Going Digital Reaps Profits Craig Sheer and Ken Lerman, co-founders of printing company Litho Partners, New York City, wanted to break away from offset printing and find another way to boost profits for their customers and their business. Sheer knew digital technology was playing an increasingly critical role in printing. He was convinced that digital printing enables increased opportunities for companies who understand the benefits of customized, targeted marketing. In November 2004, Sheer launched a state-of-the-art digital printing company, while Lerman concentrated on Litho Partners' business. In April, Sheer and Lerman launched LP Digital Inc. in Manhattan. The company offers variable printing, data management, direct mail, finishing and binding, digital imaging, mailing, and design and internet services. The facility houses the company's first digital press, a Xerox iGen3. Sheer chose the iGen3 because it offers high-quality color images and speed, handles large paper sizes and large quantities of personalization, and is compatible with other variable data software in the market, he says. LP Digital's finishing department features foil stamping, die cutting, embossing, and Wire-O® binding. "I didn't expect that we were going to buy a press and start marking money," Sheer says. Part of the reason is that customers need to be educated about variable data printing's benefits. Sheer created a knowledge and teaching center where once a month he invites clients and prospects to learn how to produce one-on-one marketing pieces. "Our objective is to shift the momentum from how we print a job digitally to how we substantially increase the customers' return on investment for their printing dollars," he says. Sheer says it's equally important to invest in software that matches customers' needs. "Without great processes, you're a digital printer in an offset world," he says. LP Digital partnered with software company DeskNet Inc., Jersey City, N.J., and uses DeskNet software specifically for clients in the financial services industry—a hot target for LP Digital. Sheer says the software is ideal for working with complex data that financial institutions usually store in numerous types of databases. The software helps LP Digital generate a variety of communications campaigns such as personalized wealth management kits, institutional reports, fund fact sheets, and highly personalized educational materials and regulatory reports. The company also partnered with software provider Printable Technologies, Solana Beach, Calif. It offers web-to-print and variable data printing solutions to commercial and digital print providers, ad agencies and direct marketing companies. LP Digital uses the software to offer online ordering, job submission, file transfer, instant proofing, inventory control and real-time statistics. Sheer says business is picking up steadily. "Every month, we're substantially doing more business," he says. "We hope to get higher revenues, see more growth and better customer retention." This year, LP Digital is sponsoring trade events to market to a wider audience. "Plus, good work gains more customers," he says, adding that it's often difficult for customers to make the transition to variable printing. "The biggest resistance [from them] is because they don't know how to get started." To make the transition smoother, Sheer shows customers the potential of variable printing through results. "In traditional printing, a customer can mail 40,000 brochures and get a response rate of, say, 2 percent," he says. "With variable data, I suggest that the customer print only 10,000 brochures and target them to a specific audience, and they may see a response rate of more than 20 percent. Once you lay it out like that, they begin to see it differently." Have a solution? Click here to be featured as an E-Weekly Solution of the Week