Cyril-Scott Implements ReadSmart Technology

When mail arrives, most consumers go through a quick process of dividing the contents into two piles: one to read, and one to recycle. Cyril-Scott, a Consolidated Graphics company based in Lancaster, Ohio, is working hard to make sure that more mail falls into that “read” pile, but now they’re taking it one step further, helping their customers’ audiences actually respond to what they receive and read. How are they doing it? With ReadSmart technology.

ReadSmart is a software tool based on scientific research that improves typesetting by subtly emphasizing words and phrases for the reader’s eye, creating a greater impact during reading. These subtle changes range from the spacing of letters and words to lines break within text. While these might be small changes that go unnoticed to the typical reader, by serving to energizing copy they make a large impact with respect to reader comprehension.

Cyril-Scott began offering ReadSmart to its customers this past October. The technology has allowed their clients, whether it’s through a direct mail campaign or other print materials that require a response from consumers, to receive increased feedback and retention. 

“At Cyril-Scott we’re always looking to new innovations and breakthroughs that will improve the product for our clients,” said Matt Coltharp, president of Cyril-Scott. “ReadSmart underscore our commitment in using the most effective technology to improve results, and serves as a great value-add for our clients and their campaigns.”

Consolidated Graphics Leads the Industry in Financial Strength

In our most recent earnings release on February 2, 2011 Consolidated Graphics once again demonstrated industry leadership in terms of innovation and financial strength. We met with Jon Biro, chief financial officer of Consolidated Graphics, to talk about what this means to our customers and investors.

Consolidated Graphics will continue to invest in new technology. “Technology is advancing faster than ever before, and has become an integral component to creating more relevant print collateral. From data security to a world-leading digital infrastructure, Consolidated Graphics will continue to expand the breadth and quality of its service offerings. We’ve invested over $100 million into technology over the last four years, including building the world’s largest digital print platform. We’re seeing a huge benefit from this investment in terms of digital sales growth, and have the financial wherewithal to maintain this leadership position as technology evolves.”

We have staying power. “At a time when many smaller print companies are struggling financially, CGX has shown that we’re here to stay. Both customers and investors can take comfort in the fact that we are continuing to grow, both organically and through acquisitions.”

We are positioned to grow. “CGX maintains solid relationships with our bank group, and has immediate access to capital. When a business acquisition opportunity presents itself, as it often does, we’re positioned to act quickly and pay cash to acquire a company that has proven to be a strategic fit.”

Biro believes that Consolidated Graphics is making investments in the right technologies, at the right time. “We saw 24% growth in digital printing, greater access to national clients with higher transaction volumes, and solid same-store sales growth in fiscal year 2011. We have dramatically less debt than we did three years ago, and we maintain our commitment to bringing the most effective and highest value print solutions to our customers.”

GraphTec Receives the Prestigious Best In Show Award from PGAMA

Pictured from left to right: GraphTec team members Rob Dauses, Russ Hewitt, Rich Day

We’re pleased to announce that GraphTec, a Consolidated Graphics company located in Jessup, MD, has received the Best In Show Award in the 7^th Annual PGAMA Excellence In Print Awards Competition. This is the second consecutive year GraphTec has been recognized with this honor!

The award was presented to Russ Hewitt, president of Graphtec, at PGAMA’s Excellence in Print Awards Gala on March 22, at Martin's West in Baltimore, MD. In addition, the GraphTec team was also awarded six Best of Category Awards for Packaging & Point of Purchase Material, Sales Campaigns, Catalogs, Books (Digital), Announcements & Invitations (Digital), and also won in the Impossible Job category.  The company received 10 additional Awards of Merit.

Everyone at Consolidated Graphics would like to extend our congratulations to the GraphTec team! 

Finalists for the Encore™ Awards Announced

We want to congratulate all the finalists of the first annual Encore Awards. The awards are a new component of emerge™ and were created to recognize the innovative ideas of Consolidated Graphics’ customers. All of the finalists are very talented and deserving of the accolades they receive. We would also be remiss if we didn’t thank the independent panel of judges, who reviewed more than 500 innovative submissions to select our finalists. They did an outstanding job!

The finalists’ entries will be displayed throughout the emerge conference in Dallas, TX, May 17-20, with attendees casting votes for the People’s Encore Award. Encore Award winners and the People’s Encore Award will be announced on May 18 at the Encore Awards gala.

To see a list of all the winners and additional information, please read the press release.

CDS Goes to Sundance

The Sundance Festival is the center of the film industry every year, and this year CDS Publications, one of Consolidated Graphics' digital printing hubs, was selected as the festival's official printer.

As the vendor of choice, CDS processed 465 files for a total of 689 high quality products, meeting strict deadlines and order specifications. All of the files were received, color-managed, printed, finished, kitted and shipped during a six-week window, with over 200 files being completed in under a week. Deliverables ranged from outdoor banners to fabric wall graphics.

"We did a walk-through and were thrilled with both the quality and color of everything, and I'm getting glowing reviews from the installers about how organized everything is," said one Sundance staff member. 

What great work by the CDS team! With the eyes of the film world on Sundance, CDS made sure they saw the very best. It’s no surprise that CDS will be supporting the 2012 Sundance Festival for their grand format print and service needs.

CGX Publishing Solutions Collaborates with EYC for Enhanced Personalization

We’re please to announce CGX Publishing Solutions, a development group of Consolidated Graphics, has
agreed to collaborate with EYC to provide retail marketers with a total solution for one-to-one targeted marketing communications. Together, CGX Publishing Solutions and EYC are able to provide retail customers with the insight and tools to implement revenue-building, data-driven promotions that improve relevance and response rates. Through this collaboration, they will be able to produce 100-percent variable direct mail pieces that can speak to each individual shopper differently. For more information, please read the press release.

Maximum Graphics Named 2010 Commercial Print Vendor of the Year!

We’re excited to announce that Maximum Graphics, a Consolidated Graphics company based in Chaska, Minnesota, was recently named the 2010 Commercial Print Vendor of the Year, given by Staples.

The award was presented on February 15, at the Staples National Conference held in Orlando, Florida. John Scheffler, president of Maximum Graphics, accepted the award on behalf of the Maximum team. They were one of only five winners in five categories, taking home the win in the Commercial Printing category.

From everyone at Consolidated Graphics we’d like to extend our congratulations to the Maximum team!