PI 300 Fast-Track Firm: Prisma Graphic Delivers with Speed-to-Market and Logistics

Even though the broader business effects of the COVID-19 pandemic brought challenges to printing companies of all kinds — the spikes of different variants, supply chain challenges, staffing shortages — the broader trend has been positive. Printing, in its many roles, is back.

For some, the speed of growth between the rather calamitous 2020 and the suppressed, skeptical hope of 2021, was profound. For a variety of reasons, some establishments had a very good year indeed. The focus of our series of fast-track profiles is to understand why certain printing companies performed so well, and how — as high performers — they view the printing industry moving forward. For this reason, Printing Impressions presents its 2022 Fast-Track companies that appeared among the 2022 Printing Impressions 300 list of the largest printers in the U.S. and Canada, as ranked by annual sales. Click here to access the complete list.

The summary of Prisma Graphic that follows recognizes this company as a “fast- track” firm that has been committed to growth, expansion, and exemplary performance.

Prisma Graphic | Phoenix, Arizona

Most Recent Fiscal Year Sales: $77 Million
Previous Fiscal Year Sales: $57 Million
Percentage Growth: 35%

Speed-to-market and serving as a reliable logistics solution are what sets Prisma Graphic apart, believes its CEO, Robert Anderson. With roughly 400 employees among its locations in Phoenix and Nashville, Tennessee, 90% of the company’s work, he says, is ready for one- or two-day delivery to the client. Anderson considers Prisma Graphic to be a “marketing supply chain company … leading with technology.”

Established 42 years ago, and owned for the last 22 years by Anderson, Prisma Graphic initially focused on inventory management for clients, then added conventional printing, and then print-on-demand. He says that because marketing and advertising budgets, “are not getting larger, customers are relying on partners to fill the gap. Buyers are looking for someone who can execute their plan, whatever the timeline.”

One of Anderson’s goals for meeting customer needs is to keep up with technology: “You get stale if you’re not upgrading equipment.” The power of technology has made Prisma Graphic more competitive by, for instance, improving print volumes with the same head count. Using a mix of offset and digital printing solutions, Anderson has a penchant for perfecting presses. “Inkjet,” he says, “is the future for sure. The quality is there.”

One of the key factors that contributed to Prisma Graphic’s strong performance, Anderson says, is that the company’s marketing team has done a good job communicating the company’s value. “It’s not the printing process,” he says, “it’s data, logistics, handling campaigns. We’re in a complex business, and we need to realize that lean approaches, data, and complexity lead to growth.”

In the next five years, Anderson’s goal is to grow the business from $86 million to $250 million through a mix of acquisitions and new business development. Its financial and strategic partnership, announced in August, with private equity firm CenterGate Capital will help fuel that expansion.

He also sees Prisma Graphic moving into packaging, likely through another acquisition. Careful moves must be made: “You can’t do it all — you’ve got to be good,” he says.

For the broader industry to expand, he says, training will be an essential ingredient for success in the next three to five years. He says companies need to find people who want to work in the industry. “Printing will be here for a long time,” he explains, “and people need to know what it’s all about. We need to tell a better story.”

One thing printing companies could benefit from, according to Anderson, is to see printing through the eyes of women, who are responsible for a majority of print purchasing decisions. “Women push the envelope, and they don’t get hung up on a piece of iron — they just want to get it done. We’re seeing that happen here, and it’s up to us to get out of the way.”