Want More? Archives - Marketing, content, & technology to help printers sell more printing

While digital marketing can disappear quickly, the right print strategy provides unbeatable staying power. For print shops, June is more than a seasonal slowdown. It’s a chance to equip your business with ready-to-use campaigns that help you stay in front of print buyers and spark new conversations. This month’s lineup is built to help you do exactly that: sell smarter, stay visible, and position print as a long-term marketing solution, especially with high-impact tools like calendars. Each piece is professionally written, designed, and ready for you to brand and deploy, so you can focus on selling, not creating. Direct Mail For Printers Options FastStart This month’s FastStart campaign gives you a complete, ready-to-use way to start conversations around one of the most effective print products available: calendars. Built around the theme “Visibility: 365,” this multi-piece campaign (mailer + postcard) helps you position calendars as a high-value marketing tool, not just a giveaway. Instead of figuring out how to promote calendars yourself, you get: Proven messaging that sells long-term visibility A structured campaign you can send immediately A timely angle (summer planning) that creates urgency How this helps you sell printing:It gives you a turnkey campaign to confidently promote and sell

You already know how to sell printing. Your customers stick around, referrals come in, and when someone needs what your shop does well, you close the work. That part has never been the problem. The problem is the other list: the 30 or 40 prospects who don’t know you yet. You’ve probably pulled that list together at some point: marketing directors, event coordinators, business owners who are spending money on print, just not at your shop yet. And that list is probably sitting in the same spot it was sitting in last month, because every time you sit down to start calling, you realize you don’t have a plan for what to say when someone picks up. It’s Not a Motivation Problem Here’s what that usually looks like. You tell yourself, “Monday is the day.” You’re going to work the list. Then Monday morning comes, and you’ve got quotes to finish, a job in production that needs attention, and an email from a customer who needs something by Thursday. The list slides to next week. And the week after that. It feels like a discipline problem, but it’s a systems problem. The thing you actually dread is starting from scratch

Some printers left the 2026 National Print and Sign Owners Association (NPSOA) Spring Leadership Summit with a notebook full of ideas. Others left with a clear plan for what they were going to implement first. By the time you read this, that difference is already starting to show. The printers with a plan are putting something into motion. For many, that next step now includes figuring out how to use AI to get real work done in their print business. The rest are back in the day-to-day, putting out fires and trying to figure out where to start. That moment—right after the conference, when everything feels clear and possible—is exactly what this slide addressed during the workshop, Copy, Paste, Win! AI Workflows for Printers. What happens next determines whether those ideas turn into results, or fade back into the background. That Same Divide Is Showing Up with AI That same divide is starting to show up in how printers are approaching AI. The difference isn’t effort. It’s structure. Without structure, ideas fade. With structure, they turn into results. Some are already using AI with structure — completing real work, moving faster, and building repeatable processes they can rely on. Others

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina | March 19–21, 2026 If you run a print or sign shop, your days are usually spoken for before you even unlock the front door. Press checks. Artwork changes. That rush job your best customer “forgot” to mention yesterday. Somewhere in there, you’re also supposed to think about sales, marketing, AI, your website, and whether your workflow is as efficient as it could be. No wonder it’s hard to step away for a conference. That’s exactly why the 14th Annual NPSOA Leaders Summit in Myrtle Beach is so valuable. It’s three days designed specifically for owners and leaders of independent print and sign shops like you to step back from the daily whirlwind and get intentional about how you’ll grow in 2026. And yes, we’ll be there. Marketing Ideas For Printers will be on-site, sharing real-world ways to put AI to work in your shop and connecting the dots with your website, workflow, and ongoing marketing. Why the 2026 NPSOA Leaders Summit Is Worth Leaving the Shop For Let’s be honest: it’s not easy to leave the shop, even for a couple of days. But the NPSOA Leaders Summit is designed to make that time pay

You don’t need a holiday on the calendar to notice it: your team is tired, busy, and still showing up to get the work out the door. Presses keep running, deliveries go out, and customers stay happy, often because your people are quietly going above and beyond. If you’ve been thinking, “I really should do more to show them I notice,” you’re not alone. The good news? You don’t need a huge budget or a giant party to make a real difference. A handful of thoughtful print shop employee appreciation ideas, done consistently, can change the way your whole shop feels. This time of year is a natural moment to pause, look back, and say, “You matter here.” Let’s talk about some practical ways to do that. Now Is a Great Time to Celebrate Your Print Team There’s never a perfect, quiet stretch in a print shop, is there? There’s always another rush job, another “can we move this up?” request, another last-minute file change. It’s easy for appreciation to slip to the bottom of the list behind jobs, proofs, and presses. But your people carried you through a lot this year. They’ve solved problems you may never even see.

In the last installment, Sam Lewis showed how small jobs could lead to big opportunities, turning Print Perfect into more than just a quick-service print shop. With larger projects now coming in, Sam realizes his shop’s operations need an overhaul to handle the increased demand efficiently. In this article, Sam explores how streamlined workflows and automation can help his team stay productive and profitable while maintaining the quality his clients expect. As Print Perfect began taking on more substantial projects, Sam quickly realized the need for a streamlined workflow. While his new strategies for attracting larger jobs were working, the volume was straining his team. “If we’re going to keep up,” he thought, “we need to boost our efficiency—without sacrificing quality.” Identifying Bottlenecks Sam started by observing day-to-day operations closely, noting where time and resources were being lost. He quickly saw patterns: small jobs with multiple adjustments, delays in approvals, and time-consuming communication over project specifications. Realizing he couldn’t ignore these bottlenecks, he gathered the team for input. “I want to hear from everyone,” Sam began at their meeting. “Where do you see us getting slowed down the most?” Laura was first to chime in. “We spend a lot

There’s something powerful that happens when print shop owners from across the country gather under one roof. Ideas are exchanged. Friendships are formed. Inspiration spreads. That was exactly the case at this year’s NPSOA Conference in North Little Rock, Arkansas—and we’re still riding the wave of energy and insights from the event. Whether you joined us for the first time or you’re a returning NPSOA veteran, this year’s conference reminded us all why events like this are more than just good business—they’re good for the soul. A Few Highlights (And Smiles) from the Event From workshops on AI to breakout sessions on streamlining workflows with Odyssey, the conference was packed with hands-on learning and fresh perspectives. We loved sharing our passion for helping print shops run smarter, faster, and more profitably—and just as much, we loved learning from you. Why Conferences Like This Matter Sure, you can read articles, attend webinars, and watch product demos from your desk—but there’s nothing quite like being in a room full of people who face the same daily challenges as you do. At NPSOA, we saw firsthand how powerful it is when printers: Talk shop with peers who have walked in their shoes Discover

Some careers are just jobs. But printing? Printing is a beautiful mix of chaos and craft. There’s a rhythm to a print shop. The hum of machines. The smell of ink. The constant dance between deadlines and design. And then—there’s that moment. The one where a finished piece is held in someone’s hands, and suddenly, everything clicks. Nobody captures that better than a seasoned printer with nearly 50 years in the business. John Henry, owner of Mitchell’s Speedway Press in Oswego, NY, recently shared this heartfelt reflection on Facebook: The Life of a Printer (or, What Can Befuddle Me…) By John Henry, Mitchell’s Speedway Press For almost 50 years, I’ve been in the printing business. You’d think by now, nothing would surprise me. And yet, despite printing being literally in our name, despite our tagline spelling it out—Signs. Direct Mail. Design.—people still walk in or call and ask: “Do you do printing?”“Do you make signs?”“Can you design this?” At this point, I no longer question it. It’s not that they don’t know. It’s that they don’t know what to ask. So, we smile, say, “Of course we do,” and then magically transform their ideas into a finished project, delivered on

Welcome back from the whirlwind adventure that was Printing United in Las Vegas! We trust you had an incredible experience exploring the latest innovations and creating meaningful connections within the vibrant printing industry community. As you settle back into your daily routine, remember that it’s crucial to harness the wealth of knowledge and inspiration you gained at Printing United. Here’s a comprehensive guide to ensure your tradeshow experience fuels continuous growth and innovation in your professional endeavors. Capitalizing on Your Tradeshow Experience Unpack the Knowledge Begin by meticulously reviewing and organizing the wealth of information you gathered. Dive into the brochures, business cards, and session notes you collected. Dedicate ample time to sift through everything, identifying key insights and trends. Consider employing digital tools like a mind map or a project management app to create a comprehensive visual representation of your takeaways. This not only aids in retention but also provides a quick reference for future projects. Share the Wealth Organize a detailed team meeting to present the highlights of your tradeshow experience. Develop a structured presentation or discussion points that cover groundbreaking technologies, innovative strategies, and potential partnerships. Encourage open dialogue, allowing team members to ask questions and offer