AB&C Wins ICCM Award
AB&C Group, a DMIA member distributor company headquartered in McLean, Va., won a "Best of Show" award at the 2004 International Contact Center Management (ICCM) Conference and Exposition recently held in Chicago. The company's customer contact management software--Customer Interaction Center v 2.3 from Interactive Intelligence--won the award in the Contact Management Systems category. The software was selected from among more than 100 products and services.

Paris Business Products Celebrates 40th Anniversary
Paris Business Products Inc., Burlington, N.J., is celebrating its 40th anniversary. The company started as a continuous forms producer with a single press in 1964. Today, it specializes in custom forms and manufactures continuous computer paper, IBM™ cut sheets and computer paper, Laser3™ cut sheets, Docugard™ security checks & security papers, HCFA health care forms and Printworks™ ink jet, photo and specialty papers. It exclusively serves resellers in diverse channels, including paper merchants, office suppliers, forms dealers and major retailers.

Valeron Strength Films Celebrates 35th Anniversary
Valeron Strength Films, Houston, recently celebrated its 35th anniversary by organizing a picnic for its employees and their families. Opened in 1969, the company manufactured film for a single customer. The company now employs 150 people and offers various high-performance and specialty films globally.

Corporate Express Launches 2005 Sourcebook
Corporate Express Inc., Broomfield, Colo., introduced the Corporate Express 2005 Office and Computer Products Sourcebook. The sourcebook, which is updated with new products and features, includes several tools to help make choosing office supplies easier--from detailed indexes for easy searching to flags for marking frequently used products, according to the company.

Sales and Marketing Tip
Successful Branding Campaigns
You don't need a degree in marketing to use these ideas to build awareness for your company and web site. Full story.

E-Commerce Spotlight
Boost Your Sales
Looking for actionable ways to grow revenue? Here are tips to tweak your web site and customer service to fatten up your bottom line. Full story.

Hot Sites
Are You Type E?
Leaders in business, entertainment, the arts and science have a way of seeing and living their lives that is so completely different from the norm that it can best be described as a personality all its own. Are you one of them? Visit the site.

Last Place At The Olympics
If you're an Olympian, you're not a loser, even if you come in last. Instead of reporting on who won gold and how many, this weblog tallied up last place finishes by nation. After you go to the link, scroll down to see the "Final Standings" list on the right side of the page. Visit the site.

Diversification Brings Profits
Some distributors stick with the same product mix. But Mark Holm, owner of Indigo Communications, Folsom, Calif., focuses his energy each month on selling a new product such as plastic cards, commercial printing, direct mail and security documents.

Once he settles on a product, Holm targets industries that benefit from it, and the company has built an assortment of clients in diverse markets. The strategy has paid off--in its first year, Indigo posted $250,000 in sales. Holm, a former UARCO and Standard Register employee, wants to reach $1 million in sales next year. Full story.

Print Solutions 2004 Conference and Expo Brings Best Education
DMIA has added so much value to this year's Print Solutions 2004 Conference and Expo, Rosemont, Ill., Oct. 4-7, it's now a can't-miss entry on everyone's calendar. There's a wealth of education for owners, managers, sales representatives and customer service reps at the conference sessions. Click here for the schedule.

Product of the Week
2004 Distributor Compensation & Benefits Report
The 2004 Distributor Compensation & Benefits Report is here! This 220-page report includes actual compensation for all positions at a distributorship. The data is broken down by sales volumes to compare your company to like-sized firms. The report also includes sales per sales representative and sales per employee for six levels of distributorships. You can see how sales representatives are paid, benefits, experience levels, and more. Code: DICOMP. $149. To order, click here or contact Tina Davis.

Here are the top unusual source requests received by DMIA:

1. Roll Product; 18" x 14"; prints 4cp+1spot+varn/1; remoistenable glue parallel and perpendicular to the web; score and perfs; QTY=235M
2. Hydrometer; imprints 1 color; QTY=50-100-200
3. Bubble Bags; 170" x 54" and 63" x 54"; three layers of protection; QTY=1.5M each
4. Rulers; 1 color imprint; made of denim material; QTY=5M
5. Integrated Label; 8 1/2" x 11"; prints 2/1; full horizontal perf 3 5/8" from bottom; partial vertical perf 4 1/4" from left; the liner is perfed exactly at the top slit on the label; QTY=5M-25M
6. Scripted Dome Labels; up to 4cp; QTY=250-500+
7. Menu Cards; 6" x 3 3/4"; prints 4cp/blk on 80# gloss text; adhesive strip on top; QTY=50M
8. Child ID Kits; 8 panels; 6 1/2" x 18"; affixed plastic protector to store dental, hair, fingerprints and pictures; QTY=1M-2M
9. Static Cling Label Rolls; prints 4cp/4cp; 4" x 6"; QTY=2M-3M
10. Misto Martini Vermouth Sprayer; used to spray alcohol into drinks; QTY=Minimum

If you have a source request--for anything--call the Hotline at (800) 333-2828 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, or use the Source Hotline Database online. For new sales ideas every day, try our 1,000 Sales Ideas Database. Manufacturers, if you produce any of these items and would like to check your listing with the Source Hotline, please email Cheryl Rush.