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Minuteman Press Wins Five Print Awards at
2018 Graphic Excellence Award Competition
April 24, 2018- Lawrence, KS Minuteman Press, celebrating 25 years this year of being Lawrence’s premier printer, has won five awards at Graphic Excellence Award Competition. The Minuteman Press team will be attending the 2018 Awards Gala, hosted by Printing Industries of MidAmerica, the evening of April 26 to accept their awards. They will be joined by other printers from around the region to celebrate the printing industry and above excellence print work at Arrowhead Stadium- Tower Club.
“Minuteman Press Lawrence is proud to receive these awards and bring quality printing and graphic design to our longtime local customers,” said Kristi Bisel Burgess, owner. “It is exciting to have the team recognized for the quality work they do by our industry peers.”
List of winning entries:
-Digital Printing- Books for 32 pages (Prosoco Polished Concrete Look Book)
- Digital Printing: Miscellaneous (Minuteman Press Monthly Thanks)
- Digital Printing: Posters (El Diablo by Greg Smallwood)
- Digital Printing Posters (Cottins Farmers Marker Posters)
- Printers Self Promo: Individual pieces (Minuteman Press Promotional Package- best in category winner and will go on to compete nationally)
PIA MidAmerica’s Graphic Excellence Competition (GraphEx) was created in 1989 to recognize the outstanding abilities of print producers to transform paper and ink into outstanding forms of communication. Since the industry is comprised of very diverse companies, the competition has over 300 categories in three different divisions. The categories reflect products such as: annual reports, brochures, letterheads, newsletters, direct marketing, presentation folders, cross media campaigns, and much, much more. Divisions are determined by size of company. Division I – 1-25 employees; Division II – 26 – 75 employees; and Division III – 76+ employees.
For more information about Minuteman Press Lawrence: http://www.minutemanlawrence.com/
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Minuteman Press Franchise in Lawrence, Kansas Scores Big with Refurbished Branded Pop-A-Shot Basketball Game
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CadreLawrence Newsletter- March 2016
Good afternoon CadreLawrence Newsletter Subscribers! It’s time for our weekly link to the CadreRadio show, with host Mike Logan. If you are new to the CadreLawrence Newsletter, welcome! CadreLawrence is a faction of people in the Lawrence and Douglas County communities that engage in the support and active promotion of economic development. CadreLawrence believes in supporting job creation, and efforts to grow additional property taxes and sales taxes, with hopes to over time rebalance the tax base. This newsletter runs weekly mid-week, and highlights the CadreRadio show which airs Tuesday mornings at 9:00 on 1320 KLWN, as well as other items of interest that are true to our mission. As always, consider providing feedback or ask questions by contacting us at info@cadrelawrence.com.
This week, Mike had two Foundation Award winners in the studio. First up was Dee Bisel with Minuteman Press. Mike and Dee talked about their employment growth in 2015, going from 5-8, and also about their 27% increase in sales last year. This is Dee’s 23rd year in business with Minuteman Press! Minuteman Press is in the graphic arts business, and all employees are cross trained in just about all areas of their business.
Mike and Dee talked about the typical call that Minuteman Press may receive, whether it be for a brochure for their business, a logo for their business (designed for only $198!), a direct mail piece, banners or signs for their business, or if they need a complete marketing product line. Minuteman was the #12 printer in the country to be certified as ‘green printer,’ a process that is done every 2 years. Dee talks about how grueling the process is, and how proud they are to have been re-certified 4 times. There are only 55 shops in the country that have this certification, the only franchise of any franchise that is certified, and also happens to be the smallest certified green printing shop in the country!
Dee and her company is very active in the community, so active in fact that they were also the recipient of this year’s Footprint Impact Award, showing the footprint and reach that they have in the community. Dee talked about her involvement with Junior Achievement and Sertoma 48 BBQ, to name just a couple. She also promoted an event where Minuteman Press is the lead sponsor a lunch & learn for non-profits about how to raise more money for your non-profit, at the Peasley Center on March 27th. If you are interested in attending this lunch & learn, give Minuteman Press a call!
Minuteman Press is located at 1404 E 24th Street, Suite B in Lawrence. They can be reached at 842-2656 or at www.minutemanlawrence.com.
Dee ended her segment of the show with how important she feels that it is to BUY LOCAL! This is a message that CadreLawrence can agree with!
Next up was Kevin from Good Energy Solutions, who was the first Foundation Award winner that has won two awards in consecutive years! Good Energy Solutions grew their employee base from 18 to 22 in 2015, and Kevin spoke that demand may continue to continue this trend! This company is in the business of solar power installation, wind power installation, energy management, LEDs and efficiencies, and other electrical services. Kevin spoke about work that they have done both in their market, and outside of their general market of NE Kansas.
Mike and Kevin talked about how solar panels have come down in cost, and how better the product is for commercial and consumer uses are today than in years past. Kevin talked also about how companies, consumers, and even communities can use tax credits to make solar investment possible. Mike and Kevin also talked about how the company consults with its potential customers, to determine where your energy is being used. They then help you lower your uses of energy through efficiencies such as LEDs and others, and then work to supplement the energy production through a solar system. Visit Good Energy Solutions online at www.goodenergysolutions.com!
Click here to listen to the show!
http://www.
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Minuteman Press Initiates Lawrence Holiday Light Recycling Drive
Partners with Southeast Enterprises
Lawrence, KS December 2015 – Minuteman Press, Lawrence’s only certified Sustainable Green Printer, is partnering with Southeast Enterprises to bring several holiday light recycling bins to the city. This drive will keep hundreds of pounds of wire, plastic, and light bulbs out of local landfills. The company has partnered with Southeast Enterprises which employs over 170 people with developmental disabilities. The employees clip the light bulbs from the wire. The wire then goes to City Scrap Metal to be recycled.
“Minuteman Press strives for sustainability not only in everyday business but in the community. We are excited to bring the holiday recycle drive to Lawrence. Please consider recycling any broken or old holiday lights at one of the drop-off locations,” said Dee Bisel, owner of Minuteman Press. The company will be regularly emptying the recycle bins and taking the strands of lights to Southeast Enterprises.
“Southeast and its Kansas City community partners, now with the help Minuteman Press and the addition of Lawrence, are excited to build on the success of last year’s drive in Kansas City and hope to collect and recycle over 40,000 pounds of holiday lights,” said Megan Gurera, Business Development Director for Southeast Enterprises.
The holiday recycling drive is happening now through January 16, 2016. The large blue bins can be found at these Lawrence locations:
Menards- 1470 West 31st Street, inside the store
Clinton Parkway Nursery- NW corner of Clinton Pkwy and Wakarusa
Optimist Christmas Tree Lot in front of Hy-Vee on 6th St.
Optimist Christmas Tree Lot in front of Checker's Grocery on 23rd St.
Minuteman Press- 1404 East 24th St.
For more information about the Thinkin Green Holiday Recycle Drive, visit http://kcrecyclelights.com/.
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WhatTheyThink
Why be a Certified Sustainable Printer
By John G. Braceland
Published: April 21, 2014
Sustainability is how biological systems endure and remain diverseand productive. Long-lived and healthy wetlandsand forestsare examples of sustainable biological systems.
Being a sustainable printer is all about reducing your environmental impact while benefiting from the continuous improvement. This the third article on The Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP). In this article I’ll focus on printing companies that have chosen to become certified under the SGP guidelines.
I interviewed four companies: CP Flexible Packaging, GFX, Minuteman Press, and Sentinel Printing. As with the SGP Sponsors interviewed last month there were a few common themes amongst the organizations:
1) A strong interest in protecting the environment
2) SGP’s focus on continuous improvement
3) A desire to see the printing industry get greener
Each company saw different opportunities for certification. The certification does take time and most companies took about a year to go through the process. If you have a Lean Manufacturing or Continuous Improvement Culture it is easier. With more than fifty companies certified it is still an exclusive group that sets these companies apart from the competition.
CP Flexible Packaging:
I spoke with Scott Hammer, who is the Director of Sustainability. CP has a long history in environmental endeavors. Scott has been on the Board of SGP as well. The SGP certification was a natural extension for their environmental philosophy. One of the aspects of the process that all printers find beneficial is the annual improvement project. CP has received gains from each project, such as reducing water usage, increasing production speeds, reducing waste and reducing dumpster pulls by increasing recyclables.
Scott is seeing more RFP’s that include sustainable practices. With their SGP certification they can put in a long list of practices that have all been certified. They have had to educate their employees on the importance and impact that sustainability has, which is an ongoing process.
GFX:
Mark Taylor is VP and COO of GTX. He told me that during the “Green Push” in 2006-2007 there was a lot of “green washing” going on. GTX wanted to be able to demonstrate to their clients that they were walking the talk.
Previously they had begun Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma training. The SGP certification really fit into this. Printing is not necessarily an environmentally friendly process. The paper mills had similar issues until they set some standards for themselves. Mark sees SGP as a similar set of standards for the printing industry. Even such things as being compliant with government regulations is not assured unless you really dive into them the way SGP certification requires you to.
Some of GTX’s benefits from certification are a 30% to 50% reduction in landfill impact, 25% less water usage and energy reductions. One of the areas they are focusing on now is square foot of materials they are using vs. square foot sold. These types of projects help to foster an environment of continuous improvement, something every company I spoke to has mentioned as a benefit. The activities become part of the culture rather than a separate program.
Minuteman Press:
If you think that something like SGP certification is only for large companies with big staffs, think again. Dee Bisel, the owner of a Minuteman franchise in Lawrence, KS, will prove you wrong. Minuteman has 4 full time and 3 part time employees. They were the 12th company to achieve SGP certification. Around the time of the great recession Dee was looking for ideas to set Minuteman apart once the recession was over. SGP looked like a good way to provide differentiation for a small company. With only a few employees implementation is easy. However, all the procedures were a challenge. With no procedures in place before they started this aspect of the certification almost caused them to quit the process.
Necessity is the mother of invention. Being in a college town Dee took advantage of the University of Kansas and started an intern program. She had two interns working 20 to 30 hours a week for six months to work on procedures and statistical measures. Both interns took off two days from school during the audit to make sure Minuteman got their certification. Now each year Dee has one intern work one semester to continue their journey.
Some of the benefits for Minuteman is a great safety record with zero accidents, a 15% increase in sales and a 5% reduction in materials. She makes sure if you Google green printing in Kansas, Minuteman shows up. Dee is pushing for SGP certification to be specified in more RFPs.
Sentinel Printing:
Glen Boehmer, President of Sentinel Printing is passionate about SGP and its importance to the printing industry. He feels that printing needs to change its reputation about sustainability and SGP is the way for the industry to do this. When they started the process it became clear they had a lot to learn. Glen feels that SGP is logical, smart and safe and that Sentinel should have been doing this all along. They are the only firm on Long Island to be certified.
SGP certification was a lot harder that Glen thought and it helped their company to get organized. Along the way they have reduced energy, water, waste and engaged the community in sustainability.
He is a strong believer that the process to be leaner is one of self-discovery and that life is about continuous improvement. It has allowed Sentinel to be respected and viewed in a positive light, something that is hard to put a dollar figure on.
SGP was started in 2007 by four of the industries trade associations. Many people have contributed to getting it off the ground. Like any organization it has had its ups and downs. However, it is now posed to continue to grow and help transform the printing industry.
If your organization would like to learn more about SGP certification, you can go to the SGP website www.sgppartnership.org or contact Martine Padilla, Executive Director of SGP at 310-809-6124 or martine@sgppartnership.org.
John G. Braceland is Managing Director for Graphic Arts Alliance a member run purchasing cooperative. He is also President of JB Solutions, a company that creates and manages purchasing cooperatives in various industries. Previously, he was President and owner of Braceland Brothers, a multi-plant printing company headquartered in Philadelphia, PA.
Please offer your feedback to John. He can be reached at jbsolutionsllc@comcast.net.
MINUTEMAN PRESS CELEBRATES TWENTY YEARS IN BUSINESS
Company Thanks Customers with Drawing: Grand Prize Wins
Lunch for Their Office and $200 Donation to Favorite Local Charity,
Twenty Runner-Ups Receive Personalized Memo Pad and Flash Drive
Lawrence, KS March 1, 2013- Locally-owned Minuteman Press, a
business-to-business printer and mail house, is celebrating 20 years in
business this month. Since opening its doors March 1, 1993, the business
has grown to over 1,000 customers. In 1998, the business moved its
location from a building at 611 Vermont to its current location of at 501 Gateway Dr.
Its staff has over 150 years of combined graphic arts experience and has been recognized for excellence, quality, ethics, giving and volunteering in the Lawrence community.
“This is an exciting time for Minuteman Press as we celebrate 20 years of
business in Lawrence. I want to thank our staff for their hard work
and dedication. We so appreciate our customers for their business, loyalty and friendships. This important milestone would not be possible without them," said Dee Bisel, Owner.
The company wants to show its appreciation by rewarding customers who place an order in the month of March. Those customers will be entered into a drawing. At the end of the month, twenty lucky winners will receive personalized note pads and a flash drive. The grand-prize winner will win lunch for their office provided by Biggs BBQ (up to twenty people) and a $200 donation to a local charity of the winner’s choosing.
About Minuteman Press, Lawrence. KS
Minuteman Press of Lawrence, KS is proud to be the FIRST Sustainable Green Printer (SGP) in Kansas and woman -owned. Along with being a certified SGP Printer, the facility is also a small business, certified by the State of Kansas as a Woman Business Enterprise (WBE) and a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE).
WICHITA, Kan.August 10, 2012 -- Two Kansas businesses – Minuteman Press in Lawrence and Martinizing Dry Cleaning in Wichita – have been honored for their efforts in environmental stewardship.
The two companies were winners of the 2012 Small Business Environmental Stewardship Award, given by the National Steering Committee for the Small Business Ombudsman/Small Business Environmental Assistance Programs. Only five such awards were given nationally.
“The Kansas Small Business Environmental Assistance Program, SBEAP, a program hosted by K-State's Pollution Prevention Institute, nominated these two small businesses for national awards based on the pro-active steps they have taken to reduce their environmental releases and stay in compliance with environmental regulations,” said Nancy Larson, PPI director.
http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/news/story/PPI_awards081012.aspx
WICHITA, KS AUGUST 8, 2012- Dee Bisel of Minuteman Press, Lawrence, Ks received the National Small Business Environmental Assistance Program (SBEAP) award in the category of Small Business Environmental Stewardship at the 2012 Kansas Environmental Conference on Wednesday, August 8 held at the Hyatt Regency in Wichita, KS. This award was announced on May 8, 2012 at Arlington, Virginia. Minuteman Press of Lawrence was one of only five companies in the USA to receive this prestigious award.
Bisel and her staff also received the 2012 Pollution Prevention Award from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE).
http://www.kdheks.gov/sbcs/environment_conf.html
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, March 27, 2012 – Dee Bisel of Minuteman Press in Lawrence, Kansas will be recognized as the Kansas City Executive of the Year at the PIA MidAmerica Graphex Awards Gala in Kansas City on May 10, 2012.
Bisel will be the 56th such executive honored with this award, which is presented annually to an industry leader who has shown exemplary skills in managing their company and giving back to the printing community.
“Dee is well deserving of this recognition, and more importantly, she was selected by her peers who recognize the skills and dedication it takes to run a successful small business,” said Joe Polance, PIA MidAmerica President. http://www.piamidam.org/industry-news/252-bisel-selected-as-kansas-city-executive-of-year
LAWRENCE, KS DECEMBER 15, 2009 -- The Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SM) welcomes the addition of Minuteman Press, Lawrence KS as the twelfth printer to become a certified SGP Printer.
Since opening the certification program just over a year ago, the SGP Partnership has received a steady flow of applications from facilities wanting to be recognized for their sustainability efforts. In addition to the 12 certified SGP Printers, there are more than 50 SGP Applicants working through the certification process.
