Hoffman Estates, Il. Freakin’ Genius Marketing and Plum Grove Printers are proud to announce that nine award winning designs were chosen from over 8,000 entries as winners in the art and design category.
Sponsored by NewPage Corporation, The 2009 Graphic Design USA Award Certificates were distributed by Awards Director Rachel Goldberg and Publisher Gordon Kaye.
“We are extremely proud of our design team lead by Creative Director Linda Bond with designers Lisa Olivero and Robert Frank. Every member of the team brought home at least one award,” said Plum Grove Printers CEO Peter Lineal. “Great design gives our clients more effective marketing with higher response rates, better branding and greater long-term impact.”
Freakin’ Genius Managing Partner Lori Gertz added, “Great design doesn’t necessarily mean pretty but it always means effective. These entries won awards because they work to reach the client’s goals of effective return on investment, that’s key in every one of the designs we create.”
The award winning entries were:
1.Spiritual Care Collaborative – Spiritual Care Collaborative Logo (Logos, Trademarks and Symbols)
2.Association of Professional Chaplains – Healing Spirit – Spring 2009 (Publication Design)
3.Association of Professional Chaplains – Membership Brochure (Brochures and Collateral)
4.Association of Professional Chaplains – Professional Chaplaincy – Reaching New Heights-2010 Logo (Logos, Trademarks and Symbols)
5.Freakin’ Genius Marketing, A division of Plum Grove Printers, Inc. – Pocket Folder & Business Card (Corporate Branding)
6.JCYS Northwest Family Center – 2009 Summer Camp (Direct Mail and Direct Response)
7.Chicago Crime Commission – Ambassador for Safety Public Election Campaign (Direct Mail and Direct Response)
8.D & S Communications – Time Out Brochure (Brochures and Collateral)
9.Strategic Learning Initiatives – 2008 Annual Report (Annual Reports)
About Plum Grove Printers and Freakin’ Genius Marketing:
Both firms were awarded a total of 9 graphic design awards for work on behalf of their clients, including several well-known national charitable and not-for-profits.
Located in Hoffman Estates, Plum Grove Printers, has over 30 employees, and is a full-service business printer providing art and design services, printing services, copying, bindery and mailing services. The firm has 4 designers on staff; 6 printing presses including a one-color letterhead press, a 4-color web (roll) press, a 5-color large format press, and a digital press; a complete bindery; and an addressing and mailing department. Founded in 1980, the firm, which was recently honored by the state as one of only two Green Friendly Printers in the state of Illinois has been active in the community through their charitable grants program and involvement in chambers of commerce and other organizations. For more information, contact Plum Grove Printers at 847-882-4020.
Freakin’ Genius Marketing is a Sassy new strategic marketing division of the 29-year old printing company. Freakin’ Genius Marketing uses a four step customer-centric operating model that helps clients achieve the measurable results they expect from their marketing. Clients improve their results and control costs by knowing who to market to and how to market to them. Freakin’ Genius Marketing’s expert Strategic Planning delivers branded messaging from idea through execution in conjunction with 5-Star Marketing Solutions that address unique client needs. For more information, contact Freakin’ Genius Marketing at 847-882-4234.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Plum Grove Printers and its sassy sister division Freakin’ Genius Marketing named winner of Nine 2009 Graphic Design USA Awards
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Unemployed? Seek Relief at Your Print Shop
Peter the Printer Offers Free Resume and Business Card Printing to the Unemployed
In the face of mounting economic uncertainty, Hoffman Estates-based Plum Grove Printers is offering some relief to the unemployed: free business card and resume printing. The 29-year old firm offers 100 custom business cards, 50 resumes, 50 pieces of blank stationary, and 50 blank envelopes to the unemployed through the Career Assist program on its website, http://PlumGrovePrinters.com.
"Unfortunately, this program has been very popular," said founder and CEO Peter "the Printer" Lineal. "Here in the printing industry, we see how the hard times in American economy have touched everyone's life. People have been really hurting with unemployment. Our business has managed to weather the storm, and we're happy to give back to the community and take some of the sting out of the job search process."
Users can typeset business networking cards online and upload their resumes. There is no charge unless the user requires shipping.
Lineal hopes his Career Assist can be a model for other printers around the country, and has promoted it through trade associations.
"We want other printers to take this model and apply it to their local communities. Free resume and business card printing can mean alot for someone caught in the downsizing, with a mortgage and family."
Plum Grove Printers specializes in full color printing, digital printing, direct mail, bindery, and mailing. The firm was founded by Peter Lineal in 1980 near Chicago, IL, and has been repeatedly recognized as one of the Top 100 North American Printers by Quick Printing Magazine. Plum Grove Printers also operates a chain of self-service custom printing websites at http://www.PeterThePrinter.net. In December 2008, Plum Grove Printers received Illinois' highest environmental award, the Governor's Pollution Prevention Award, recognizing its comprehensive green-friendly printing program.
In the face of mounting economic uncertainty, Hoffman Estates-based Plum Grove Printers is offering some relief to the unemployed: free business card and resume printing. The 29-year old firm offers 100 custom business cards, 50 resumes, 50 pieces of blank stationary, and 50 blank envelopes to the unemployed through the Career Assist program on its website, http://PlumGrovePrinters.com.
"Unfortunately, this program has been very popular," said founder and CEO Peter "the Printer" Lineal. "Here in the printing industry, we see how the hard times in American economy have touched everyone's life. People have been really hurting with unemployment. Our business has managed to weather the storm, and we're happy to give back to the community and take some of the sting out of the job search process."
Users can typeset business networking cards online and upload their resumes. There is no charge unless the user requires shipping.
Lineal hopes his Career Assist can be a model for other printers around the country, and has promoted it through trade associations.
"We want other printers to take this model and apply it to their local communities. Free resume and business card printing can mean alot for someone caught in the downsizing, with a mortgage and family."
Plum Grove Printers specializes in full color printing, digital printing, direct mail, bindery, and mailing. The firm was founded by Peter Lineal in 1980 near Chicago, IL, and has been repeatedly recognized as one of the Top 100 North American Printers by Quick Printing Magazine. Plum Grove Printers also operates a chain of self-service custom printing websites at http://www.PeterThePrinter.net. In December 2008, Plum Grove Printers received Illinois' highest environmental award, the Governor's Pollution Prevention Award, recognizing its comprehensive green-friendly printing program.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Printing Firm Receives Highest State Award for Environmental Protection
The State of Illinois recognized Plum Grove Printers, a small printing firm that transformed itself into green business leader.
Hoffman Estate, IL (PRWEB) December 12, 2008 -- The Illinois Department of Natural Resources honored Hoffman Estates-based Plum Grove Printers for its significant achievements in protecting the environment and boosting the economy. The Governor's Pollution Prevention Award was presented at the print shop on December 1st, 2008, the anniversary date of the opening of the firm in 1980. This is the 22nd consecutive year the awards were presented by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center.
Plum Grove Printers designed a 20-point program to reduce waste and increase sustainability through each aspect of production. The program includes buying only renewable power, using soy based inks, increasing the availability of quality recycled papers to its clients, and offsetting 100% of paper use with donations to the Nature Conservancy to protect old growth forests. The program actively encourages employees to think of new ways to increase eco-friendliness, like using real coffee cups instead of disposable dishware in the company lunchroom.
"My son Matthew was really involved in environmental stuff in college," explains Peter Lineal, who founded Plum Grove Printers 28 years ago. "During a summer internship Matthew analyzed our entire business looking for green opportunities. We knew we could do more but needed someone to focus on the task at hand."
Firm President Kim Evans said, "We knew we could do better. If you just work on it a little bit, you can be a whole lot greener than you were before," she says. "We're a factory with a staff of about 35, but now we only produce the equivalent of two to three garbage cans a week.
Lineal continued, "Matthew is currently in the Peace Corps in Honduras working with the local population and Nature Conservancy to protect and strengthen the National Parks and forests of Honduras. We now support him through the Nature Conservancy program in that country."
Plum Grove Printers promotes its green-friendly program to businesses through its websites, http://www.PlumGrovePrinters.com and http://www.PeterThePrinter.net, and through free use of its award-winning Green-Friendly logo.
The program also shows that green manufacturing is not prohibitively expensive. "We've seen less than a 2 percent cost increase," says Lineal. "But we have had to push our vendors to carry recycled paper stocks. Mills have universally responded to the demand, and in most cases, the pricing is almost identical. Many don't carry the recycled paper because it's inconvenient. If you don't ask, and you let them get away with not offering the eco-friendly options, then shame on you."
About the Governor's Pollution Prevention Awards & Illinois Sustainable Technology Award:
The Governor's Pollution Prevention Award is the state of Illinois' highest award for green-friendly sustainable business.
For the past 22 years, the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) has worked with the Illinois Governor's office to recognize outstanding pollution prevention efforts in our state. These annual awards are presented to businesses and organizations in Illinois that have successfully reduced the generation of gaseous, liquid, and solid waste. The Pollution Prevention (P2) projects this year saved the companies and organizations millions of dollars in material and disposal costs. The companies and organizations also prevented hundreds of tons of waste materials from being released into the environment and saved millions of gallons of water from being sent to treatment facilities.
(Excerpt from award ceremony)
Printing uses trees, and while trees are a renewable resource, printing still has an environmental impact. Plum Grove Printers has always recycled and avoided practices that were less than environmentally friendly. But the company decided that was not enough. In 2006, with the assistance of a college student on a green-friendly summer internship, Plum Grove reinvented itself with a multi-point program of going green.
Plum Grove Printers reviewed all aspects of the materials, energy, and supplies used in the printing process. This included examining the manufacturing, waste, and spoilage in an effort to come up with an affordable program of going green. Moreover, Plum Grove wanted a program that would encourage vendors and other partners to consider the environment as well. Plum Grove implemented an eco program that encourages customers to consider the environmental aspects of their finished products and to consider how they could help gain themselves recognition and build a wave of environmental awareness among businesses and the community. The program has resulted in a successful partnership with customers in practices such as shipping and ordering methods that cost the consumer less and help minimize environmental impact when compared to traditional ordering, production and product delivery systems.
About Plum Grove Printers:
Plum Grove Printers specializes in full color printing, digital printing, direct mail, bindery, and mailing. The firm was founded by Peter Lineal in 1980 near Chicago, IL, and has been repeatedly recognized as one of the Top 100 North American Printers by Quick Printing Magazine. Plum Grove Printers also operates a chain of self-service custom printing websites at http://www.PeterThePrinter.net].
Hoffman Estate, IL (PRWEB) December 12, 2008 -- The Illinois Department of Natural Resources honored Hoffman Estates-based Plum Grove Printers for its significant achievements in protecting the environment and boosting the economy. The Governor's Pollution Prevention Award was presented at the print shop on December 1st, 2008, the anniversary date of the opening of the firm in 1980. This is the 22nd consecutive year the awards were presented by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center.
Plum Grove Printers designed a 20-point program to reduce waste and increase sustainability through each aspect of production. The program includes buying only renewable power, using soy based inks, increasing the availability of quality recycled papers to its clients, and offsetting 100% of paper use with donations to the Nature Conservancy to protect old growth forests. The program actively encourages employees to think of new ways to increase eco-friendliness, like using real coffee cups instead of disposable dishware in the company lunchroom.
"My son Matthew was really involved in environmental stuff in college," explains Peter Lineal, who founded Plum Grove Printers 28 years ago. "During a summer internship Matthew analyzed our entire business looking for green opportunities. We knew we could do more but needed someone to focus on the task at hand."
Firm President Kim Evans said, "We knew we could do better. If you just work on it a little bit, you can be a whole lot greener than you were before," she says. "We're a factory with a staff of about 35, but now we only produce the equivalent of two to three garbage cans a week.
Lineal continued, "Matthew is currently in the Peace Corps in Honduras working with the local population and Nature Conservancy to protect and strengthen the National Parks and forests of Honduras. We now support him through the Nature Conservancy program in that country."
Plum Grove Printers promotes its green-friendly program to businesses through its websites, http://www.PlumGrovePrinters.com and http://www.PeterThePrinter.net, and through free use of its award-winning Green-Friendly logo.
The program also shows that green manufacturing is not prohibitively expensive. "We've seen less than a 2 percent cost increase," says Lineal. "But we have had to push our vendors to carry recycled paper stocks. Mills have universally responded to the demand, and in most cases, the pricing is almost identical. Many don't carry the recycled paper because it's inconvenient. If you don't ask, and you let them get away with not offering the eco-friendly options, then shame on you."
About the Governor's Pollution Prevention Awards & Illinois Sustainable Technology Award:
The Governor's Pollution Prevention Award is the state of Illinois' highest award for green-friendly sustainable business.
For the past 22 years, the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) has worked with the Illinois Governor's office to recognize outstanding pollution prevention efforts in our state. These annual awards are presented to businesses and organizations in Illinois that have successfully reduced the generation of gaseous, liquid, and solid waste. The Pollution Prevention (P2) projects this year saved the companies and organizations millions of dollars in material and disposal costs. The companies and organizations also prevented hundreds of tons of waste materials from being released into the environment and saved millions of gallons of water from being sent to treatment facilities.
(Excerpt from award ceremony)
Printing uses trees, and while trees are a renewable resource, printing still has an environmental impact. Plum Grove Printers has always recycled and avoided practices that were less than environmentally friendly. But the company decided that was not enough. In 2006, with the assistance of a college student on a green-friendly summer internship, Plum Grove reinvented itself with a multi-point program of going green.
Plum Grove Printers reviewed all aspects of the materials, energy, and supplies used in the printing process. This included examining the manufacturing, waste, and spoilage in an effort to come up with an affordable program of going green. Moreover, Plum Grove wanted a program that would encourage vendors and other partners to consider the environment as well. Plum Grove implemented an eco program that encourages customers to consider the environmental aspects of their finished products and to consider how they could help gain themselves recognition and build a wave of environmental awareness among businesses and the community. The program has resulted in a successful partnership with customers in practices such as shipping and ordering methods that cost the consumer less and help minimize environmental impact when compared to traditional ordering, production and product delivery systems.
About Plum Grove Printers:
Plum Grove Printers specializes in full color printing, digital printing, direct mail, bindery, and mailing. The firm was founded by Peter Lineal in 1980 near Chicago, IL, and has been repeatedly recognized as one of the Top 100 North American Printers by Quick Printing Magazine. Plum Grove Printers also operates a chain of self-service custom printing websites at http://www.PeterThePrinter.net].
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Direct Mail: the Facts
It's 2008: time to shake up your business, guide new customers to your services, and affirm your relationship with your existing client base. Is Direct Mail Marketing the right tool to grow your business? Consider this thumbnail primer on Direct Mail:
Old fashioned, or Timeless?
In the digital age, mailings may seem clunky, old-fashioned, and expensive. Despite this perception, investment in Direct Mail is growing -- sales resulting from mailings hit $421.3 billion in past years, and are projected to increase by $8.3 billion. There's a reason why you receive so much direct mail-- advertising by mail can work with rare effectiveness and distinct benefits.
Targetability
With direct mail, an advertiser can target potential customers down to the finest detail-- based on income, interests, household type, education, and lots more. Nearly every household and business on the market is within reach, giving you an audience with your ideal market.
Costly, but Cost Effective
Ahh, but email marketing is much cheaper. This is true: with mailing list, printing, and postage, Direct Mail has a higher cost-per-thousand than many promotional methods. Because you're reaching the right audience with detailed information targeted to them, however, and because your mailing encourages customer interaction, wastage rates are very low. And Direct Mail is not prohibitively expensive: at PetersPostcards.com, our direct mail postcards site, we can print, address (to a fresh, targeted mailing list), and mail full color postcards for $.28/piece, or even less! This is considerably less than even search engine marketing to give you face time with your best sales prospects.
Direct Mail is not for every marketing need, and works best coupled with sharp copy, and the right call to action. For speaking to your ideal marketing audience, promoting your brand, and filling the parking lot, good old Direct Mail has a lot of life left!
Cordially,
Peter "the Printer" Lineal
Old fashioned, or Timeless?
In the digital age, mailings may seem clunky, old-fashioned, and expensive. Despite this perception, investment in Direct Mail is growing -- sales resulting from mailings hit $421.3 billion in past years, and are projected to increase by $8.3 billion. There's a reason why you receive so much direct mail-- advertising by mail can work with rare effectiveness and distinct benefits.
Targetability
With direct mail, an advertiser can target potential customers down to the finest detail-- based on income, interests, household type, education, and lots more. Nearly every household and business on the market is within reach, giving you an audience with your ideal market.
Costly, but Cost Effective
Ahh, but email marketing is much cheaper. This is true: with mailing list, printing, and postage, Direct Mail has a higher cost-per-thousand than many promotional methods. Because you're reaching the right audience with detailed information targeted to them, however, and because your mailing encourages customer interaction, wastage rates are very low. And Direct Mail is not prohibitively expensive: at PetersPostcards.com, our direct mail postcards site, we can print, address (to a fresh, targeted mailing list), and mail full color postcards for $.28/piece, or even less! This is considerably less than even search engine marketing to give you face time with your best sales prospects.
Direct Mail is not for every marketing need, and works best coupled with sharp copy, and the right call to action. For speaking to your ideal marketing audience, promoting your brand, and filling the parking lot, good old Direct Mail has a lot of life left!
Cordially,
Peter "the Printer" Lineal
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Proudly Hanging 3 National Design Awards
We're proud to announce that our Design Department has won three 2007 American Graphic Design Awards, which recognize outstanding achievement in graphic design. The awards, presented by Graphic Design USA magazine, honor specific top works from advertising agencies, graphic design firms, and publishing departments across diverse graphic design media, including print, internet, broadcast graphics, and logos.
The success of the Green Friendly Logo has been a source of special pride for us. We needed a logo to signal our commitment to environmentally responsible printing, and that our clients and peers in the industry could freely use to demonstrate a green friendly pledge. The logo is attractive and fun, and we're seeing its being adopted throughout the industry.
Linda has been with Plum Grove Printers for 13 years and leads an art department recognized by American Graphic Design Awards each of the past five years. Plum Grove designers Lisa Olivero and Rob Frank have also been decorated with awards.
Congratulations, Linda, on this prestigious recognition!
Wishing you all a loving and happy holiday,
Peter the Printer
Linda Bond, our Design Department Manager, created the pieces recognized by the awards: a full color real estate brochure marketing a home for sale, an issue of Healing Spirit Magazine (the 36 page full color publication of the Association of Professional Chaplains), and a logo signifying Green Friendly Printing. |
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The success of the Green Friendly Logo has been a source of special pride for us. We needed a logo to signal our commitment to environmentally responsible printing, and that our clients and peers in the industry could freely use to demonstrate a green friendly pledge. The logo is attractive and fun, and we're seeing its being adopted throughout the industry.
Linda has been with Plum Grove Printers for 13 years and leads an art department recognized by American Graphic Design Awards each of the past five years. Plum Grove designers Lisa Olivero and Rob Frank have also been decorated with awards.
Congratulations, Linda, on this prestigious recognition!
Wishing you all a loving and happy holiday,
Peter the Printer
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Holiday Cards: Right About Now
In the name of a less stressful Holiday season, let's do some quick math: you want your Personalized Holiday Cards to arrive during the week and a half before Christmas. This means you want to have your Holiday Cards in the mail between December 5th and December 10th. It takes about a week to custom print and deliver cards to you, so to make sure your happy holiday message decks halls, you should place your holiday card order . . . right about now.
At PetersHolidayCards.com, you have the complete holiday card catalogs of two top studios, Carlson Craft and Birchcraft, organized neatly online. You will find your holiday cards by style (from humor to patriotic to elegant to party invitations), and typeset the cards (and envelopes!) easily online. You'll find it's never been simpler ringing out your warm holiday message to your associates and loved ones.
This holiday season, we're donating 10% of holiday card profits to a charity of your choice. In addition to this donation, we're discounting 20% off all custom holiday cards printing.
The clock's running down on other holiday products, too-- including Promotional Calendars for advertising and Imprinted Business Holiday Gifts.
Don't look now, but Thanksgiving is a week away. We at Plum Grove Printers and Peter the Printer wish you and your families a very happy holiday!
Peter "the Printer" Lineal
Monday, November 12, 2007
2008 Marketing Starts Today
Its January 2nd, 2008. Across America your best sales prospects are waking up, grabbing a cup of coffee, and glancing to the calendar-- a new calendar for the new year. If that calendar is imprinted with your company logo and contact information you will stick around throughout 2008-- maintaining Top-of-Mind Awareness. Consider the results from a recent Promotional Products Association survey:
Promotional Calendars make an elegant, useful business gift, and an excellent advertising tool. At PetersCalendars.com you custom imprint a variety of calendars, easily, affordably, and entirely online.
Get your Imprinted Calendars to your clients and leads before the New Year and reap the profits throughout 2008!
Peter "the Printer" Lineal
- 55% of people questioned said they keep their promotional products for more than 1 year.
- 76.1% of respondents could recall the advertiser’s name on the promotional product that they had received within the past 12 months.
- 75.4% of respondents said they kept their promotional products because they were useful.
Promotional Calendars make an elegant, useful business gift, and an excellent advertising tool. At PetersCalendars.com you custom imprint a variety of calendars, easily, affordably, and entirely online.
Get your Imprinted Calendars to your clients and leads before the New Year and reap the profits throughout 2008!
Peter "the Printer" Lineal
Other Holiday Season Products . . .
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