PAYNE PRINTERY — A PASSIONATE PRINTER

PASSION IS a powerful emotion—and a positive method—when a bit of reason is incorporated. A great company isn’t successful based solely on its business practices. Its success comes from the spirit of its workers. At Payne Printery, its employees exude passion.

Payne Printery began as a one-man, single-color print shop, and was purchased in the 1930s by John Robert Moore. Moore decided not to change the company’s name because it had a good business reputation. After the purchase, Moore moved the shop a short distance from Plymouth to Dallas, PA, where it continued to produce one-color materials such as raffle tickets, business cards and letterhead.

After Moore’s death in 1952, Payne Printery’s direction was forged by his son, Robert. Robert moved the then-four-employee company into the color market, going from a one- to four-color operation. Robert’s daughter, Susan, began working for the family business during college. After graduating from Syracuse University with a degree in art and advertising, she took a position in the creative department.

At this time, the company employed another college student, Thomas Gauntlett, who worked as a driver during the summers. Gauntlett attended the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where he played basketball for the legendary coach Dean Smith. After graduation, Gauntlett joined Payne’s sales department—and married Susan.

In 1985, shortly after Robert Payne’s death, the couple began running the company.

Moving Ahead

The Gauntlett’s made some major overhauls during the mid- to late-’80s, including a facility move and an upgrade to five-color printing capabilities. The original Dallas facility was old—and space was becoming an issue—as the company grew. Thus, the Gauntlett’s oversaw construction on a new 50,000-square-foot facility, built at Payne’s current locale, in Dallas. Payne’s facility was designed around its workflow, so that everything runs smoothly from prepress to mailing.

Payne Printery is currently under the leadership of Thomas and Susan’s son, Brett Gauntlett, who took over the reins in 2001. While his parents are still actively involved with company operations, Brett runs the show as COO.

Gauntlett attended Hampden-Sydney College, and worked to learn the family business during the summers, following a path similar to his parents. After graduating in 1994, he joined Payne Printery as a sales representative, before becoming the fourth generation to lead the company.

His initial goals were to revamp the pressroom and create a successful sales team, which came to fruition with the hiring of Shaun Daney as director of sales in 2001.

The updating began with the purchase of a Heidelberg Quickmaster DI 46-4 direct imaging press for short-run printing. Payne’s most recent additions include a six-color, 29˝ Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 74 sheetfed press and a six-color, 40˝ Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 102, both with aqueous coaters and extended deliveries, along with a Polar pile turner (skid flipper).

Other major purchases have been a six-pocket Heidelberg Stitchmaster ST 270; a Polar 137-ED cutting system with automated jogger; a Heidelberg Stahl TI-52-44 folding station; four Macintosh G5 workstations; as well as a complete Kodak Creo platesetting system coupled with a Creo Spectrum proofer.

“Over the past four years, we were running all 40˝ presses,” says Daney. “Brett has taken the steps to diversify the pressroom. It’s been a benefit to our customers because we are now able to serve a lot more of their needs.”

Payne Printery produces work for universities, financial institutions and healthcare organizations. It provides a broad spectrum of services, and has been able to extend its territory to compete in the tri-state area.

Between Big Cities

Given that the company is located just two hours from both Philadelphia and New York City, combined with the ease of UPS shipments and the advent of file transfer solutions, the playing field for printers like Payne is changing.

“The speed of things is what counts today; quality is expected,” says Gauntlett. “If you don’t provide quality, you don’t have a chance, so it comes down to service and price.

“When our clients require services beyond what the industry would define as typical or customary, we go above and beyond,” continues Gauntlett. “We understand that our success is completely dependent upon theirs and we’ll stop at nothing to make sure that clients are able to achieve their goals.”

This system has proven successful for Payne, which relies on the strength of its employee base. “We have 68 distinct ways that we differentiate ourselves, each with a first and last name,” he says, referring to Payne’s workforce.

Payne has a few employees who stand out as influential components to its success over the years. Doug Ehret, vice president of manufacturing, has been with the printer for 35 years and is recognized for taking the company’s ability to compete to the next level. Frank Cunius, CFO, began at Payne in 2001 and has been a critical factor in Payne’s push to digitize its operations. Trish Carr, customer service manager, started with the company in 1984 and has played a large role in promoting various service offerings and in customer satisfaction.

By understanding the needs of its clients, Payne has also been able to make a smooth transition into a new arena—direct mail. PayneMail, a division of Payne Printery, has been fully integrated into Payne’s headquarters so that all operations are now under one roof.

Payne entered into mailing services because of its dealings with financial companies. Clients wanted their materials mailed, so Payne would have to outsource. The company soon realized that it would be better served by offering the services in-house. PayneMail operates a six-station Mail Crafters envelope inserting system; a Secap addressing/barcoding machine with an HP ink-jet in-line drying system; and a Secap tabber, among other equipment.

“Our take right now is that print is our main focus, but mailing is a great value-added service,” notes Gauntlett. “It helps to open doors for our sales representatives.”

And with all of its growth over the past five years, Payne Printery is now ready for a bit of a break, at least in terms of equipment investments. Gauntlett wants the company to have time to embrace all of its new capabilities to best suit the needs of its customers and partners.

“Our customers’ businesses depend upon our ability to use technology in the most cost-effective manner,” concludes Gauntlett. “Both of our futures depend upon our skills at understanding how technology can deliver job specs and constraints.

“Again, this is where our people come in,” he contends. “Technology utilized by people who are passionate about the job becomes means to providing an end that nobody thought was possible.”