Measuring Success

We at BPI Media Group have a philosophy: We measure our success by the success of our customers. They not only make us as a company successful, but our customers were the key in having a successful open house last week in Boaz. Thank you to all of you who visited us, took plant tours, talked with our team and learned a bit more about our capabilities. Your presence there made the day so much fun and hopefully provided more opportunities for us to be successful together.

Enjoy a few photos that our very own prepress tech, Russ, took for us throughout the day. If you'd like to request a link to view the full photo gallery of our event, drop me a note, and I'll be happy to share with you. The wall, door and floor graphics shown are just a few examples of some of our new capabilities.

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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My Top 12 List

Letterman has his Top 10 List, and I have my Top 12 List. Why 12? Because on January 29, 2013, I celebrated my twelfth year with BPI Media Group. In these 12 years, I have been blessed and learned so much from colleagues, mentors, employers and customers. So, here's my Top 12 awesome things about BPI:

1. The people. From the owners to the drivers, they are some of the hardest-working people I've ever met.

2. The commitment. When a job is promised by a certain date, I can take that to the bank.

3. The teamwork. From prepress to shipping, all departments work together on every project.

4. The atmosphere. When you walk in the front door, you're greeted with a smile, and when you walk through the plant, folks wave to greet you. You can't beat BPI's version of southern hospitality.

5. The quality. Not once in twelve years have I ever had to worry about delivering a quality product to our customers.

6. The customer service. It is THE BEST. If you have a question, they provide answers--detailed answers--in a hurry--and with a smile.

7. The growth. BPI has evolved over the years, and management is committed to make our company grow by continuing to offer value-added solutions that our customers need.

8. The technology. BPI stays ahead of the curve on industry trends and technology all the way from prepress's Insite by Prinergy to our storefront web-to-print solution.

9. The proactive approach. Our team keeps customers and the sales team involved on every project's status, so you get no surprises.

10. The efficiency. Automated systems and a streamlined workflow make BPI's processes run in sync.

11. The adaptability. The folks at BPI adapt and learn as the industry, technology and postal regulations change.

12. The vision. It's not just about where BPI has been or what we've accomplished but more so where we're headed, and we want you to join us as we grow.

Thanks for 12 amazing years, BPI (Alan and Steve), and here's to at least a dozen more!

Until next time...Elizabeth

BPI's Ladies of Print

Tuesday, October 9, 2012 was National Girls Who Print Day! I'd like to take this opportunity to recognize the other ladies of print at BPI Media Group who I work alongside.

My long-time friend and mentor, Wendy Sherrod, has been with BPI Media Group for 22 years.

She is fiercely driven and takes excellent care of her customers. This shows by how many of her customers have been loyal for such a long time. Wendy's experience at BPI transcends that of most as she has gone through the changes in technology seeing film fall by the way side as the digital world of printing closes the gap on traditional printing methods. Her knowledge of "how things work" in print bring something special to client meetings because she sees things from a start-to-finish perspective and offers good insight when planning a project.

One of our newest additions to the team at BPI, Ann Dunaway, has been with us a few months, but she is very eager to help our sales team reach new heights! Ann's positive attitude and sales & marketing experience give her insight into her customers' plans for a campaign or strategy.

Ann says, "I am still fairly new to the industry, but I thoroughly enjoy learning everything that our company is able to do! We have many different services to offer that can truly help our customers be successful. It is a great feeling to know that you were able to help someone in their success!"

Other ladies who rock at BPI are our customer service team of Pam, Jolie and Angie--without them, we would be lost. We have several other awesome ladies on our team at BPI who help us make things happen: Renee (specialty products), Susan (accounting), Jan (prepress), Leisa (creative design team), Doris (mail and fulfillment) and Judy (shipping). Don't get me wrong, we have some great guys working with us at BPI to make it happen, so take a look at our staff page to learn about all of the team members.

Just a shout-out to all the ladies of BPI who are seldom recognized for all their hard work! They have each taught me so much over the past eleven+ years, and I'm sure the learning will continue as we learn and grow together in the print industry. Celebrate Girls Who Print every day!

Until next time...Elizabeth

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