Gardena, CA – Southwest Offset Printing (SOP) announced today that it has formed a strategic alliance with two regional print partners, giving each an enhanced platform on which to build a national account presence.  SOP joins forces with Freeport Press of Freeport, Ohio and Democrat Printing & Lithography of Little Rock, Arkansas to manufacture the inaugural issue of Help Me Rent Magazine (HMRM), which launches in 32 cities in July.  With its first edition, HMRM introduces "the print button," a breakthrough technology which allows online content providers the ability to auto-upload content and select the appropriate regional print edition in which to display classified advertisements.  HMRM believes its cutting edge processes will energize publishing markets by breathing new life into the print medium.

Regional printers have been limited in their geographic scope due to freight and distribution challenges, but joining forces gives independent companies an opportunity to service national accounts.  By offering clients a cooperative platform featuring similar print platforms, prepress protocols and binding capabilities, SOP and its partners aim to recapture business that is now the exclusive domain of multi-plant concerns.  As supporters of the recent "Choose Print" initiative launched by the Printing Industries Association of Southern California, SOP believes strategic alliances will assist print manufacturers as they re-energize print as a vital component in the modern media mix.  SOP Executive Vice President Jennifer McDonald adds, "When Help Me Rent approached us with their aggressive launch plans, I reached out to potential partners, and found Freeport Press and Democrat Printing & Lithography to be ideal candidates for a cooperative effort.  Together, we've created a comprehensive platform for a new national publisher by pooling the best of our common resources while embracing HMRM's  innovative front-end technologies."   

Privately-held Southwest Offset Printing is one of the largest independent printing companies in the western United States.  Operating facilities in both Gardena and San Jose, California, the company offers both cold web and heatset press lines, and manufactures regional editions of The New York Times, USA Today, Financial Times and Investors Business Daily.  The company prints 19 daily papers and hundreds of weekly and monthly newspapers, magazines and catalogs.

For further information about Southwest Offset, please contact Dan Freedland, Director of Sales & Marketing, at (310) 965-9106.

For information about HMRM, please contact Nicole Manos, Marketing Director, at (323) 476-1411 ext. 114.  [email protected]