All-in-One

If I ask most of my customers (and marketing prospects) what they prefer in a communications partner, the answer is a unanimous "one vendor." It's a good thing BPI Media Group is an all-in-one partner. However, BPI didn't always have the all the tools to help our customers in all their communication media; it took time, excellent leadership and the ongoing evolution of our industry to aide BPI in becoming the one vendor who can help in so many ways.

How exactly can BPI help customers with various media? It takes a skilled, talented and dedicated team. The ways in which we assist customers in executing campaigns and delivering to channel partners are:

• Graphic Design
• Web Design & Development (including SEO, adwords, etc.)
• Cross-Media Marketing (PURLs and custom landing pages)
• Soft Proofing via Insite
• Specialty Products
• Digital Printing w/Variable Data
• Offset Printing
• Wide-Format Printing
• Coating/Finishing Options
• Complete In-House Bindery
• Mailing Services</li>
• Online Portal for Channel Partners (Storefront)
• Reporting & Analytics for Fulfillment Orders
• Pick and Pack Services
• Warehousing/Distribution

We at BPI want to be your one partner. We have the tools, the team and the technology to take your marketing to the next level. Join us as we continue to grow to offer you, our customers, all the tools needed to get your message across loud and clear...and with tools to track ROI.

Until next time...Elizabeth

Worth the Trip

It's been a busy week with travel and meetings with potential customers. These are the kind of weeks I absolutely love and remind me that making the phone calls and doing the follow up are so important...and worthwhile. Yesterday, we were fortunate to have potential customers visit BPI Media Group's plant in Boaz, AL from the Atlanta area. I was reminded of how much we really can do under one roof, and the prospects seemed quite impressed as well.

Sometimes, it takes seeing to believe that we really can do all the design, prepress, print, bindery, mail and fulfillment from BPI's primary location in Boaz. As we made our way through the plant from department to department following the work flow, the faces of the employees were welcoming and confident. They're confident because most of them have been there for 10+ years...some even 20+ years. That's a lot of experience, and a lot of technology to keep up with as it is ever changing in our industry.

Having our Kodak Insite proofing system in place makes those who are hours (even states) away be able to proof immediately upon uploading files. Just because we're in Boaz doesn't mean it will take longer to get your proof. In fact, you'll get it faster through Insite. Seeing our conventional presses in motion and how a 40" 6-color offset press works is impressive if you haven't seen it before. The technology of our Kodak Nexpress digital press is also something to see. If you have custom pantone color needs, our pantone mixing system will knock your socks off. When we added 20,000+ square feet to the existing building in 2002, we allowed for room to grow and added room for a warehouse to hold fulfillment materials. Bindery was able to grow by added additional folders and fugutive glue features. This added space also allowed us to set up our own mail room with 2 inkjetters/tabbers in the mail department.

You don't have to take my word for it that we do it all at BPI in Boaz, come visit. I promise, it's worth the trip, and we'd love to have you!

Until next time...Elizabeth

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Full Steam Ahead!

The summer holidays are over, and it is clear that everyone is back to work this week. After a S-L-O-W week last week, presses and other equipment at BPI Media Group are running non-stop. That is a great thing for us! When the plant is buzzing and everyone is busy, we are all more productive. We don't have time to stop and think, we just do.

Much like a crew on ship, our team works together to make each project run smoothly and to meet our customers' deadlines. To make sure that this happens, here's what each of us are doing to keep running full steam ahead.

• Sales Team: We keep making calls (despite the rejections and voice mails), making appointments with prospects and customers and closing the deal to make sure the busy season rolls from summer to fall to winter and on into next year. (We welcome two new sales team members, Ann & Colby, as they join us with marketing experience that will help them have an insight into what marketers look for in a print production partner. Welcome to the BPI sales team!)
• Customer Service: This fantastic team is quite possibly the busiest of all at BPI. They churn out quotes quickly while searching out the most efficient ways to produce each project, enter order details and manage each project throughout the plant until it is out the door.
• Creative Team: This department spends countless hours generating ideas for both print and web design for our customers who trust us with the "look" of their sites and projects. Attention to details is an understatement and one of the strongest assets they possess as they create ideas to make your company look great.
• Prepress: Troubleshooting files and outputting proofs are day-to-day tasks for this team, but they also work closely with customers service and sales team members to communicate ways to help customers prep files to help projects flow smoothly during the proofing process, especially utilizing our Insite proofing system.
• Pressroom: These guys are highly skilled and pay careful attention to each job as it is being printed. Set ups to ensure press sheets match proofs, color calibration and constant checks throughout the run make each project top notch as it comes off our presses (both offset and digital).
• Bindery: This crew works on a variety of equipment to fold, trim, collate, bind, drill and/or shrinkwrap each project to your specifications. While doing so, they carefully monitor for quality to make sure everything is finished properly.
• Mail & Fulfillment: This department is diligent in every aspect to make certain that not only the best postage rates are utilized, but they also prep and package each fulfillment order carefully checking off items that are picked and packed.
• Shipping/Delivery: The last but certainly not least step for projects is handled with care as packages are either shipped to customers or delivered on our trucks by drivers who are professional and courteous when they knock on your door to deliver your project.

Each of these departments work hand in hand with one another to make sure that projects flow smoothly through the plant. You can rest assured that when you hand over an order to BPI, it will be managed from start to finish by your sales and customer service reps as we check on the status in each of these departments. Or course, none of this would run as smoothly as it does if it weren't for great captains of our ship steering us all in the right direction toward success for both ourselves and for our customers. If you haven't been in a print shop, or if it's been a while and haven't seen our updated workflow and equipment, we invite you to do a plant tour any time. Visit our website for directions to Boaz, and we hope to see you soon!

Until next time...Elizabeth

BPI's FAQ's

The most common question I hear is "Can you do this?" "This" is always something specific, so I wanted to give you a run-down of the things that BPI Media Group can do. We'll call this the question and answer portion of the blog. While we like to consider ourselves a one-stop-shop, if there's a project that is well outside the scope of our capabilities, we have a network of partners and vendors that we can refer you to in order help make your project come to fruition. As you can imagine, over the past eleven years at BPI, I've been asked "Can you...?" more times than I admit because then I start telling my age.

BPI's Can-Do List

• Provide customer service from your project's start to finish.
• Design and layout a brochure, book, magazine, etc.
• Design a website
• Assist with SEO on your website
• Print up to 28 x 40 sheet size
• Print with variable data (personalized messaging)
• Varnish, aqueous, uv coat or laminate
• Print short-runs (yes, thanks to our Kodak Nexpress digital press, we can do one-offs as easy as we can do a few hundred copies)
• Print boxes or other custom packaging and signs
• Offer a fast, online proofing system (ours is called insite & it's awesome!)
• Help with promotional items
• Address and mail (and yes, with intelligent mail barcoding)
• Purchase demographic-specific mail lists
• Saddlestitch, perfect bind, coil bind
• 3-hole drill, shrink wrap, round corner
• Diecut for a unique size/shape
• Ship to your distribution list
• Set up an online storefront for ordering of collateral, stationery, promo items, etc.
• Manage and store inventory of items you don't have room to store at your location
• Process online orders through our fulfillment system
• Provide case studies, white papers and training on new products/services
• Provide order history and tracking for orders through our storefront/fulfillment system
• Manage integrated campaigns (included sms text messaging, email blasts, QR codes, and landing pages-personalized and standard).
• Provide ROI calculator for integrated campaigns and online dashboard for lead generation/tracking.

While this isn't the be-all, end-all of BPI's ever-changing capabilities, this should answer some of the FAQ's I get. If there's anything you want to know if we can do, just ask. I'll be more than happy to help, and if we cannot do it, I'll work dilligently to help find a trusted partner who can help you. For more details about BPI's services, click here.

Until next time...Elizabeth

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