Mid-American: marketing, mail and more
Apr 1, 2004 12:00 PM
Mid-American Printing Systems (Chicago) got its start as a print brokerage in 1985, when president Jerry Freund crashed his brother's apartment and set up shop. Freund found success by going out of his way to fix customers' problem files. Within two years, the brokerage invested in a press — and a space — of its own. Over the years Mid-American has added graphic design, mailing and fulfillment, and on-demand capabilities — digital printing now comprises nearly a third of the company's work.
Mid-American is a family business — Jerry Freund launched it along with his wife, Mary, and father, Bill. Jerry's daughter, Lisa, joined the company as a sales and marketing associate. We asked her to tell us more about the brokerage-turned-full-service print company.
What role is the Internet playing in your business?
Our most exciting offering is our own customized online print-ordering catalog. Many of our customers have expressed interest in establishing a website for ordering static print items, but we've seen a reluctance to embrace this technology. We just went live with our first custom catalog though, and expect more clients to follow suit this year.
What kind of marketing consulting services do you offer?
A recent example involves a client hosting an international conference. With only four weeks to plan the event, the client needed to attract at least 200 attendees. We created a logo and brand for the conference, designed posters, printed and mailed brochures, and developed an e-mail blast campaign. We also handled all onsite print needs, including session handouts, programs and registration materials. The marketing efforts resulted in 350 conference attendees.
When did Mid-American add mailing and fulfillment services?
We bought our first inkjet equipment in 1996 and have experienced tremendous growth ever since. Speed is important in printing, but even more critical in mail processing. We're located just three blocks from the Chicago metro general-mail-processing facility, which ensures our clients' direct mail reaches recipients quickly.
Give us an example of a recent mailing and fulfillment job.
A well-known Chicago charity ordered 20,000 kits that included 12 printed components plus a CD-ROM. We assisted with conceptual design and coordinated CD-burning. The whole project required printing, finishing, collating, insertion and multichannel distribution. A portion of the project was processed as a non-profit automated mailing, requiring database preparation and presorting. A second portion drop-shipped to 100 area churches, while the balance was inventoried and stored in our warehouse for future use. Timing was a priority to our client, and our team worked hard to meet a tight delivery schedule.
How do you stay current with postal regulations?
We are a member of the Chicago Postal Customer Council, and our president is on the executive board. This not only gives us a voice in the community, but also keeps us updated on new postal regulations and technology. For example, we were well aware of Merlin long before it was implemented in Chicago. A good relationship with local postal account managers can go a long way toward ensuring mail-processing success.
What's in your pressroom?
Our offset printing equipment includes a Miller TP-104, a five-color perfector supported by a Sakarai 272 two-color press, two A.B.Dick 9850s and a two-color Itek 3985. We've been CTP since 1999 and have a Creo Trendsetter.
Our print-on-demand operation hosts a Xerox 6180, 5390, DocuColor 2045 and Docu-12. We also have a Hewlett-Packard Designjet 380 for large-format jobs.
What equipment or service would you like to add?
We're considering buying a Xerox iGen3 digital color press. Toner-based technologies have come so far. More and more, we find our customers using digital technology for complex projects.
We also want to provide our offset customers with a better press sheet, so we've purchased Creo's Staccato screening technology bundled with its Integris proofing system. The stochastic interpretation of four-color photography is out of this world. There is no discernable dot, and photographic images have an almost 3-D pop to them.
What's the best restaurant in downtown Chicago?
We definitely recommend Mitchell's for breakfast, and you can't beat Manny's Coffee Shop and Deli for lunch!
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