The Print Council Adds Lecta North America and The Mailing And Fulfillment Service Association as New Members

WASHINGTON, DC—November 16, 2009—Two new members of The Print Council – one an industry supplier and the other a trade association – have similar interests in advocating the continued use of print among organizations as an important component of a marketing mix, with an extremely viable ROI. Lecta North America and the Mailing and Fulfillment Service Association (an associate member) both have seen empirical evidence of the value of print as a promotional vehicle. Formed by leaders across the spectrum of the graphic arts industry, the goal of The Print Council is to influence and promote the greater use of print media through education, awareness, market development and advocacy.

Created in the late 90’s through the acquisition of three long-established companies from Southern Europe: the Italian Garda, the French Condat and the Spanish Torraspapel, Lecta is one of the largest manufacturers of coated woodfree paper in the world. Substantial investments have resulted in high-quality products, low costs, improved customer service and environmental practices. Lecta has emerged with worldwide recognition as a reliable, flexible and customer-centered supplier, competing in three areas: the manufacture of coated fine paper, the manufacture of specialty paper, and distributor of paper in certain regions of Europe and South America.

“For many years Lecta has been a staunch promoter of print advocacy efforts in Europe. We realized, as a company that does significant business in North America, that we should support The Print Council as well. As a corporate member—and personally, as chairman—of the National Paper Trade Association, I know first-hand that paper mills want to become more involved in the promotion of print. I have urged fellow members to join The Print Council,” explains Alain Villemure, Lecta vice president. “We are interested in promoting the value of print and its effectiveness to the general business population. At the same time, we feel it is important to demonstrate the great sustainability value of paper, to correct the many erroneous messages launched against this medium. As a paper manufacturer, we have seen some success, as companies work to become more efficient in direct mail projects. If you look in your mailbox, there are more postcard promotions. Many people like the idea of glancing to see, quickly, if they are interested in a promotion rather than opening an envelope.”

For more than 88 years MFSA, the national trade association for the mailing and fulfillment services industry, has been working to improve the business environment for its 650 US and Canadian regular members—mailing and fulfillment companies—and to provide opportunities for the learning and professional development of the managers of these companies. Associate members, suppliers to regular members, provide the full range of products and services needed by professional high volume mailers and shippers. MFSA offers a broad range of services to member companies to help them realize their full potential in the mailing and fulfillment business.

“The work that The Print Council conducts is important, as it reminds the marketing community that print will continue to play a viable role in communications strategies. The MFSA recognizes that marcomm strategies are evolving to employ multi channels, but the print medium still returns a great ROI,” comments Ken Garner, MFSA president and CEO. “In previous career roles, I have had the opportunity to work with The Print Council and respect how well it is managed and the work they have done. For example, the Print in the Mix data from RIT is very persuasive and does an excellent job explaining that our targeted audiences respond very well to print. Our association mails ink on paper. The extent to which we can support The Print Council to reinforce the power of print is very important to the MFSA.”

Ben Cooper, Executive Director of The Print Council, is delighted to be welcoming two influential organizations. “Our two new members demonstrate the diversity of our association, but with singular purpose. From their experiences at both ends of the print supply chain—as vendors of paper and mailing and fulfillment service organizations—they know that print still has a practical role in the marketing mix. We look forward to their distinct perspectives as we continue to build awareness and define a place for print.”

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.