In an effort to streamline the time needed to “trim” finished printed pieces for our clients, HardingPoorman Group recently installed a new fully automated cutting system in our bindery department.

The Polar PACE 137T state-of-the-art cutter replaces two of our older cutters, meaning high quality trimming precision for your printed materials. It also means less overhead for us – resulting in better pricing for you.

This printer is huge, smart, and does amazingly high-speed work. Take a look at it in action by clicking here for a YouTube video.

With our new, fully automated cutting system, there is little chance of finished products being incorrectly trimmed. That’s not only good news for our clients, but it’s also good news for us.

As a certified green printer, we hate “spoilage” — the wasted paper products that are the result of incorrectly printed or trimmed work. With the Polar PACE 137T, every cut is technically perfect and precise. No mistakes, no rough edges (no matter how heavy the stock,) and no waste.

With industrial precision and increased automation speed, while reducing costly scrap rates, HPG’s new state-of-the-art cutter can now take guarantee

• Precise trim tolerances
• Consistency of finish and production predictability
• Automatic cutting of undivided reams
• Optimizing time needed for finishing jobs

Lean, green, precise — and fast — is what HPG is all about!

 As a “green” company and an industry leader for environmentally conscious practices, HardingPoorman Group applauds the January $325,000 Lilly Endowment grant that allows vital community greening efforts to continue throughout our city.

Many Circle City dwellers don’t realize how widespread, green and diversified the Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (KIB) programs are. Here is a recap of all 6 KIB Lilly Endowment-funded programs:

• IPL Project GreenSpace will help neighborhood groups plant trees, turn vacant lots into pocket parks, create community gardens, beautify gateways into neighborhoods and enhance greenspaces in an effort to connect neighbors and encourage neighborhood investment.
• KIB Clubs provides youth (through 12 IPS schools) with hands-on environmental learning programs to help foster appreciation for natural habitats and conservation of our urban environment.
• NeighborWoods is an urban forestry program providing free trees and enrichment programs in social and environmentally challenged neighborhoods with the greatest need for trees.
• Youth Tree Team is a high school youth employment/civic engagement program that pays students to water, mulch, weed, prune, and collect litter at project sites.
• Great Indy Clean Up is a part of a national initiative to promote community clean ups from April through October, including 300 neighborhood groups and picking up millions of pounds of trash and litter.
• Adopt-a-Block is a KIB initiative to eliminate litter, spur community leadership and neighborhood engagement in the form of block clubs and crime watches.

Kudos to Keep Indianapolis Beautiful from all of us at HPG! To learn more about KIB programs to beautify Indianapolis neighborhoods, engage youth and promote Hoosier volunteer spirit, visit www.kibi.org.

There’s nothing like seeing or hearing to drive a point home.  CD and DVD discs are popular because they are light and easy to print (and mail).  The next time you are about to send out your catalog or product materials, think about sending out a disc instead!  The cost savings on postage alone can be amazing.

Although you may duplicate or “burn” CDs at home, disc “replication” (which is what we do) is a bit different. The replication process is fairly simple:  The client provides us with a master disc, artwork files, and a piracy form and we get to work!

• First, the master disc is checked for file corruption, and a glass master is made.  We verify that the glass master is identical to the master disc by doing a bit-by-bit comparison.
• Next, we create the discs by “stamping” the information into a layer of aluminum on the mold.
• Lastly, we print directly on the discs surface using the art file provided by the client.

Replicated discs are surprisingly affordable for all quantities of 1,000 discs or above. As you would suspect, the larger the order, the lower the price per unit becomes.

HPG disc packaging and printing options can include:

• Plastic jewel cases
• Paper disc sleeves
• Printed paper inserts
• Booklets
• Bind-in Sleeves
• Custom Mailers

When you need to create multiple CDs or DVDs quickly and cost-effectively, replicate!

Daffodils are a favorite flower at HardingPoorman Group. That’s because every year the staff of HPG takes part in the American Cancer Society’s “Daffodil Days” program. Last year that effort resulted in over $1300 in donations to help prevent cancer.

Daffodil Days is a donation program that gets noticed. Each donation to the American Cancer Society (ACS) by HPG and other like-minded business organizations saves lives by enabling ACS to find more cures for different cancer types by funding cancer research, educational programs, advocacy programs, and providing services for cancer patients and their families.

In appreciation for each contribution, ‘Gift of Hope’ daffodils are sent anonymously to cancer patients at medical centers and cancer facilities in our community, and across the country.

At HPG, our February slogan is ‘creating a world with more birthdays,’ as we partner with the American Cancer Society to spread cheer and hope, one daffodil at a time.

You’re sending a direct mail piece to 10,000 customers. Only problem is, they fall into 27 different categories. Variable data printing to the rescue.

Target your direct mail campaigns, reaching out to your client by name.

Variable data printing (VDP) is a flexible, cost-saving printing tool. When used with digital printing, elements such as text, graphics and images can be changed from one printed piece to the next using information from a database. VDP can be as basic or as complex as you need it to be. Say you want to send out personalized letters, invoices or a direct mail campaign series. Using just one basic layout, you can adapt one printed piece at a time, increasing the odds of consumer response by individually targeting your mailing. With variable data printing, rather than delivering a single message to 10,000 customers, you can print 10,000 unique documents, each with a customized message.

Change the way you think about printing. Variable data printing gets it done cost-effectively and delivered — direct to each customer.

It’s great to have a friendly business relationship with your printer. You know, the sort of relationship that you can rely on to provide help when you need it for things like printing advice, creative direction, or savings.

We thought we’d share some frequently asked questions HardingPoorman Group reps wish they’d get asked more often.

1. Do you have a comparable paper – maybe a house stock — that will be more cost effective for me, and still provide a great looking result?

2. What file formats do you prefer working with?

3. How long will it take to produce and complete my project from beginning to end?

4. If we change the size of this printed product, can we print on a smaller press and save money?

5. My full process on this project includes gathering orders, planning, designing, printing, kit assembly, envelope stuffing, labeling and mailing.  Can you handle any of these or other steps to save me time and money?

6. Can you recommend a more cost effect way to finish (trim, fold, glue, bind) this piece?

7. What can I add to this direct mail campaign to improve readership?

8. How can I save on printed items that need to be reprinted on an ongoing basis?

9. Can I save our company by having you handle the mailing of this piece?

10. Can you offer any other cost saving suggestions?

Perhaps these questions will generate some interesting ideas for you, or take a printing project or two in a bold new direction!

Did you know the HardingPoorman Group has been holding 40,000 pounds of road salt for the Super Bowl Committee for the past year?

It came from Dallas where an ice storm hit last year’s Super Bowl but the salt didn’t arrive in time. Hope we don’t need it this year!

Did you know…the US is the largest consumer of paper goods in the world?

Even with all of our efforts to reduce waste and use more recycled paper fiber, we still top the list. Here at the HardingPoorman Group, we are hyper aware of our carbon footprint.

One of the ways HPG works to reduce our footprint is by using recycled and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certified Paper. We are an approved “FSC Certified Printer.”

In order to make this claim and use the FSC logo, HPG had to go through a detailed chain-of-custody certification process.

We went through the process because it’s the right thing to do. HPG is committed to contribute to better uses of energy, more recycling of paper products, and less wastefulness. To learn more about the Forest Stewardship Council, please visit their website www.fscus.org.

With the New Year well on its way, now’s the ideal time to look ahead at your company’s future printing needs. Whether you can look ahead a quarter or a full year, print job advance planning can save you a bundle.

Every time your printer turns on a machine, you pay pre-production fees such as file prep and make-ready charges. Naturally, you always pay a premium for rush jobs. So why not group as many printing jobs together as possible? Called “ganging,” printing multiple jobs at the same time saves on materials, energy, and reduces pre-production fees.

If you know you generally print one form a month, that’s twelve “file preps” per year. Send all twelve jobs to your printer at the same time, and pay one prep fee. Even ganging by quarter will be a money saver.

Here’s another way to gang jobs:  Print as many pieces as possible on the same stock. Since most paper stocks have a minimum order, using the same paper for multiple items will also provide savings.

Improve savings even more by choosing a “house stock”, which is a paper that your printer always keeps on hand…..they buy in bulk so it is usually a more economic option.  Here at the HardingPoorman Group, our house stock is a bright white recycled sheet that we offer to clients at a lower rate than most of the 3^rd class paper sheets.

Plan ahead this year, and reduce your bottom line. Ask your HPG rep for ideas that fit your corporate needs and timeframe.

Super Bowl 46 is here, and with it, lots of superb things are going on in and around Indianapolis. Many of the Super Bowl related activities have nothing to do with football or celebrities, but rather, raising awareness and helping others.

One of 7,000 children's baskets being filled with Hoosier products at HPG

Super Baskets of Hope is one of those programs. Thirty-two cities that are home to National Football League teams will divide 7,000 baskets, each filled with child-friendly items donated by Indiana businesses. The baskets of toys, puzzles and games will go to children in hospitals in NFL cities across the country, thanks to a super-sized effort from Riley Children’s Foundation and dozens of Indiana businesses.

To view a video of the Super Baskets of Hope program, click HERE.

HardingPoorman Group is a big part of the Super Baskets of Hope effort, donating warehousing space for the thousands of items that will fill the baskets.  These items have been arriving at HPG over the past several months.

The Super Baskets of Hope will be wrapped and shipped to children’s hospitals around the country on Jan. 30^th.

Donations are still being accepted to offset the cost of shipping 7,000 baskets. To make a $5 donation, text RILEY to 90999.