Name Game No Longer Applies to Small Shops —Michelson

But, again, like their larger counterparts, smaller printers are struggling to differentiate themselves in the marketplace and to make clients and prospects more aware of their growing list of services. While FedEx Kinko’s (also profiled in this issue)—with a whopping $2 billion in sales and 1,600 stores—and large franchisors may have the financial resources and business acumen to market their brands on regional and national levels, independent quick and small commercial printing operations often rely on word-of-mouth as their only form of advertising. Likewise, franchises and independents now compete with a growing list of online printers, like VistaPrint among others, that specifically cater to the print needs of small businesses and similar end users. These Web-based purveyors offer very low prices and fast deliveries, largely through automated ordering efficiencies and gang run production practices.