MEMBER NEWS

BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. (Nov 7, 2023) - Presstige Printing was named Florida's Best Printer by the Florida Graphics Alliance at the 2023 Florida Print Awards, taking home the coveted Golden Flamingo Trophy for the first time in company history. Presstige Printing also won the most first place awards at the event, which convenes annually to recognize excellence in printed material within the state of Florida. “I am both honored and humbled by Presstige Printing’s recognition as Florida’s Best Printer,” said Wes Weidenmiller, president of Presstige Printing. “Thank you to our team of dedicated print professionals who bring their very best to the table each day, as well as the customers, designers and partners who trust us with their print projects and challenge us to produce the outstanding print products that allowed us to win this prestigious award.” Presstige Printing won 35 Best of Category awards, 27 Awards of Excellence, 13 Judges Awards, and four Florida’s Best awards. Presstige also earned Florida’s Best Digital Printing, Florida’s Best Invitation, and the Best of Florida Division II trophies, in addition to the Golden Flamingo Award for Florida’s Best Printer. The Florida Print Awards is an annual statewide competition that recognizes the contributions of the crème de la crème in the print and graphics communications industry. Florida Graphics Alliance announced winners of its 36th annual Florida Print Awards on August 25 in Orlando. “Presstige Printing has always entered fantastic work and done well at the Florida Print Awards,” said Gabriel Hernandez, president and chief executive officer of Florida Graphics Alliance. “This year their work was exceptional in almost every category in which they participated. This is why they won the Golden Flamingo, Florida's Best Printer Trophy.” About Presstige Printing Founded in 1980, Presstige Printing caters to premier Florida businesses, publications and non-profit organizations of all sizes and industries while serving numerous national Fortune 500 clients. Annual regional and national award winner for print and production quality at the Florida Graphics Alliance’s Florida Print Awards, the company is redefining excellence in print by delivering cutting-edge technology to their clients through investment in new equipment and custom digital storefronts. Their 20,000+ square foot Bonita Springs, Florida, production facility completes printing and mailing in-house. Additional information about Presstige Printing is available at presstigeprinting.com . About the Florida Print Awards Created to celebrate the organizations, companies and individuals creating and producing print and graphics communications in Florida, the annual Florida Print Awards competition recognizes the contributions of the crème de la crème in the industry. Entries from 126 categories are adjudicated by a panel of judges from across the print industry and the top entries in each category are awarded the Best of Category (first place), Award of Excellence (second place), or Judges Award (third place). Seventeen total Florida’s Best trophies are determined from the category winners in recognition of exemplary use of printing processes.

Dear FGA members, Are you looking to expand your product offerings, streamline your operation, and win bigger clients? FGA is pleased to welcome Propago, a leading Marketing Asset Management (Web-to-Print) and Warehouse Management (WMS) software supplier. To celebrate the addition of this great partnership, we are offering special benefits to you, our fellow FGA associates. For those who are interested, we invite you to learn about Propago, the next generation of Web-to-Print built for commercial printers. At its core, Web-to-Print is a holistic workflow method for commercial printers to enable customers to easily and quickly place orders online through a digital storefront thus allowing the printer to capture and efficiently produce and fulfill these jobs. The Propago platform goes far beyond, it is designed specifically with large, B2B, enterprise-scale clients in mind. It provides branded and custom web portals configured to the specific needs of each client. The Propago platform brings value to you and your clients by:  Allowing your clients to consolidate all their marketing products, print, promo, apparel, and digital, under a single intuitive marketing portal, accessible from anywhere, anytime using any standard internet browser. Providing customizable controls for your clients to protect their brand, budget and inventory. This includes advanced approval workflows, a user segmentation system, and robust user experience controls over what users can order and how much. giving you a full WMS with intelligent automation tools to easily handle all of your operational needs. Comprehensive back-end features include production, procurement management, forecasting and planning, Complete warehouse management and a high-volume fulfillment engine. Standard integrations with several MIS, ERP, Fulfillment, Tax, Marketing, Automation, and other software providers. API access and custom integrations to fit more of your automation needs. Propago was one of the first Web-to-Print vendors focusing on the B2B space. Its technology---established in Austin, TX--was originally developed as the internal platform for a large commercial print producer with 25 plants. Now on Version 6, the platform has continued to evolve due to feedback from our clients and established itself a leading supplier in the commercial printing space. Our goal is to continue to help our members positively impact their profitability and growth. After learning more about Propago and how their software solution can expand your offerings and streamline your supply chain from start to finish, we’re sure you’ll agree. Please get in touch with us or reach out to Propago directly at sales@propago.com. Learn how Propago can help to grow your business and take advantage of your special FGA member benefits. Special FGA Offer We are excited to announce that Propago has joined Florida Graphics Alliance (FGA) as a supplier member. As an FGA member, you have access to an introductory discount of $1,999.. That is a 25% saving in the first year when you sign up for the Propago starter package.

Rock LaManna’s memoir “They Named You Right” shares painful lessons about buying and selling a family-run business during the dawn of the digital transformation of print. (West Palm Beach, Florida, October 14, 2022). Behind every multi-generational family business is a story of entrepreneurship, hard work, personal sacrifice, and inter-family squabbles. Most family business owners hesitate to share these stories. Not Rock LaManna, The Deal Flow Guy. In his new memoir “They Named You Right,” Rock LaManna shares hard lessons he learned when he bought, grew, and sold his family-owned business. Although the process made him a multi-millionaire before he turned 40, that milestone was more costly to his personal and family life than he ever imagined. The LaManna family business story explores the delicate balance between the “family” and the “business” elements of a family business. It’s a cautionary tale about what happens when those areas conflict, and the consequences of prioritizing business over people. Told as a first-person narrative, “They Named You Right” reveals two distinct Rocks. The first Rock is a source of stability and strength. He was heir to a thriving family business that, at its peak, had profit margins that made its leader as wealthy as the top executives of America’s most prestigious companies. But the second Rock smashed apart family relationships and in the process nearly crushed himself. “They Named You Right” will appeal to family business owners and employees as well as hard-working young entrepreneurs who are struggling to achieve work-life balance. “I’ve seen firsthand what happens when your work and home lives are out of balance,” says Rock. “Listen to a workaholic: Working too much will implode your personal life, which in turn can hurt your career. You might call this a lose-lose-scenario: you lose, your family and friends lose, and in the end your business will probably lose, too.” Additional wisdom is featured in a section at the end of the book called “Rock’s Diamonds.” To order a copy of Rock’s business memoir, visit theynamedyouright.com . All proceeds from the sale of this book will go to The Rock LaManna Foundation, which financially contributes to organizations that support the underprivileged and children with special needs, specifically the South St. Paul Education Fund and Clinics Can Help. About the Author: Rock LaManna is The Deal Flow Guy. He helps qualified buyers and investors find businesses that are ready for acquisition or transition. On the sell side, he helps owners improve their businesses, increase value, and position strategically in anticipation of sale, exit or succession. To learn more about the book or how The Deal Flow Guy can help your company find deals or plan business ownership transitions, sign up for Rock’s newsletter at TheDealFlowGuy.com About the Family Business: The company Rock grew, bought and sold in his 20s and 30s was the Vomela Specialty Company, which has grown through mergers and acquisitions into The Vomela Companies, a nationwide network of 20 wide-format graphics production facilities that serve many of the top brands and retailers in the U.S. Rock’s father Carlo worked as a letterpress operator in Vomela’s early days when the company specialized in producing Christmas seals and tags. Carlo printed and die-cut the tags and labels and applied the embellishments, using a special glitter and flock crafting process. After Carlo was promoted from pressman to plant manager and cut a deal for a 20% stake in Vomela, 3M tapped into the label-converting processes Carlo and his team had developed at Vomela. 3M wanted to test innovative ways to convert adhesive-backed vinyl into new types of products for vehicle decoration, traffic signs, and more. Shortly after Carlo acquired full ownership, he decided to step back from day-to-day operations and allow Rock to run the business as CEO. At the same time, 3M announced a 3-year plan to to take more R&D work in-house and automate manual converting processes, This meant Vomela lost millions of dollars of revenue they had been earning as an innovation incubator for 3M. As Vomela CEO, Rock had to lay off most of the 150 people on staff and recruit future-focused technical experts. He succeeded in rebuilding the business with a broader base of customers with shorter run jobs. To accomplish this, Vomela invested in first-generation computer-aided drawing (CAD) systems and large-format computer-driven cutting devices that 3M didn’t yet possess. This enabled Vomela to become a beta site for converting digitally printed vinyl graphics into new types of computer-cut products, including vehicle decals and fleet markings. In the 1990s, Hundreds of other small-business owners followed Vomela’s lead to use digital printers and cutters for quick-turnaround production of smaller orders for local businesses.  Source: https://theynamedyouright.com

Bonita Springs-based Presstige Printing awarded the 2022 INCredible Innovation Award BONITA SPRINGS, Fla., August 11, 2022 – Presstige Printing, Florida’s premier commercial print and direct mail provider, announced that it is the recipient of the 2022 Innovation Award from SWFL, Inc. Presented to company president, Westley Weidenmiller, during the 2022 INCredible Awards, the Innovation Award recognizes a Southwest Florida company each year for their efforts in creating unique, forward-thinking solutions for its customers and the Southwest Florida community. Innovative practices considered include any number of creative solutions from designing original products to developing new processes and technologies. In the last decade, Presstige Printing has undergone a process of continuous improvement, including a significant investment in state-of-the-art printing technology. The company recently invested in a Heidelberg CX102 with LED UV drying technology, and a Fuji J Press inkjet press, bringing the quality of an offset press with the speed and convenience of a digital press to their customers. Additionally, in 2021, Weidenmiller recognized the early signs of an industry-wide print paper shortage and took progressive steps to stockpile resources to ensure that Presstige would have adequate supply to meet the needs of the community. “Although the past few years have been challenging, our team has handled the challenges head-on,” commented Weidenmiller. “Our investment in people, technology, and raw materials allow us to meet these challenges while delivering world-class printing services to the thousands of customers who depend on us.” In addition to receiving the INCredible Innovation Award, Presstige was honored by SWFL, Inc. in 2020 for their contributions to the Bonita Springs and Southwest Florida communities with the Small Business of the Year Award. About SWFL, Inc. SWFL Inc. is a regional chamber of commerce serving the Southwest Florida business community. It connects businesses to a regional network of customers, offers educational resources to help them grow in a modern economy, and actively works to solve regional issues that impact the business community. At SWFL Inc., membership is free and open to all businesses to create (inc)lusive opportunities for all. Ranked among the top one percent of chambers nationwide, SWFL Inc. produces exceptional business resources and programs to serve the business community, promote a region where businesses can grow and prosper and enhance the quality of life in Southwest Florida.  About Presstige Printing Founded in 1980, Presstige Printing caters to premier Florida businesses, publications and non-profit organizations of all sizes and industries while serving numerous national Fortune 500 clients. Annual regional and national award winner for print and production quality at the Florida Graphics Alliance’s Florida Print Awards, the company is redefining excellence in print by delivering cutting-edge technology to their clients through investment in new equipment and custom digital storefronts. Their 20,000+ square foot Bonita Springs, Florida, production facility completes printing and mailing in-house. Additional information about Presstige Printing is available at presstigeprinting.com .

As a long-standing member of the Great Lakes Graphics Association (GLGA), we are proud to be new members of the Florida Graphics Alliance (FGA). We recently established a direct presence in Florida, but we’ve been in business for 43 years and are well known in the Midwest. Many commercial printers use our screen printed, multisensory special effects to add value to client projects by making them more unique, fun and memorable, and win more deals. Our services can be a good fit if you want to stand out with your clients and offer something different, need more than what digital printing offers, or need a partner to handle overflow work. We won’t compete with you, but rather operate as an extension of you. More about how we work with commercial printers > Multisensory Screen Printing Textures, scents, thermochromic (heat activated ink) and other multisensory effects can give a new dimension to all printed products, from marketing collateral to posters to direct mailers. These are not digital embellishments. These are unique ways to engage consumers. Here’s a sample of branding agencies that commissioned our multisensory effects: