Gimbel & Associates Blog

International, the worldwide electronic document systems association, today announced that longtime member and supporter Gimbel & Associates has joined Xplor as a Platinum Elite Sponsor and Diamond Conference Sponsor.

“Gimbel & Associates has been an active supporter of Xplor’s programs for many years,” says Roger P. Gimbel, EDP, President of Gimbel & Associates.  “As a member of the Xplor community and a leading consulting company in the graphic communications industry, we look forward to supporting Xplor’s focus on business development and knowledge sharing.”

As part of their sponsorship Gimbel & Associates will play a prominent role in the annual Xplor conference as a Diamond event sponsor, sponsoring the opening awards ceremony, the keynote speaker, the education tracks, and the beverage breaks.  Roger Gimbel will also join the Xplor Advisory Board.

Gimbel & Associates, the well-known printing industry management consulting firm, announces the addition of industry professional Randy Hardy to the Gimbel team as a Senior Consultant. Mr. Hardy offers Gimbel & Associates clients his industry knowledge and expertise as they face today’s printing industry challenges and opportunities.

Randy Hardy brings over 30 years of experience to the firm, having worked internationally with document-centric companies and technologies and founding his own print and imaging business. He has successfully established markets in the US for several European organizations, excelling in areas such as print, software, workflow, discovery, and strategy.

Print service providers: Have you taken the time lately to analyze your competition? It might not be the shop across town anymore, but a business in another state, or even overseas, that is soliciting business from your customers. Even if you have done competitive research before, you may need to update it. Much has changed since the pandemic started.

Portable Document Format files (PDFs) are an efficient way of digitally sharing and outputting files across multiple platforms, including printing, losing no essential information in the transmission. Adobe introduced the file format almost 30 years ago.

Because PDF is now really an industry standard, a set of regulations was established and continues to be developed by the PDF Standards Committee. Specialized versions of PDFs have been created for specific purposes. PDF/a is for electronic document archives, and PDF/UA was formed for accessibility purposes. PDF/X drives general commercial printing, and variable and transactional documents use PDF/VT.

Printers are always helping their clients raise awareness for their products and services. They send out marketing postcards or donation requests for them, print door hangers, or create entire marketing campaigns in service of their customers.

In marketing their own services, though, many printers struggle with knowing what to do, where to spend their marketing dollars, and how to find the time to take care of a campaign of their own.

Fortunately, Gimbel & Associates has lots of resources to help you conquer the marketing challenge. Watch this short video, read the corresponding blog article, and download items in the Gimbel Resource Library to get started on the marketing activities essential to your business success.

Some print shops outsource this critical step and partner with an established mail services company, while others opt to bring the function in-house. Which is the better? The answer is highly individual, based on the amount of mail you need to process, client requirements, and so on. It has to make business sense.

Don't miss this opportunity to learn from the experts.  Roger Gimbel & Randy Hardy will be discussing how AI will impact printing.  To register, see details and links below.

Any marketer or designer knows that success and customer engagement come from standing out and creating memorable experiences. Print is a proven method of creating strong connections, and one method of intensifying engagement with printed pieces even more is by adding embellishments.

Embellishments are finishing decorative applications added after the actual printing, in the post-press phase of production. Broadly, embellishments include multiple types of inks, from metallics to invisible formulations; specialty coatings; die cutting; embossing and debossing; and various foils.

Today, the most effective marketing programs are fueled by data, which can be an anxious topic for creative people. It doesn’t have to be. Learning some basics about data is all it takes to leverage the power of data and avoid mistakes that result in re-working the design.

Why is data important?

When it’s used properly, data can increase customer engagement and responses. The more you know about your recipients, and can use that knowledge to drive the images, text, and offers, the better you can create meaningful communications. A customers’ shopping history, for example, can predict their interest in future purchases and allow you to design interesting offers to which they are more likely to respond.

Even the most basic information about your targets such as location, gender, and age can make a big difference, turning a generic campaign into one that is personalized.

Print providers face the dilemma of marketing their services with in-house resources or hiring a marketing firm.  It’s a reasonable predicament. Print service providers (PSP’s) offer many services that execute on strategies marketing agencies recommend. These include graphic design, print, and direct mail submission. PSPs are experts in those parts of a marketing program. Would it be much of a stretch to write the marketing plan and manage the digital components? How much time could website design and maintenance, SEO, and social media take?

It boils down to one simple question: “How much of my company’s marketing should I do myself?”

Featured here is a note from Isabel, a college student who is the latest recipient of the Herman L. Gimbel and Audrey M. Gimbel Memorial Scholarship Fund.

The “Hy Gimbel and Audrey M. Gimbel Memorial Scholarship” awards funds annually to a bright, up-and-coming full-time student committed to pursuing a career in the document management and graphic communications marketplace. Isabel's Major is Graphic Design. Eligibility requirements included a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA of a 4.0 scale and full-time status at an accredited college or university. Congrats Isabel!”