ONE-STOP VS. NICHE PRINTERS — SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT

“We’re looking for customers who have already decided to make an investment in marketing and have an annual budget to do this, so we’re not bidding on one project after the next. We’re really going in at a strategic level to become part of their marketing plan.”

In the case of DigiLink, Alexandria, VA, the company went from specializing in prepress services to becoming a one-stop shop, offering sheetfed printing, finishing and mailing services in addition to the front end. DigiLink, which bowed in 2000, has grown at a rate of 30 percent per year. Although half of the company’s revenues are still generated by prepress-only customers, DigiLink also produces short run, single- and multi-page pieces, brochures and small catalogs up to 56 pages.