Posts tagged ‘Forest Stewardship Council’
Prisma Graphic is FSC Certified
Prisma Graphic demonstrates respect for the planet, while maintaining its reputation as a high-quality commercial printer. Prisma Graphic, one of the Southwest’s leading privately owned commercial printers, becomes FSC certified to help protect the environment.
“FSC certification was the next logical step for Prisma. Over the years, we have developed our own internal Sustainability Program. This program has focused on reducing our overall power consumption, recycling excess production materials, as well as properly treating and disposing of the chemicals used in the printing process,” states Robert Anderson, President.
A commerical printer, much more than ink on paper.
Prisma Graphic: Paving the Way to a marketing solutions provider.
To compete as a traditional commercial printer in today’s economic climate and evolving market takes vision. For Prisma Graphic, that vision has been to provide unmatched customer service, consider every client a partner and offer economical marketing solutions beyond ink on paper.
Prisma started as a boutique print shop over 29 years ago, and in 2000 the privately-held company transferred ownership to Bob Anderson. Rather than remaining a great traditional printer, Bob has worked to transform Prisma into an all-inclusive print and marketing solutions provider to help clients improve, implement and execute their marketing efforts. Ever since the transition, the company has experienced 15-20% annual growth each year.
Our staff views every project as an opportunity to further the success of our clients’ image, initiatives and marketing goals. From our 82,000 square foot facility in Phoenix, we provide design support, heat-set web, sheetfed, variable data printing, full bindery, fulfillment services and complete direct mailing. Additionally, Prisma has a proprietary online product called dokshop – a dynamic online solution enabling our clients to brand manage, distribute products worldwide and print on demand at their convenience. We are also very proud of our green initiatives, which include recycling paper, cardboard, ink cans and drums and printing with vegetable and soy-based inks.
We know you have many choices when it comes to printing. Give Prisma a call today at 800 379-5777 to discuss your next print marketing solution – See firsthand what it really means to Print Smart.
Print Smart: The Rewards of Being Green
Print Smart: The Rewards of Being Green
Despite the growth and popularity of the Internet as a marketing tool, the mailbox continues to be the preferred communication channel for information, promotions and announcements. According to a study by International Communications Research1, 70% of consumers prefer direct mail compared to 18% who prefer email.
As consumer concern for the environment increases, so has sensitivity toward direct mail and its perceived negative impact. While direct mail accounts for only 2% of the country’s municipal waste, it is still a concern for businesses that use direct mail as a marketing strategy.
So, what can marketers do to accommodate today’s consumers? Print Smart. For Sherri May & Company, a mailing proponent that specializes in direct marketing, being green is the positive result of simply printing smart. “We’ve been the most successful when we focus on delivering the right message, to the right audience, at the right time, using the most energy and cost-efficient means possible. Green production is a win-win all the way around,” explains Sherri May.
To address the growing concerns of the environment and the impact of direct mail, the Direct Marketing Association, Pitney Bowes and the United States Postal Service have all published practical steps to become more efficient in direct mail and thus more environmentally responsible.
Data Management – Reducing Undeliverable Mail
Each year almost 60 billion pieces of direct mail end up in landfills. By working with a partner who understands how to minimize undeliverable records and optimize the production process in general, you can save as much as 30% on each and every mailing. Incorporating USPS endorsed NCOAlink® software, Intelligent Mail® and OneCode ACSTM into the data process will ensure accuracy, helping to maximize ROI while maintaining good environmental stewardship.
FSC Certified versus Traditional Recycled Paper
Besides positively positioning your company’s image, for little or no additional cost, using an FSC Certified paper helps reduce global warming, save forests, conserve water and lower emission of toxic pollutants. Moreover, using a recycled FSC Certified paper supports municipal recycling collection programs and diverts usable materials from incinerators and landfills.
Generally speaking, the benefits of using a traditional recycled paper are more of a perception than a reality. Many countries continue to destroy rain forests for the hemp needed to produce the original papers used in the recycling process today. In fact, recycling traditional paper actually depletes more in fossil fuel and other non-renewable resources in the collection, fabrication and delivery than it saves for the environment. The FSC Certification demonstrates that your finished product was produced from start-to-finish, using sources and methods that promote responsible forest management worldwide.
Manage the Mailbox
When possible, try to consolidate your message into fewer mailings. Instead of mailing monthly, consider mailing quarterly and augmenting the effort with opt-in, personalized phone and/or email communications. Combine multiple messages into a single envelope and always utilize the front and back of each insert. “Companies that are able to coordinate all their mailings through a single internal point person, do a great job of managing the customer mailbox. Customer perception can turn negative when they receive multiple mailings from the same company within a short period of time,” says Sherri May. These minor adjustments will stretch your marketing dollars and help to reduce your company’s impact on the environment.
Manage the Message
Making an impression is sometimes easier than most people think. Minor size adjustments, self-mailers versus envelope mailers and even using a pre-printed corporate mailing permit instead of stamps, can all extend the budget of a direct mail piece. This creative thinking not only improves efficiency, but also inherently applies eco-friendly practices.
Poly versus Poly-Less Envelopes
Implementing the use of a window envelope is a smart way to retain personalization, yet avoid the extra cost of match mailing. Also, by using poly-less window envelopes, especially on larger quantities, you can reduce production costs while making these envelopes easier for consumers to recycle.
Vegetable/Soy or Petroleum Inks
The increasing demand for a front-to-back eco-friendly process has made vegetable and soy-based inks more cost-effective than ever before. Today, these inks are very competitively priced against petroleum-based inks, and customers appreciate receiving printed pieces from those who demonstrate a commitment to the environment.
Always Consider the Combo
Printing one project at a time is always more costly than printing multiple projects at once. Although that’s not always possible, a strategic approach to your next staggered, multiple-piece campaign could save your company thousands of dollars, while also reducing the manufacturing waste of the overall campaign.
Become an Environ-mail-ist
Employing these simple initiatives into your direct mail strategy can improve your company’s image, will be good for your budget and ultimately good for our planet. Print Smart is more than a philosophy for Sherri May & Company and Prisma Graphic. We all have a responsibility to our clients and to our shared environment. Plus, if we’re able to reduce a carbon footprint along the way… we all win!
Contact Sherri May & Company today to discuss everything from data optimization, mailbox management and how to develop a results-driven direct mail campaign that positively impacts our environment. Call 602 547-7020 or visit www.sherrimayco.com .
1 International Communications Research (ICR) study dated 6/11/2007
2 The Truth About Green, February 2008, © Pitney Bowes Inc.
3 Forest Stewardship Council, see www.fsc.org for more information
Mailing Made Simple
Over the years it became increasingly clear that print buyers were becoming tired and often frustrated managing multiple vendors in the direct mail process. This is especially true considering the everyday pressure to find ways of improving speed to market, while reducing costs at the same time.
In response, Prisma Graphic hired a mailing expert, invested in the equipment and launched an in-house mailing department almost three years ago. This move quickly became an invaluable addition to our service offerings. We have been able to shorten turnaround times and reduce overall project costs for our clients. Today, our mailing department drops over 1.5 million pieces per month and continues to grow in output.
Advantages of a Knowledgeable One-Stop-Shop:
• Start-to-finish quality control by a trusted contact
• Improved speed to market
• Waste reduction by using USPS endorsed NCOAlink®, Intelligent Mail® and OneCode ACSTM processes
• Availability of saturation or demographic-specific list purchases
• Promotional results tracking
To find out how Prisma can help you reduce costs and make
your next direct mail project seamless, contact your a Sales Representative, or John Pisauro at 800 379-5777 or johnp@prismagraphic.com.
Sustainable Actions
Everyday at Prisma Graphic, we search for ways to step a little softer on the earth. From the inks we use and the paper suppliers we support, to the design of our 82,000 square foot facility and the company-wide recycling program, we are proud to say we have successfully implemented one of the most aggressive sustainability programs in our industry.
Most of our success and efforts are thanks to our General Manager, Alan McAbee. His 29+ years of seasoned commercial printing experience and devotion to sustainability have benefited Prisma, as well as the green initiatives of some of our clients, Arizona State University in particular. Truth be told, Alan is always willing to discuss current trends and real-world sustainability applications with anyone who shares his passion.
Prisma’s initiatives include:
• Vegetable and soy-based inks
• Energy-efficient equipment
• Low-wattage halogen bulbs used in offices
• Recycled shipping cartons
• Recycle paper, aluminum and cardboard
• FSC Certified & FSC Certified recycled paper
• Trip Reduction Program (rewards for use of alternative transportation)
• Eco-friendly floor mats, cleaning and restroom supplies
• High efficiency HVAC units
For more information about sustainability or to learn how Prisma can help with your efforts, please contact a Sales Representative, or Alan at 800 379-5777 or alanm@prismagraphic.com.
Prisma Graphic’s Sustainability Program touches almost every aspect of the business.
Prisma Graphic Corporation Takes Another Step Toward Green
Prisma Graphic demonstrates respect for the planet, while maintaining its reputation as a high-quality commercial printer. Prisma Graphic, one of the Southwest’s leading privately owned commercial printers, becomes FSC certified to help protect the environment.
The FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) promotes good forest management that ensures sustainability, wildlife and stream preservation, biodiversity and legal logging practices. Paper is a very visible and identifiable arena where companies can demonstrate their commitment to environmental and social responsibility. Environmental organizations, paper buyers and consumers alike worked together to create this FSC Chain of Custody certification.
Rather than just focusing on recycling, where chlorine and other harmful chemicals are needed, this Chain of Custody tracks wood fiber from its original point of harvest, all the way to the end consumer who ordered the printing and finishing of the paper. This certification establishes a credible system whereby the end client can be assured that the paper used on their project is linked directly back to the practice of sustainable forestry.
“FSC certification was the next logical step for Prisma. Over the years, we have developed our own internal Sustainability Program. This program has focused on reducing our overall power consumption, recycling excess production materials, as well as properly treating and disposing of the chemicals used in the printing process,” states Robert Anderson, President.
Prisma Graphic’s Sustainability Program touches almost every aspect of the business. The majority of inks used are vegetable based, rather than the more volatile petroleum based. Their 82,000 sq. ft. building is cooled and heated with high efficiency HVAC and up-duct units. Even the lights in the front office are low-wattage, halogen bulbs.
“We realize how important it is to take responsibility for our environment,” exclaims Alan McAbee, General Manager. “We are very proud to receive our FSC certification, which is just another step in our mission to become a completely green printer.”
Solution-Based Printing and Marketing Partner
Prisma Graphic Corp. When you are searching for a solutions-based partner, look no further than the Phoenix-based commercial printer, Prisma Graphic Corp. Prisma proves to be more than just a print vendor on a daily basis, by exceeding its client’s marketing needs from their 82,000-square-foot facility. Prisma provides pre-press, remote proofing, digital and one-to-one marketing products, a unique web-to-print solution (dokshop.com), sheet-fed and web printing, a complete bindery, a full-service fulfillment department, in-house mailing services and a secure warehouse area.
“I think our people have been the key to the success of this company,” says President Bob Anderson. “They’re innovative, they’re customer driven and they care.” When Anderson bought Prisma in 2000 it was a small, boutique print shop, struggling to keep the doors open. Seven years later, it has become a $23 million business. “Naturally, with this kind growth, I am very proud of our people and the work we produce.”
The shop’s 115 employees work in one of the hippest and most efficient shops around town, not to mention one of the greenest. Prisma was Arizona’s first, privately owned, web and sheetfed printer to become certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). FSC certification promotes a chain of custody that ensures good forest management and overall sustainability. Prisma’s internal philosophy of “lean manufacturing” eliminates waste and improves the efficiency of value-added activities that maximize their customers’ satisfaction and ultimately their budgets.
“Clients are trying to narrow down their vendors to a select few who understand their needs,” Anderson says. “They’re looking for print partners that can advance their overall marketing efforts, which is why we consider our company more of an information handler.” Prisma has solutions for short- and long-run projects, has the ability to handle thousands of online orders a month, can provide website analytics, offers data collecting and usability and can produce personal URL direct mailers, just to name a few.
Contact anyone at Prisma, or better yet their president, if you are ready for a solutions-based partner. “I’m a working president,” says Bob Anderson. “I’m always out visiting with customers to help in their success. I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
Contact: 602-243-5777 www.prismagraphic.com 2937 E. Broadway Road, Phoenix, Arizona 85040
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