Printwest, Valassis and Stern’s Printing Join The Print Council

WASHINGTON, DC—January 13, 2010—Three companies of varying sizes, from coast-to-coast have recently become supporters of The Print Council—PrintWest, Valassis and Stern’s Printing and Engraving Co. These well-regarded companies intend to utilize The Print Council’s materials to demonstrate to their customers, marketers, students and others the effectiveness of print as well as its environmentally responsible nature.

According to Ben Cooper, Executive Director of The Print Council, “Companies like PrintWest, Valassis, and Stern’s Printing and Engraving Co. represent our industry at its best. We are grateful for their participation, and we look forward to working closely with them. In late 2009, we instituted five new levels of sponsorship – Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Printer, and Platinum Supplier – with each level receiving specific access to The Print Council’s materials and projects (i.e., Print in the Mix, Why Print is Green, and the Print Delivers agency presentation). We have found that by clearly defining and delineating benefits for each level, companies are able to understand the specific value of their support.”

Phil Parrish, President and CEO of PrintWest, located in Woodinville, WA, believes that it is important to invest in his business, people and community. Parrish was so impressed by the content and design of The Print Council’s original 2006 Why Print brochure, that he downloaded the files and printed his own version of the brochure to promote print as well as PrintWest. Over the last two years, PrintWest has won many industry awards for its version of the Why Print booklet and received great response from clients and prospects.

As an advisory committee member at a local technical college that has one of the top multimedia design programs in Washington state, Parrish understands the need to educate instructors about the importance of including print design in the curriculum. “All of the advisory committee members – including professionals from the video and broadcast media, web developers, smart phone application developers, video game developers, ad agencies and me from the print industry – give feedback on what skills are needed for our industries and discuss trends that will impact our future. Over the last several years, the demand for print related design courses has steadily declined in favor of new media. As the print industry representative on the committee, I have gathered pertinent data and ideas for this project from the Print in the Mix website funded by The Print Council and managed by RIT. I truly believe that The Print Council is one of the most effective advocates for promoting the value of print and the print media, and we feel great supporting those efforts.”

Valassis is a leading media and marketing company offering services to more than 15,000 advertisers, such as consumer packaged goods manufacturers, retailers, food service providers and others. It offers mail, newspaper and online blended media solutions utilizing the only shared mail network of its kind. Its RedPlum™ media portfolio delivers weekly national and local deals to over 100 million shoppers across a multi-media platform – in-home, in-store and in-motion – and touches 9 out of 10 U.S. households via the mail.

Valassis companies include: Valassis Direct Mail, Inc.; Valassis Canada; Promotion Watch; Valassis Relationship Marketing Systems, LLC; and NCH Marketing Services. Headquartered in Livonia, MI with approximately 7,000 associates in 28 states and 8 countries, Valassis is widely recognized for its associate and corporate citizenship programs, including its America’s Looking for Its Missing Children® program.

“Valassis is excited to join The Print Council in support of this industry integral to our business,” said Larry Berg, Vice President Strategic Sales, Communications and General Manager, Newspaper. “Our clients understand and utilize the power of print, and The Print Council is making important strides to share data and results with other potential clients. We are looking forward to collaborating with the Council and its member base to further promote the effectiveness of print.”

Founded in 1962 and headquartered in Richmond, VA, Stern’s Printing and Engraving Co. serves companies throughout the United States and internationally through its commercial printing; document management services; promotional products for tradeshows and conferences; and fulfillment services via print and electronic distribution. Stern’s serves leading companies in various industries including legal, healthcare, insurance, hospitality, financial services, and manufacturing.

It was The Print Council’s Why Print is Green brochure that caught the attention of Ben Harper, Stern’s President. This new report describes ten specific ways in which print is green and specifically demonstrates why print media is the environmentally sound choice for communicating with audiences that print providers and their customers want to reach.

According to Harper, “We are excited about joining The Print Council and supporting its goal to promote the greater use of print media through education, awareness, market development, advocacy and research. Finally, a print industry group that recognizes the need for setting the record straight on the printing industry and rebutting all of the misinformation and misconceptions regarding the true nature of printing. We will be utilizing all of their “Green” materials in our efforts to educate both existing and potential customers. The Print Council gets it – period.”

About The Print Council
Through education, awareness, market development, advocacy and research, The Print Council serves the industry to develop, maintain and increase the market for printed materials. The Print Council can be contacted through Ben Cooper, Executive Director, at 202-973-5977, by e-mail at bycooper@wms-jen.com, or on the Web at www.ThePrintCouncil.org. Print in the Mix clearinghouse of print media effectiveness is freely available at www.printinthemix.com