ing print companies.

Jay Webb has been with the company since May of 2000 and has 23 years in print management and sales experience. The company has nine full time sales reps with total sales over $5 million.

What investments have you made recently in your workflow and people?

F&E has proprietary software that enables us to locate the best possible manufacturer for each and every job. We have the knowledge to outsource a job to a particular wholesale printing company that has the best resources to economically produce the product. We do not have to "force" a job to fit our in-house printing capabilities—We find the best fit from our company-approved vendors.

F&E is continually looking for good sales people and local retiring distributorships to acquire. We have moved into website print fulfillment with selected customers. Will invest in barcode technology and thermal transfer, both print on-demand and supplied. We see more electronic exchange of information i.e. ePrint, eProofs and eFiles.

What vendors have you examined in the ePrint space?

We interviewed Collabria, now Printable and Four51. Presently, it is too early to know where these two are going and where F&E is going to take this. Fundamentally, this is a good idea. Flow charting implementation has not been completed. We also use industry software for ad specialty product searches and pricing. - 1. We are interested. 2. If you want our business, have answers and follow-up!

(F&E selected Collabria and has now integrated over to Printable.)

With nine sales reps, is that the way you generate most of your business?

We continually use Fax Direct Marketing, Telemarketing, and direct calls to increase our sales volume every year. We have evolved into eCommerce and web based ordering for print on demand.

How important is the sales rep link in a print/print buyer relationship?

Print buyers should use the knowledge of their Print Sales Reps/CSRs. As a buyer, try to be more flexible and allow the sales team to suggest solutions and offer benefits of the solutions. If a team cannot or does not offer alternatives, seek a more experienced Sales Rep/Company. Always consider the cost of the total package. Do not allow yourself to get "Tunnel Vision" and see only a one item cost.