Save a Forest: Print Your Emails--A Different Lesson in Being Green

Recently International Paper Company reprinted a story from the Wall Street Journal that encourages us to print our emails to save a forest.

Huh?

The common perception is that "being green" means keeping trees, not using paper and natural resources. However, the authors, Chuck Leavell and Carlton Owen, argue otherwise.

"What many folks don't realize is that it (not printing) also may indirectly hasten the conversion of forests to other uses like strip malls and parking lots and housing developments because the nation's forest landowners can't keep growing trees without markets for this natural, organic and renewable product," Chuck wrote for the WSJ.

It is not that the authors are advocating waton waste, they said. More forests are dying of insect infestation and disease or being paved over...right now than could be converted to an email print-out in a thousand years, they said.

Paper is a renewable resource and using it carefully and recycling it and its byproducts is more green than ignoring it completely. So be green by using paper.

The Executive Pressman

Executive Press Appreciates Labor-Saving Features of New Suprasetter

Running cleaner and greener is a long-term goal of Executive Press. Since we replaced a violet Platesetter with a Suprastter A75 thermal computer-to-plate device from Heidelberg we have been both.

Used to image Heidelberg Saphira Chemfree plates for the company’s four offset presses, including a 6-color Speedmaster SM 74 and 4-color Printmaster GTO, the new Suprasetter “fell right in line with our workflow,” said General Manager David Allen. Most impressive to Allen and his team is the automatic top-loading capability of the new platesetter, which provides fully automated plate loading and slip sheet removal that permits mostly unattended operation of the unit.

Executive Press has a longstanding commitment to green printing. Accordingly, the company has converted to soy-based inks and prints on post-consumer waste recycled or FSC-certified paper, unless our customers specify otherwise. The company has implemented proven systems in its production area to reduce energy usage while recycling all paper and aluminum plates used in the printing process.

The new Suprasetter contributes to this effort with its own set of environmental credentials. Consuming 0.7 kilowatts per hour, the Suprasetter A75 platesetter draws around five times less power and generates around five times less waste heat than comparable models from other manufacturers.

“Heidelberg equipment is simply the best there is, and their service technicians are well-trained, knowledgeable and persistent,” Allen said. “There’s none better.”

Approaching a quarter-century in business, $2.5 million Executive Press currently employs a staff of 12, and serves real estate and building clients and a variety of associations doing business in North Texas.

The Executive Pressman

Choosing a Valued Marketing Partner: Ovation Health & Life Services

We are very fortunate to have the clients we have. We appreciate them for choosing to do business with us and we appreciate their challenges as well.

Daniel LaBroad, President, Ovation Health & Life Services, Inc., is one of our key customers. When Daniel was in the process of branding his company, he was looking for just the right partner to help.

“A company is only as good as it’s brand. Ovation has spent lots of time and money creating and managing our image," Daniel said.

Ovation Health & Life Services provides and manages benefit programs for businesses and public sector groups.

"Recently, our media firm created a high-quality print piece that is now the center of our marketing," Daniel continued. "After several interviews, we chose Executive Press to handle the printing of our marketing collateral."

"This was a large expense for us, and I was nervous, Daniel said. "Executive Press did an outstanding job throughout the entire process by communicating constantly, offering suggestions, and giving us a high quality product. They put all my concerns at ease."

Ovation now uses Executive Press for all of their printing needs including their client benefit books and event fliers.

"Executive Press is a great business partner. We highly recommend them," Daniel said.
The Executive Pressman

Things to Consider in Design

With all printed products, the design and creation phase is critical. Some things to consider when you either ask to have something designed by your print partner or bring to them:

• The program it is originated in
• File sizes
• Appropriate notes and instructions
• Time

"Each of these are important considerations," Jennifer Beaty said. "If you can't provide most of these either quality, schedule or budget will be compromised," she said.

Jennifer is the managing partner of Executive Press, one of North Texas' premier print and direct-mail companies.

The program the design was originated in is important because that tells the print house what the output will look like. Most designers or printers us one of the following programs in either Mac or PC:

• Acrobat
• Photoshop
• InDesign
• Quark
• Illustrator

File size is important, given that you will most likely have to pass the file along over the internet (electronically). Consult with your IT provider to see if there are file size limits for outbound files; check with your print partner to see if they have limitations on inbound file sizes.

Always include notes and instructions with your files to make sure that the people on the receiving end understand things like finished size, output color and paper stock.

Time is probably the most critical: give your partner time to produce the piece if you have a deadline. That doesn't mean that if you have a Tuesday deadline that they get it Monday night!

A little planning and a lot of consideration go a long way toward a successful finished product.

The Executive Pressman

Making Premiums Work for You

There are any number of ways to get visibility for your company. One of the most direct is using premiums or branded giveaways.

But simple it is not.

"We work with a number of premium suppliers here in the North Texas area," Jennifer Beaty said. Jennifer is the managing partner of Executive Press, a marketing and printing company based in Richardson, Texas. "They all tell us the same thing: you get remembered by being in front of people each and every day."

Premiums include the typical pens, shirts and hats. But they can be more than that.

"We provided reflective stickers for breaker boxes," Whitey Thomas of WT Promotions said. "That way when the lights go out, the customer knows who to call."

Even in the usual places your items need to be branded.

"I want my customer's names in front of their clients every day," Judy Smith of Promo Pizazz said. "It's all about repetition."

Key things to look for in promotional items:

• Are they useful to the client?
• Is the brand name prominent?
• Is it durable and lasting?
• Will the client comment on it?
• Is it integrated into a larger program? That is, does it fit a theme or is it tied to your company somehow?
  

"The best promo items are the ones your client thanks you for later," Jennifer continued. "Whether it is a useful or fun item, it has to be memorable."

For more ideas or to reach Jennifer or one of her North Dallas Chamber (NDCC) colleagues, call 214-217-7000.

The Executive Pressman

The Importance of Business Cards

They are the first line of defense of the networker: a business card.

It is amazing how this thin sliver of heavy weight paper with your name on it can be so important. But consider this as you go out and meet clients and new prospects and suspects that each card has:

• Introduces you by name and brand
• Your contact information
• A life after you leave

And if you design it right, has blank space on the back for notes and can be read by most scanners.

"In my seminars I tell my students to "always carry business cards. Always," Paul E. Maynard said. Known as the Relentless Networker, Maynard knows. "I've traded business cards with people in cabs in Mexico, in airport terminal everywhere and through the mail for almost 30 years."

A good card design features:

• A clear typeface and a simple design
• A quality paper stock to reflect your professionalism
• A blank back for notes
• A logo or other identifying mark

And be sure and buy them in enough quantity to last. Also consider your letterhead, envelopes and other stationery to be consistent with your brand.

The Executive Pressman

The US Post Office and Direct Mail

While they are in the mailing business, the US Postal Service has done a great job of promoting and marketing direct-mail marketing. On a visit to their website the other day I found a whole collection of information that is a good resource for you if you are considering integrating direct mail into your marketing program.

The USPS cited a number of advantages of DMM on their website. Direct mail is:

• Targeted
• Personal
• Flexible
• Tangible
• Measurable
  
• Easy to start and run

Now, if the guys who deliver the mail say all of these things, than it must be true, right? Well the DMA (Direct Marketing Association) backs them up on their website and most professionals in the field, including ourselves, say the same things.

But remember, too, that direct mail is most effective when it is part of a concerted, coordinated, branded program. And you have to give your targets the option to "opt out." Courtesy is still important.

The Executive Pressman

www.executivepress.com