Creative Envelope is Efficient Answer TBF Graphics/Digital's envelope sales are primarily #10 window envelopes, but "that's only scratching the surface" of the market, says Jim Nightingale, vice president of sales and marketing at the distributorship, based in Saginaw, Mich. With materials and features ranging from Tyvek to specially cut windows, "the spectrum begins to broaden considerably--the sky is the limit," he says. A long-time customer specializing in pool supply sales to three states recently came to Nightingale for help with its 400-page catalog. The company published the catalogs annually and had worn out its staff by handling distribution in house. It wanted TBF Graphics/Digital to take on the job and do it more efficiently. "We looked at doing a custom-printed Tyvek envelope we could have dressed up and printed with a promotional tagline on the front," Nightingale says. "But they decided to go for the generic Tyvek piece, since their clients were already lined up, waiting for the catalog." The distributorship created a program that enabled placement of an oversized label on the front, showing the recipient's address. In the upper-right corner of the label, TBF Graphics/Digital placed preprinted indicia. "It's a different twist from what we normally do," Nightingale says. The white Tyvek expansion envelope measured 10 x 13 x 1 1/2 inches, and the labels were laser printed on 8 1/2 x 11-in., 14-lb. stock. The run included fewer than 1,000 pieces, but Nightingale says the client appreciated TBF Graphics/Digital's work, cementing its view of the distributorship as a solutions provider. "What they enjoyed the most was it didn't tie their people up for a couple days trying to handle a product they're unfamiliar with," he says.