Glen Douglas has been the owner and president of ImageX since its start in November 1986. Over that time the company has grown from an envelope-printing business to the go-to-source for its customers' marketing collateral, printing, packaging, promotional, direct mail, and web-based needs.

The company's primary mission is to provide quality print and promotional products, which it does in a variety of ways. At the request of some Midwestern customers, for example, ImageX expanded its services into print product inventory control.

"The thing that we do most to help customers is to build them a storefront," says Douglas. Maintaining consistent print guidelines, designs, and quality standards can be challenging for companies with more than one office, as well as organizations that have regular turnover or modest budgets. Customers can save time and stay on budget by having employees use a custom ImageX storefront for business cards and other print orders.

A storefront allows ImageX to set up print guidelines that a customer "may or may not know they had," notes Douglas. The ImageX storefront system also lets employees proof their own material, for fewer errors, and gives customers control over print inventory and printing files.

"Cities and counties love it because they can control their budget through the website," says Douglas. The storefront is "a really good place to keep track of who is doing what." That's especially helpful to organizations that tend to have a lot of employee turnover.

Another area of booming business is direct mail, according to Douglas. A few years ago many ImageX customers had replaced direct mail with email promotions. But the effectiveness of email has waned, he says, which is why demand for his company's direct mail service is ramping up again. "With spam filters the way they are, it's almost impossible to reach someone if they don't want to be reached," he says.

ImageX, unlike many companies, handles the complete mailing of direct mail pieces as well as the printing. It also offers variable printing, which allows customers to personalize pieces using digital technology. Variable printing is slower and more expensive than offset printing but more effective for some projects. If needed, the ImageX staff can help customers choose the approach that best meets their needs.

Sometimes meeting customer needs is a matter of timing rather than technology. Recently one customer fell behind on giving ImageX the data needed for a critically important project. "We produced a highly complex mailing and mailed it within two working days," says Douglas. "Since these typically take ten days to do, we were extremely pleased, as was our customer."

ImageX produces a wide variety of promotional products. These include event canopies and trade show signage, as well as smaller items such as fidget spinners, reuseable shopping bags, and water bottles.

"Most people are surprised by the quality of the items," notes Douglas, who says his company leverages its buying power to provide customers with the highest quality products at highly competitive prices.

Now 14 employees strong, ImageX moved to Hacienda in 2011 to give its staff a more convenient location. For more information about ImageX, visit www.imagexprint.com.