STAMFORD, Conn., June 02, 2011 - Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) today announced that its ClearPath™ international ecommerce and logistics service is now available to U.S.-based retailers on the Magento Open Source Ecommerce Platform. The company’s ClearPath Service Suite helps reduce the challenges associated with international ecommerce, allowing e-retailers to take advantage of the surging global online population and favorable exchange rates.

STAMFORD, Conn., June 01, 2011 - Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI) will host its tenth annual Global Document Messaging Technologies Customer Summit on June 6 – 8, 2011, in Danbury, Connecticut. The event will bring together top industry leaders for insightful sessions and innovative solutions tours that can help mailers and marketers transform their customer communications and grow their businesses. Pitney Bowes will also announce the winners of its Brilliant Communications Awards, which honor leading print and mail organizations that are finding new ways to streamline workflow, ensure accuracy, and market precisely to obtain the greatest value from their customer communications.

Offset & Beyond, presented by WOA and Printing Industries of America, showcased the best the offset industry had to offer--strategies, solutions, and tactics--presented by industry leaders and experts, discussing the current environment of the market as well as a look at what the future holds in the dynamic world of traditional and integrated print.

"Don't obsess about the things you can't control, but concentrate on what you can control," said keynote speaker Michael Graff, president and CEO, Sandy Alexander Inc. Graff stated that printers must be more than order takers and manufacturers of custom products. He said you must position your company to be an integrated manufacturer and problem solver.

Robert Murphy, founder and chairman, Japs-Olson Company, was honored as the recipient of the 2011 Harry V. Quadracci VISION Award. Murphy is chairman of Japs-Olson Company, St. Louis Park, Minnesota. The VISION Award is conferred to a web offset printing industry executive who has reached an unsurpassed level of excellence and achievement in the industry.

Keynote Jim Sampey, chief operating officer, Cox Target Media/Valpak Direct Marketing Systems, Inc., stated, "We are proud to be a printer, but we are also taking print into the digital age." He described how Valpak built one of the most advanced and automated manufacturing centers in the world--a hub of technology where automation and robotics are at the core of the operation. Sampey's stressed the importance of knowing your customers, using your core attributes for expansion, and moving beyond price to value for your customers.

John Gaspari, vice president, Operations, Specialty Print Communications (SPC), was named the 2011 H. Howard Flint II, Pressroom Manager of the Year. Gaspari’s leadership and determination have vastly expanded SPC’s capabilities through the management of millions of dollars in capital investment in new equipment and technology. In thanking Flint for the award, Gaspari announced Western Michigan University as his choice to receive a $2,000 scholarship for their print program.

Offset & Beyond wrapped with a final general session Tuesday afternoon with Jamie Olson, senior director, brand management, Wyndham Vacation Ownership, and Hilary Strauss Hahn, managing director, global marketing, xpedx, with a look at the corporate buyer’s perspective on how to survive and grow in today’s multi-channel world.

Hahn discussed the explosion of data and multi-media, stressing that it is vital to understand a customer’s language and their multi-channel choices without forgetting that print means trust and reliability to customers. Olsen stated direct mail is making a comeback, noting that while 80% of emails are deleted without being opened, 81% of households open and read the direct mail they receive. She also noted, "You cannot unsubscribe from the USPS." Both speakers wrapped with "long live print."

For more information about the Offset & Beyond Conference, visit www.printing.org/offsetandbeyond.

 

Agfa Graphics announced today that Dambach Print+Service GmbH, the well-known screen printing house near Karlsruhe in Germany, purchased its first :M-Press Leopard digital press. Dambach Print+Service is the first printer in the world to use Agfa’s versatile : M-Press Leopard for high-quality printing on various substrates, primarily intended for point of sales applications. The purchase was finalised at Fespa Digital 2011.

Agfa Graphics, North America, today announced that the company has teamed up with MicroGREEN Polymers, Inc to offer a new, alternative, eco-friendly media to commercial and display printers. MicroGREEN (www.microgreeninc.com) of Arlington, WA, manufactures InCycleTM, created with recycled PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) material to be used for signs and displays. It is available in sheets or rolls of varying thickness and flexural stiffness, with a bright white, highly printable surface, making InCycle ideal for large signs, wall hangings, printed panels, and many other applications.

Following its official launch, Agfa Graphics has now released full details at FESPA Digital of its new :M-Press Leopard which is targeted at the growing numbers of users who want the speed and quality of offset litho and screen-printing but with the convenience of a wide-format ink-jet platform. Designed on the same lines as the :M-Press Tiger, this new machine offers very fast throughput rates and the ability to produce double-sided print with precision registration.

STAMFORD, Conn., May 25, 2011 - Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI) announced today the launch of the pbSmart™ Small Business Communications Makeover, a national contest designed to help small businesses improve customer communications to better position themselves for growth. Five Grand Prize winners will receive a customer communications plan makeover, valued at $10,000.

TROY, N.Y., May 23, 2011 - Pitney Bowes Business Insight, a global leader in customer data, analytics and communication software and services, today announced the launch of Flood Risk Pro, a new Risk Data Suite™ bundle. This new product will enable National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and Excess Flood coverage insurers to build up-to-date flood risk information into their underwriting processes.

STAMFORD, Conn., May 20, 2011 - The majority of small businesses, 76 percent, agree their ideal marketing mix includes a combination of physical and digital communications, according to a new survey released by Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI) Nearly three quarters surveyed, 72 percent, say they would do more of it if they had the right customer communications management tools.

Printing Industries of America is proud to announce its newest conference, the Integrated Print Forum. Taking place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 24–25, the Integrated Print Forum will provide printers with an intimate environment to learn about the newest technologies and how to implement them into their repertoire to reach a greater profit potential. As the industry evolves to take advantage of the variety of technical offerings available to printers, it’s paramount to design a conference that teaches cutting--edge techniques and showcases how to integrate print with other forms of media. The Integrated Print Forum does just that.

The Integrated Print Forum will cover everything from integrated marketing campaign management to augmented reality to designing websites for mobile applications--all with a focus on print service providers. Speakers at the conference come from a wide range of disciplines, including sales mavens, social media masters, and marketing integration experts.

"We have assembled an interactive forum for printers to learn tactics that they can apply to their business as soon as they return home," said Julie Shaffer, vice president of digital technologies, Printing Industries of America. "It's important for printers to come together, share ideas, and learn about new technologies and opportunities that can help ensure our industry continues to evolve and meet the changing needs of consumers."

Learn more about the Integrated Print Forum at www.printing.org/integratedprint. The website contains information about the conference, a link to Formspring for the community to ask questions, a discussion board, and a blog. Some sessions, especially the hands-on labs, will fill up quickly. To reserve a spot for the conference and grab a seat in the sessions you most want to attend, visit http://integratedprintforum.eventbrite.com.

TROY, N.Y., May 18, 2011 - Pitney Bowes Business Insight, a global leader in customer data, analytics and communication software and services, today announced the launch of the Pitney Bowes® EngageOne Liaison™ self-service solution, a comprehensive set of customer self-service and self-care capabilities. This solution is comprised of best-of-breed customer and data analytics, billing intelligence, and electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP), with the ability to access all of these capabilities on a mobile device. A new online component of Pitney Bowes Business Insight’s EngageOne™ communication suite, EngageOne Liaison empowers businesses to deepen relationships and engage with each of their customers as individuals by providing a highly personalized experience across channels. Companies can use EngageOne Liaison to improve customer profitability, reduce churn, improve cash flow, accelerate time-to-market and reduce operational costs to ultimately drive revenue.

Demand for the digital capabilities of Agfa Graphics' :M-Press has resulted in the introduction of a new model in the :M-Press family. Designated the :M-Press Leopard, it is a new version of the machine which brings its advanced ink-jet technology to display producers who want versatility and high quality at a considerably lower investment point and with the same very low :M-Press variable production cost. Thanks to the new design, :M-Press allows for new applications that require more manual handling.

TROY, N.Y., May 12, 2011 - Pitney Bowes Business Insight, a global leader in customer data, analytics and communication software and services, says marketers are increasingly turning to their Portrait Uplift solution to better target customers and increase campaign ROI. Uplift goes beyond traditional modeling approaches which predict customers likely to buy, and, instead, predicts how much a marketing interaction will increase, or decrease, a customer’s likelihood to purchase.

Only recently, Agfa announced that Cestrian Imaging, one of UK's leading digital print suppliers had upgraded its first :M-Press to full greyscale printing and also installed a second :M-Press Tiger in Manchester. To promote the versatility of the new technology, Cestrian Imaging produced a personalised hence unique piece of digital print for their customers.

Avanti's Graphic Arts Management System V12.2 has passed stringent testing by the Printing Industries of America to become the 50th product to be certified by the CIP4 Organization (International Cooperation for the Integration of the Processes in Prepress, Press and Postpress Organization). 

Avanti's software was specifically certified for its ability to facilitate automation by electronically communicating with prepress equipment using Job Messaging Format (JMF) communications, while transferring the appropriate JDF requirements for prepress workflow completion.

The 50 certified products move the industry closer to realizing the full potential of the Job Definition Format (JDF) specification, created in 2001 to allow integrations between automated workflows of different manufacturers’ equipment. JDF-certified equipment has proven its ability to accurately receive and pass on electronic job information in an effort to help print providers speed production and minimize mistakes and touch points during production.

"By using JDF certified solutions, print providers can be confident that their entire workflow will run smoothly from prepress to press and postpress. Companies like Avanti invested a lot of time and money to achieve this certification so their customers will have a 'Quality Assurance Stamp' ensuring that the different applications they count on to run their shop, can work together," said Dr. Mark Bohan, Vice President, Technology and Research, Printing Industries of America.

"This is an important milestone for an important program," said James Harvey, Executive Director of CIP4 Organization. "InfoTrends recently reported that automation is a priority for over 60% of printers, and we know that over 40% of printers have started to implement JDF-enabled automation. The recent recession has made productivity gains more critical than ever for printers, and the JDF Product Certification Program provides clear and unmistakable guidance for those printers working towards production automation.”

There are 17 additional companies who have shown JDF/JMF integration specialties in multiple Interoperability Conformance Specifications (ICS) documents and JDF versions. A complete list of certified products is online at http://www.printing.org/jdfcertified. More information on the certification process can be obtained by contacting Brandon Iskey at 800-910-4283 x 787 or biskey@printing.org. 

SAN FRANCISCO, May 11, 2011 - Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI) today announced a new international ecommerce NetSuite application for the NetSuite (NYSE: N) SuiteCloud Computing Platform. The solution features duty and tax calculation, customs and brokerage management, optimized global shipping and other functions. Built using NetSuite’s SuiteCloud development platform, the new SuiteApp can help NetSuite customers increase revenue by offering their online shoppers a simple and convenient cross-border purchasing and shipping experience to 200 countries worldwide.

STAMFORD, Conn., May 06, 2011 - Pitney Bowes Management Services, Inc. (PBMS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI), will showcase its recently enhanced capabilities in the area of Document Processing Solutions at EMC World Las Vegas 2011. Pitney Bowes recently announced an alliance with EMC Corporation to deploy EMC® Captiva® Intelligent Enterprise Capture software as its document and data capture technology for both hosted and on-premise offerings to enable efficient and cost-effective processing of documents and data.

Printing Industries of America is now accepting entries for the Best Workplace in the Americas (BWA) Program. This program was developed to recognize a company's employee relations practices and policies that go above and beyond the industry average. The BWA program recognizes companies that commit to their workforce through sound human relations practices. Winning a BWA award can be the inspiration a company needs to evolve and continue to develop.

Receiving a BWA award does wonders for a company's morale and is a great indicator that they’re on the path of success. Jim Kyger, Vice President of Human Resources, Printing Industries of America says, "The Best Workplace in the Americas Program is designed to recognize positive work environments and help raise the human relations bar so that the industry produces quality, motivated employees. It’s important to keep employees happy because a satisfied employee can lead to more sales, production, and profits."

BWA recognition communicates so much more than happy employees. To potential customers and future employees, it’s a reflection of company standards as well as the care that goes into the decisions made. In addition, recipients of the BWA award receive feedback from highly respected U.S. and Canadian human resources professionals. These insights pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of a program so that the program can evolve.

Any U.S. or Canadian graphic communications company, or supplier to the graphic communication industry, can enter by completing the two-part survey form found at www.printing.org/bwa. The survey was designed with busy professionals in mind and is a very quick and painless process.

There are three categories to win in: Best Workplace in the Americas and Best of the Best. Each level is broken out by company-size (small, medium and large or multi-plant). Award winners receive a Best Workplace plaque, recognition in industry publications, national and local media promotion, and a copy of the book, Best Practices of the Best Workplaces in the Americas. Entries must be submitted by September 30, 2011. Visit http://www.printing.org/bwa for the entry form.

This is the only award of its kind for the printing industry and a great platform to showcase quality human relations practices in the Americas. For more information please call 202-730-7968 or email bwa@printing.org.

The Web Offset Association (WOA) and Printing Industries of America are pleased to announce that John Gaspari, Vice President, Operations, Specialty Print Communications (SPC) has been named the 2011 recipient of the H. Howard Flint II Operations Manager of the Year. He will be honored and recognized during the Offset & Beyond Conference, May 23–25, at the Omni ChampionsGate in Orlando, Florida. 

Gaspari came to SPC as a highly accomplished pressroom manager, and in fact, could have been recognized for this honor prior to his arrival. Since joining SPC, he helped transform the organization from a commercial printer to a direct marketing specialist, increasing revenues by 50% and significantly increasing gross margins. His leadership and determination have vastly expanded SPC’s capabilities through the management of millions of dollars in capital investment in new equipment and technology.

Gaspari spearheaded a quality initiative to reduce the costs of errors in the pressroom. Through his strong experience and background, John helped benchmark best practices and rolled out a quantifiable grading system within a new quality department. He helped set standards, write SOPs, hire and support the new department, and over the next seven months, saw error reductions of 80% yielding more than $1,000,000 in annual net savings.

"As a marketer my job is to communicate a compelling brand story," says Dustin LeFebvre, Executive Vice President, Marketing, SPC. "The SPC narrative has been an incredible one to communicate, as it involves pioneering, a massive expansion of capabilities, and growth in a mature industry under poor economic conditions. I would not be able to tell this story, nor would it exist, without the leadership, hard work, and determination of Gaspari and his team. He has helped transform the company and fueled consistent double-digit sales growth."

SPC is a thriving national print and direct marketing company located just outside Chicago that has experienced exponential growth as a complete direct mail production resource. The reason? Focus. The company embodies an absolute passion for helping generate measurable results by leveraging a communication medium, direct mail, to drive greater awareness, interest, and action to the client's products and services.

The H. Howard Flint II Operations Manager of the Year Award is conferred on a pressroom manager or supervisor who has excelled in their profession and contributed above and beyond to their company, customers, and the printing industry. Past recipients of the award include Philip E. Archer, Von Hoffmann Corporation; Scott Robinson, John Roberts Company; Steve Richardson, Courier Corporation; and Steve Buechel, The Segerdahl Group.

For more information about this award, please contact Laurie Reynolds at 412-259-1802 or via email at lreynolds@printing.org.