Washington, DC – Within the first month of Unisource’s $100,000 Challenge Grant to The Print Council, six companies have signed up and joined together to promote the power of print.  They are NewPage, Hewlett Packard, Neenah Paper, PrintingforLess.com, MSP Digital Marketing LLC, CRW Graphics, PennLitho, Dome Printing, and HBP Inc.

Ben Cooper – Executive Director of The Print Council – stated, “We are thankful for the generous support that Unisource and the other companies have provided with this grant process to date.  However, we have just begun this effort and have a long way to go as our current pledges meet only about 30 percent of our overall goal. So we are looking for many others in the industry to step up and meet this challenge.”

With the additional support from the print community and related industries, The Print Council plans to implement several new initiatives.  This includes producing additional collateral materials such as videos, brochures and seminars that will demonstrate the value of print and promote the powerful story about the sustainability of paper.  “We also want to develop and actively engage in social media channels to connect with marketers and media specifiers,” said Cooper, “and we need the ongoing support of the entire print industry to meet our goals.”

Unisource CEO Al Dragone previously announced that the company committed a $100,000 matching grant to The Print Council if current and new sponsors match that amount by September 30, 2010.  “It is the right time to unify around the promotion of our industry so everyone benefits in the long run,” said Dragone.  “I am sincerely hoping that our challenge is met and additional companies come forth to participate.”