inks.

The use of soy ink is so pervasive and become such an industry standard that the National Soy Ink Information Center (established in 1993) was closed in 2004. Soy ink use is now regulated by the National Soybean Council.

The Executive

Primer on Paper

Paper is a basic ingredient in anything printed. But there is more to it. Here is a basic primer on paper. There is more to paper than what you will read here, so our intention here is to share some basics to get you started.

Paper is comprised of ingredients like all things. Most papers include paper pulp, cotton, postconsumer waste fiber, millwaste fiber, calcium carbonate, dyes and colorings, optical brighteners, fillers, sizings and coatings.

When choosing paper, consider:

• "Hand"
• Grade
• Weight

"Hand" is the way paper feels to the fingertips. It will be the first impression a reader or viewer gets of your brochure, book, catalog or other printed piece.

Grade refers to the quality and type (application) of paper. Grades include:

• Opaque
• Offset
• Coated
• Writing (bond)
• Text
• Cover

Ways to measure paper start with weight, but also include:

• Caliper (the thickness)
• M weight (the weight of 1000 sheets)
• Basis weight (weight of 500 sheets in a specific size)
• GSM (grams per square inch, a metric measure which standardizes weight regardless of size)

This should get you started and prepare you for that discussion with your designer and printer. For more information visit us at Executive Press (www.executivepress.com)

The Executive

Source material for this post came from www.mohawkpaper.com

What is Bindery?

“It binds us and the whole universe together,” Obi-Wan Kenobi said about the force. Well, published things need to be bound together as well. But it usually involves a different kind of “force”.

In the trade, we call it bindery.

Bindery or binding is the fastening together of pages or printed pieces into a whole product such as a book or presentation or pages in a binder.

There are a number of types of bindery. Modern commercial print suppliers use techniques such as:

• Coil binding
• Comb binding
• Velo binding
• Perfect binding

The term, bindery, especially in copy and print shops, has expanded to include other forms of paper finishing, such:

• Paper drilling
• Lamination
• Foam-core mounting

it will be used
Whatever the situation, bindery should be chosen based upon the use of the finished product and by whom. Other factors such as cost, subject matter and expected lifespan should also be considered.

The Executive

Digital Printing Made Understandable

Digital printing is printing using techniques developed for computer printers such as inkjet or laser printers.

Many graphic projects begin with analog sources such as 35mm slides, transparencies or reflective art (photographs, original artwork). To produce a digital image, these elements are converted to digital files that can be manipulated on a computer system.

Digital printing differs from other types of printing (lithography, flexography, gravure, and letterpress) in these ways:

• Every print can be different, because printing plates are not required.
• There is less waste of chemicals and paper,because there is no need to check for registration and position during the actual printing.
• The ink or toner does not permeate the surface it is being printed on, as do conventional inks.

Because there is less initial setup, digital is useful for rapid prototyping, and cost effective for small print runs.

Digital printing is used for personalized printing and print-on-demand (POD) systems. This is ideal for short run books of varying page quantities and binding.

The Executive

Thanks to Wikipedia for some background information used here

Brand consistency

Your brand is more than a logo. However, being consistent within your image and brand does extend to your logo and daily image creating items. This list includes:

1. Business cards
2. Letterhead
3. Collateral or website

Anything that you put out these items should project who you are from one platform or medium to the next. When devising or ordering each of the above items consider:

• Typeface
• Color of ink
• Type of paper stock
• Position of elements on the page or card
• Spelling and use of catch phrases

Use a designer if you can. A good printer or freelance designer in your area can help with the layout and production of these importnat tools.

The Executive