LOVELAND, Ohio, February 13, 2008 — xpedx has named Jerry Sampson national business development manager for Business Imaging.  Sampson is responsible for expanding specialized xpedx business services to in-plant printers across North America.

Sampson, a 15-year print industry veteran, has spent his career designing and implementing management and technical programs for commercial and in-plant printers.  He is charged with deepening xpedx relationships with in-plant managers and working with them to support their operations.

Sampson, who is based at the xpedx Greenville, S.C. division, reports to Scott Harman, director of marketing for Business Imaging.  xpedx, North America's largest distributor of printing papers and graphics supplies and equipment, does business with thousands of in-plant printers.

Prior to joining xpedx, Sampson spent a decade as vice president of development and e-procurement for Prime Digital Printing, Dayton, Ohio.  Through the xpedx and Prime Digital Printing consulting relationship, Sampson has worked directly with hundreds of xpedx in-plant customers.

"Jerry has already developed strong relationships with many in-plant managers across the country by helping their operations grow," said Harman.  "Bringing him on staff at xpedx underscores our increasing commitment to the business needs of in-plant printers today."

xpedx is unmatched in the scope of offering to in-plant managers.  It includes comprehensive consulting and traditional and online workshops discussing relevant issues in finance and production.  The offering also includes marketing support and an "indicators for success" toolset intended to help in-plant printers see a snapshot of their value compared to the outside marketplace. 

All of this in addition to the full range of supplies and equipment across creative, pre-press/workflow, on-press and post-press functions that xpedx provides to all printers.

"With increasing pressure on in-plant managers to justify their cost, xpedx can make a significant impact on an in-plant printer's success."

Many times a senior manager will ask, "Why do I have an in-plant printer?" Sampson explained, noting the question gets even more attention when in-plant managers request capital for more technology and hardware.

"We can help in-plant managers significantly increase their throughput, efficiency and quality.  We can also help them document all the essential financial metrics their bosses want to know—demonstrating specifically what their value is and how upgraded technology can increase that value," said Sampson.

The objective of the xpedx in-plant workshops, which are given in-person and online, is to assist managers justify expenditure and acquire the capital needed to stay competitive and grow.  The workshops cover all return on investment (ROI) principles used by financial managers today including internal rate of return, net present value, payback period and ROI thresholds or so-called hurdle rates.

Sampson noted that xpedx offers a broad range of products from a variety of manufacturers.  This allows the in-plant manager to pick the combination of supplies and equipment that works best for their operation.

Before his career with Prime Digital Printing, Sampson worked as a national sales executive for an international software development company in Dayton, Ohio.  Sampson has a B.A. from Ohio University, Athens, Ohio.