Old Trail Printing Headlines

Old Trail Printing wins 19 awards for Print Excellence

January 2, 2013

Old Trail Printing is proud to announce it was recently awarded nineteen 2013 Print Excellence Awards from the Printing Industries of Ohio / N. Kentucky.

The print contest judges this year were Ken Eberhart, The Merrick Printing Company; Paul Schmitz, Schmitz Printing Co. and Glenn Petry.  These experienced judges and printing experts stated that the quality of print among the 458 entries continue to get better every year.

Each year, Printing Industries of Ohio / N. Kentucky holds its Print Excellence Awards Competition to reward Ohio and northern Kentucky printers that demonstrate excellence in 34 categories.  Each of the gold winners in the regional competition are entered in an association-wide competition for Best of Category and Best of Show prizes what will be awarded in August 2013 at the Grand Ceremony, being held in Columbus, Ohio.

         Old Trail Printing won the following awards:
            • 7 Gold Awards
            • 11 Silver Award
            • 1 Bronze Award

Founded in 1928 and one of the largest woman owned printers in the Midwest, Old Trail Printing has a rich history of servicing clients across the country. Our combination of offset and digital presses means we have the right equipment to handle a variety of projects. In addition to being recognized as an award winning printer, we have invested in technology tools that enable our customers to streamline their procurement processes, increase efficiencies, reduce waste and gain a higher return on investment with their printed communications. With our comprehensive list of services our customers benefit from using Old Trail as their single source for creative, printing, mailing, fulfillment and more.

Printing Industries of Ohio / N.Kentucky serves nearly 400 commercial printing companies and suppliers to the industry in its service area. The Association provides a broad range of products and services to its membership, including workers’ compensation and product discounts. Printing Industries of Ohio / N.Kentucky is an affiliate of the national Printing Industries of America, the largest graphic arts association in the world. For complete information on Printing Industries of Ohio / N.Kentucky and Printing Industries of America, please visit www.pianko.org.  

                                                                                                                                                                                   

Old Trail Printing wins 8 awards for Print Excellence

January 4, 2012

Old Trail Printing is proud to announce it was recently awarded eight 2012 Print Excellence Awards from the Printing Industries of Ohio / N.Kentucky.

Printing Industries Association President, Jim Cunningham stated how impressed this year’s judges were with the overall quality of all of the entries.  “Ken, Michael and Glenn are all three experienced judges and printers whose combined expertise spans more than 100 years of print.  Yet, even they were impressed with our members’ incredible work.  It’s easy in today’s fast paced world to just get the job done, but our Association members continue to demonstrate the pride and dedication to their craft that has made Ohio and Northern Kentucky printers some of the best in the world!”

Each year, Printing Industries of Ohio / N.Kentucky holds its Print Excellence Awards Competition to reward Ohio and northern Kentucky printers that demonstrate excellence in 34 categories.  This year member companies submitted over 450 printed pieces and three out-of-state expert judges ranked them in a regional competition.  This year’s judges were Ken Eberhart, The Merrick Printing Company; Michael Klyn, Peake DeLancey Printers; and Glenn Petry.

Each of the gold award winners in the regional competition are entered in an association-wide competition for Best of Category and Best of Show prizes that will be awarded in August 2012 at the Grand Ceremony, being held in Columbus, Ohio.

         Old Trail Printing won the following awards:
            • 4 Gold Awards
            • 1 Silver Award
            • 3 Bronze Awards

Founded in 1928 and one of the largest woman owned printers in the Midwest, Old Trail Printing has a rich history of servicing clients across the country. Our combination of offset and digital presses means we have the right equipment to handle a variety of projects.  In addition to being recognized as an award winning printer, we have invested in technology tools that enable our customers to streamline their procurement processes, increase efficiencies, reduce waste and gain a higher return on investment with their printed communications. With our comprehensive list of services our customers benefit from using Old Trail as their single source for creative, printing, mailing, fulfillment and more.

Printing Industries of Ohio / N.Kentucky serves nearly 400 commercial printing companies and suppliers to the industry in its service area.  The Association provides a broad range of products and services to its membership, including workers’ compensation and product discounts.  Printing Industries of Ohio / N.Kentucky is an affiliate of the national Printing Industries of America, the largest graphic arts association in the world.  For complete information on Printing Industries of Ohio / N.Kentucky and Printing Industries of America, please visit www.pianko.org.

Old Trail Printing's the paper project a hit, gives away over 70,000 sheets

August 15th, 2011

On Friday, August 12th teachers and program directors from around the city came to The Old Trail Printing Company's warehouse to fill their vehicles with free paper.  Old Trail Printing, the Midwest's largest woman-owned commercial printing company, might have international customers, but when it comes to directing charitable efforts, they focus on their community. 

This is, officially, the first year for the paper project.  While Old Trail Printing has been giving away paper to local schools and organizations sporadically throughout their almost 50 years in business, this is the first time they have concentrated their donations into a one-day event. Old Trail Printing wanted to help out on a larger scale than previous years.  “We were inspired by my daughter, Rebecca Howard, and her recent increased participation with local organizations”, explains Old Trail Printing principal Mike Held.  “Rebecca and husband Scott lost their son Gabriel to SIDS in January of this year and wanted to commemorate his life by donating to and working with local charities.  She came to us with the idea of donating paper to at-need programs in order to foster creativity and the arts in children.”  Old Trail Printing's donation could not have come at a better time.  With the budget cuts to nationwide arts programs, teachers and organizations are struggling to provide basic supplies like markers, crayons and paper. 

Instead of waiting for someone to ask for the paper, Old Trail decided to organize the giveaway and actively reach out to directors and teachers who might need the paper.  The supply has been available for some time now, however, they had to wait for the school districts to secure staffing for the 2011-2012 school year, another result of budget cuts.  This past Friday, however, it all finally came together and everyone involved was extremely happy at the paper project's success.  One recipient said, “Paper is a primary expense and this donation will enable continuance of our literacy focus and enable the savings to fund additional programming.”  Another explained that she spends at least $600 out-of-pocket on supplies for her students.  “It is nice to have some of the burden lifted from our own expenses.”

In addition to donating paper, Old Trail Printing has pledged an additional $250 to the class or group who submits images of the most creative way the paper was used.  Seeing that the whole premise of the giveaway was to support the arts, pictures of the crafts and projects that the paper is used for will be emailed to the company for judging and they will gift the money for art supplies.  All of these efforts will hopefully encourage and promote creativity and provide an outlet for the creative energy that is  pent up in local children. 

If you are interested in receiving information about the paper project next year or other future community events Old Trail Printing will be involved in, please email Julianne Kaercher at jkaercher@oldtrailprinting.com. 

Read the Columbus Dispatch article here.

Press Release - The Midwest's Largest Woman-Owned Commercial Printer Changes Branding, Embraces the Digital and Online Future of Printing

June 13, 2011

Last week was an exciting one for the Marketing Team at Old Trail Printing Co., located in Columbus, OH.  They officially launched their new website, along with an accompanying LinkedIn company page and Twitter account to introduce their company re-branding and new marketing strategy.  This past December, Old Trail Printing hired Director of Marketing, Jeff Lampert, who is spearheading the  campaign.  “Our [new] marketing efforts are focused on creating brand awareness and generating solid leads for our sales team.  We will promote our “Green” manufacturing processes and the fact that we are a certified Woman Owned company,” explains Lampert.  The new campaign will also eventually include online and direct mailers announcing the company's new logo and services, quarterly lunch-and-learns for customers and prospects, and a blog focusing on trending topics in the printing industry.  According to Sue Horn, one of the principals for OTP, Jeff was brought on to contribute “fresh ideas to develop new business and to better market our company.”  One of these ideas was to redesign the company logo. 

Purchased by Horn's father, Bernie Held, in 1964, Old Trail Printing created a logo that embodied the character of its location on “the old trail” when it was established in 1928.  Bernie designed the old carriage image when he took over and it has been a symbol of the company's early beginnings ever since.  This past week, the new logo that portrays an image that “better represents what we do as printers and graphic artists”, explains Horn,  was officially introduced through placement on Old Trail's letterhead, signage and throughout their online identity.  Horn says the change of not only the company logo, but its overall marketing strategy was an important one to make because Old Trail Printing is “continuously educating ourselves on the latest technologies and techniques” to stay on track with or ahead of the newest trends and requirements in the printing business.  The company purchased a Kodak NexPress in 2010 to provide customers multiple, state-of-the-art digital printing options.

According to Lampert, “This is an exciting time at our company.  We have a solid base of customers and we are committed to bringing more value to them.  We listen carefully to what they are telling us and respond with a solution that exceeds their expectations.”  In addition to connecting with these already established, long-time customers through their new campaign initiatives, Old Trail Printing increased their brand power by attending the Columbus Chamber of Commerce's Business-to-Business Expo held Wednesday, June 8th.  “Exhibiting at events like this is one more component of our marketing strategy.  Old Trail Printing has a great story to tell and we enjoy meeting new businesses and having a conversation about how we can contribute to their own success,” explains Lampert.  The company plans on continuing to increase their brand power and customer base through strategic initiatives involving print and online media, printing industry conferences and local social events.

One thing about Old Trail Printing that has not changed in the 47 years that it has been owned by the Held family is its commitment to the community of Central Ohio.  Michael Held, another principal at the company and Horn's brother, explains, “Our family believes that if you take care of the community you live and work in, it will take care of you.”  OTP is in the process of developing a program that will benefit local charities and schools by donating excess and scrap paper to organizations that can use it for art classes or craft projects for kids.  “This, and many other projects, are just a small part of what we do here at Old Trail to make our city a better place for our employees and our customers” says Held.

Check out Old Trail Printing's new website and services at www.oldtrailprinting.com and follow the company on Twitter (@OldTrailPrint) for new and interesting printing news information or connect with OTP's employees on LinkedIn.

Old Trail Printing Wins 17 Awards for Print Excellence

May 17, 2011

Old Trail Printing won 17 awards for print excellence, 8 Gold, 8 Silver and 1 Bronze at the Printing Industries of Ohio / Northern Kentucky competition.  The Print Excellence Awards entries exhibit the creativity of designers combined with the technical skills and expertise of the production and pressroom staffs.

Old Trail Printing is a leading creative and graphics solutions provider offering creative, printing, binding, mailing, kit packing and distribution solutions.  We deliver print production programs to fuel our customer’s successful results-oriented businesses.

Old Trail Printing is a qualified G7 Master Digital and Offset Print Solutions Provider headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.