The Printer, Inc. is headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa and provides turnkey print marketing services to Fortune 100 customers coast-to-coast. It was established in 1974 and employs 150 people locally. Last month, The Printer, Inc. was host to President George W. Bush as he promoted pension reform and highlighted The Printer, Inc. as an example of what his reforms could look like.

The Printer was selected as a showcase example because of the success of the investment program among their employees. The President, introduced by U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, touched on many current events ranging from the war on terrorism to his support of ethanol. The core of his speech dealt with pension and 401K plans.

Now that the dust has settled and the press and the Secret Service agents are long gone, Bill Benskin takes time to discuss the event and their business in general.

Topics Include:

- Turn your tractor off when taking a call from the White House.
- How the Secret Service prepared for the visit.
- Why 90% of his employees participate in their 401k plan.
- The equipment they use to print with quality.
- Evaluating a CTP system.
- Discussing web based workflow.
- Partnering advice to print buyers.
- The "paperless office" myth.

QUESTION: Bill, regarding the President’s visit. How did you find out that he was coming and how did you prepare for the occasion?

Benskin: There is a comical story behind the "How did I find out" question, although it didn’t seem that funny at the time it was happening. I received the call from the White House the weekend before President Bush’s visit, while I was helping my son start an old car on the farm by pulling it behind a tractor and popping the clutch. So there I was in the car behind the tractor, my cell phone rings and it is the White House. There is all that background noise, I’m jumping out of the car and trying to run away from the noise, waving at my son to shut the tractor off and apologizing to the person at the other end of the line... I’m sure it would have been hilarious to anyone watching.

Preparations for the occasion were a whirlwind 4 days, since President Bush was to be here Friday morning; the Secret Service were here at 8:00 sharp Monday morning and spent the week with us putting all the security in place; telecommunications and electrical had to be reconfigured for the White House and the national press; climate control in the plant had to be adjusted; we moved all the equipment out of the bindery area of the plant to accommodate the stage, floor seating for 300+ people and a platform for all the fixed TV camera coverage.

The Secret Service moved into one of our conference rooms, the Production Control Room became the setting for the panel discussion with President Bush, the White House Press took over the basketball court, and we moved all the equipment out of the Health Club/Weight Room to provide a communication room for the National Press. The White House Advance Teams were terrific to work with, and there was just an incredible effort put forth by our employees and vendors to produce an event of this magnitude in the space of just a few days. Everyone worked together as a team and brought it off without a hitch. We are so very grateful to everyone involved in making the event a success.


QUESTION: What were some of the interesting "behind the scenes" activities that occurred during his visit.

Benskin: One that comes to mind wasn’t behind the scenes, but there was an interesting security-related story when a pair of reporters from a local community college got lost, arrived late and in a hurry for President Bush’s speech, and pulled into the wrong driveway. They experienced a rapid education on Secret Service response as they were immediately surrounded, searched, questioned and had their car thoroughly searched (including a run-through by the explosive-sniffing dog).


QUESTION: The subject focused on was Pension reform. What are your views on the President’s plan to safeguard retirement benefits and tell us about the program which President Bush praised that you have implemented at The Printer, Inc.

Benskin: The 401(k) Program at The Printer, Inc. has been place for 17+ years and has a participation rate of over 90%. We see it as a management responsibility to do everything we can to give our employees a mechanism to provide for and control their own retirement savings. Our 401(k) program gives employees the opportunity to manage their own plan over the Internet; choosing investment options that match their individual situation and comfort level regarding risk and return. And we encourage participation in the plan and education regarding the investment alternatives that are available.


QUESTION: What is your advice to other printers in the industry regarding their own benefit and retirement packages that they offer employees?

Benskin: Encourage your employees to participate in available plans and provide as much education regarding and self-management of those plans as possible. People do want to take control of their own retirement planning, and appreciate all the support management can provide to help them make sure the retirement income is there when they need it.


QUESTION: What brands of equipment do you rely on in your plant and why?

Benskin: We select equipment based on the specific need and our team’s evaluation of the performance characteristics and level of service we can expect, and you will see the brand names of a number of industry leaders on equipment in the plant. MAN Roland, Heidelberg, Stahl, Polar/Mohr, Muller Martini, Xerox, Canon, etc.

But the technology, performance characteristics and service support drive our equipment decisions -- not the brand name. Performance is critical.


QUESTION: Many printers have slowed their spending on additional equipment and technology. What investments have you made recently?

Benskin: We have made recent investments in digital output equipment and technology, and those are paying off. We expect that payoff to accelerate. This may also be a great point in time for us to make the move to CTP; we have been monitoring the development of that technology and have a project team focused on proposal evaluation right now.


QUESTION: With the economy still sluggish, how are you navigating the company to remain strong during these difficult times in the industry?

Benskin: I think it is very important that we pay a lot of attention to understanding the dynamics of our industry, our company and those of our customer base. And it is extremely important to maintain strong relationships with our customers, our suppliers and other business partners. Being a successful printer is as much about service as it is about product manufacturing, and if anything the service component is becoming more important all the time. There is a lot of ballyhoo in the media these days about "customer-centric" business models, but I believe that truly successful printers have always been focused on their customers, and always will be. That is the key.


QUESTION: Do you use web based collaboration software with your customers now?

Benskin: We have investigated and modeled such tools, and depending on how you define "web based collaboration" we do have solutions in place. But the scope of this subject is so broad that I have to point back at my answer before. Those solutions are not "one size fits all" - they are customer-specific. If a customer needs a web-based solution, then we will build it or buy it. The supplier that gains our business as a participant in that type of project will be one that offers performance and responsiveness to us as a customer.


QUESTION: We have many print buyers who are subscribers to our site. What advice would you offer to them as it relates to maintaining a strong relationship with their primary printer?

Benskin: Hmm... the best advice I can think of would be to suggest that they select a printer based on that company’s ability to perform as a business partner, and focus on communication with their printer in a partnership mindset. That kind of open and timely communication will dramatically improve both their cost picture and their overall business relationship. The more we know about a customer’s business and their future plans for print projects, the better we can prepare to support them in terms of product characteristics and the short cycle times so often required these days.

It has been our experience that projects allowing early collaboration with our customers, especially in the project design phase, are those that are the most successful at the lowest overall cost.


QUESTION: Finally, as a seasoned executive in this industry, what trends do you think will have a significant impact on the industry in the next 5 years?

Benskin: The rapid advance of technology will be the significant driver; production equipment will continue to become more sophisticated, as will our back-office systems, digital workflows will be integrated wherever possible, variable data work will continue to increase, cycle times will continue to shorten... all of these trends reflect technology change and point to the need for a strong IT infrastructure.

Industry consolidation will also have an impact in terms of the number and characteristics of printing firms doing business, and in the upstream supply chain for printing equipment and consumables. And customer use of the Internet as an alternative to print for delivery of news and marketing messages will compete for those budgeted dollars.

We do need to take the Internet seriously as competition, but we also need to be pragmatic. The dot-com industry boom and bust experience drives that point home, as does the concept of the "paperless office" that was predicted to be just around the corner what, 20 or 25 years ago? There is a visible, tangible, comforting reality to a quality piece of print, and people respond well to that experience. We just need to focus on producing that quality experience for our customers, and our customers’ customers, in this competitive marketplace.