Our Environmental Commitment

Posted on by Jayden Johnson

Author: Jayden Johnson, Marketing Intern

At Nahan, we take pride in our commitment to being a responsible, environmentally conscious printer. We want to help create a healthier future for our employees, our customers, our communities and the world. From purchasing raw materials to efficient manufacturing processes, Nahan is considerate of our environment in every decision across the company. In 2018 alone, we recycled over 15.5 Million Pounds of Paper!

 

Innovative Product Designs and Processes to Reduce Paper Usage

How we were able to recycle 15.5 Million pounds of paper, was through strategizing with our customers, sales, production, and estimating teams to review environmentally conscious options for raw materials and streamline processes for projects to reduce waste. All of our heatset web presses have automated register, color, cut off and ribbon control systems integrated into them. With these systems, we are able minimize waste and improve overall quality and consistency during make-ready and throughout the run. In addition to the integrated press systems that reduces waste while running, we utilize CIP 3 data from the plate making files to preset ink fountains prior to press start up.  Our Operators are then able to “fine tune” register and color to meet each customer’s exact requirements.

 

Ink and Coating

The inks we use are manufactured by environmentally conscious INX.  Our sheet fed inks are vegetable oil based (primarily soy) and approved for food packaging.  Even our heatset inks contain soy based materials.  All vegetable oils are naturally renewable resources, which not only gives you a high quality job through the best ink technology available, but it also helps the environment. Our scrap ink is recycled ensuring no ink is ever put into a landfill.  Even our coatings are environmentally friendly. Our UV and water based coatings are VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) Free and we use “Thermal Oxidizing” technology to destroy volatile organic compounds and hazardous air pollutants that are produced during the printing process.

 

Paper

One of the biggest decisions you have to make when designing a project is specifying the paper to use.  Besides price; basis weight, grade, shade, finish, certifications, recycled content and sustainability need to be taken into consideration.  Good News, we can help.  We print on a wide range of papers including those with Post Consumer content up to 100%, allowing you a wide range of options.

 

Industry Certification

Our environmental initiatives are not only appreciated by our customers, but by others outside the printing industry. We pride ourselves on having received certificates from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) A.C. as well as the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI®). To maintain our certifications from each organization, we are audited annually.

 

Continuous Improvement

For the last 25 years, our facility has been continuously improving by keeping all of the operating systems up to current building and environmental codes. Nahan has staff members who focus on our carbon footprint to ensure we are in compliance with local, state, and federal regulations. We are continuously learning different methods to reduce CO2 emissions and increase energy conservation, be more energy efficient throughout our facility and operations, as well as recycle, reuse, and reclaim waste.

 

And That’s Just the Beginning…

To learn more about our environmental initiatives and how we are continuously improving towards an even more environmentally conscious facility, get in touch with us by submitting a “Let’s Chat” inquiry.

 

Bio: Jayden Johnson is our Marketing Intern. He started working at Nahan in November 2018. Jayden is a student at St. Cloud State University and will graduate Magna Cum Laude with his B.S in Marketing, minors in Community Psychology and Management, and a Certificate in Professional Selling Specialization. In his spare time, Jayden enjoys hanging out with family and friends, traveling, and bowling.

 

The Value of My Internship at Nahan

Posted on by Jayden Johnson

Author: Jayden Johnson, Marketing Intern (pictured on right)

Doing an internship was something I never thought I would do in college.

Being a full-time student with a heavy course load and working as a part-time server, I just did not see how I could fit an internship into my hectic schedule. However, I decided to apply anyways to the Marketing Internship position at Nahan. After an interview and a period of nervously waiting while consuming multiple bags of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and binge watching Netflix, I got the call saying that I got the job!

Little did I know that this experience was going to change me not only professionally, but personally as well.

When I first started my job as the Marketing Intern here, I didn’t know anything about printing other than that it exists. I thought my job would consist of me filing paperwork, running to get people lunch, making coffee, more paperwork, and other miscellaneous jobs. Surprisingly, I was wrong. In fact, my job is never the same.er

One day I could be handling customer surveys, internal communications, researching potential industries that we could help, write letters to prospects for the sales team, and creating sample packs for them. The next day calling trade shows and negotiate pricing on exhibition, conduct meetings about future trade shows to discuss the timeline leading up to the show, going through attendance lists to find prospects, create press releases for attendees of the conference to learn more about Nahan, and hearing from the sales team what they need to have a successful trade show.

Studying marketing in college is one thing. It’s totally different thing you actually get to see those concepts, theories, and examples being applied to real life situations.

Not only have I learned various skills that will help me enter the workforce with some experience under my belt, but I’ve also learned that internships help people like myself who are trying to figure out what they want to do professionally after college. The best part of an internship though, is that you meet amazing people who believe in you and push you to step out of your comfort zone.

Are you interested or looking for an exciting internship/career? Visit our website to learn more about our culture and apply to job openings today and you will see why Nahan Printing is the Employer of Choice!

Bio: Jayden Johnson is our Marketing Intern. He started working at Nahan in November 2018. Jayden is a student at St. Cloud State University and will graduate Magna Cum Laude with his B.S in Marketing, minors in Community Psychology and Management, and a certificate in Professional Sales Specialization. In his spare time, Jayden enjoys hanging out with family and friends, traveling, and bowling.

How to Show ROI on Your Next Print Project

Posted on by Jayden Johnson

Author: Melissa Fransen, Marketing Manager

Hello fellow marketers! Whether you are new to marketing or have been in the field your entire career, there is one thing that we are all probably familiar with measuring for the campaigns we develop and execute; ROI. For social media marketing, the data is right at our fingertips as we can see impressions, click through rates, and engagement %. For email marketing, we can see open rates, clicks, and conversions. In Google Analytics, we can see website traffic driven from organic, direct, and referral sources, but what about print as a part of an omni-channel strategy? Here are some great ways to measure and show ROI on your next print project!

1. Use the Power of Your Data

 

Have you heard the term Variable Data Printing or sometimes referred to as VDP? If not, variable data printing allows your printed piece to be customized to the individual. Basically, it’s the opportunity for 1:1 marketing using print. With VDP, you can personalize the printed piece based on data, including everything from personalized imagery to custom offers. On a recent case study with one of our customers, when they personalized their mailing to the individuals they saw a 3X sales lift compared to a control group that was not personalized. What a huge success!

When you think about your next campaign, think about ways you might be able to use the power of your data. I know as a consumer, I love when marketing is tailored directly to me and my interests. I want offers and coupons that are relevant to what I purchase vs. a generic offer where I have no interest.

If you are using a coupon on your next print project, be sure to use an individualized offer code so you know the coupon was redeemed. This will also allow you to track redemption rates and sales per mailer.

Here are a few ideas for your next project:

  • Maps to the nearest store location
  • Abandoned cart item coupon
  • Offers specific to something your customer has purchased in the past
  • Special incentive for birthdays

 

2. Unique Landing Pages

 

By creating specific landing pages for your mailings, you can track the ROI from your landing page perspective and will be able to see how many people visit that particular page  There are a number of ways to drive consumers to your page; it might be a QR code or listing the URL in your text. To take it even further, you can also create a PURL (Personalized URL). To maximize your impact, create a compelling incentive for the recipient to visit the page to drive the biggest result.

 

3. Informed Delivery

 

Have you heard of Informed Delivery? If not, to sum it up, this is a relatively new FREE service from the USPS where individuals can sign up for daily emails of what is being delivered to them in the mail each day. I am personally signed up and I really like it since it gives me a glimpse of what to expect in my mailbox when I arrive home.

From a marketer’s perspective, when we set up Informed Delivery campaigns, we are able to attach an image to the printed piece (they call it a ride-along image) and a URL of your choice will also be attached to the campaign. In a nutshell, the individual that receives the email will see the URL and can click on the link to drive them to your site before they even receive the mail piece at home! The USPS will then provide a report of opens and click through for the campaign. When using this service, a marketer can drive a response before the mail even arrives in the mailbox – a great ROI advantage! Contact us to learn more about this great offering and the best part is that we can even help you get the campaign set up. The USPS offers postal incentives each year, and there have been a number of postal incentives for Informed Delivery recently, so be sure to check out the incentives as well, to see if you can qualify for a postal discount!

Are you interested in reviewing the case study that we referenced above? Contact us today for a copy! Also, if you are interested in learning how our customers are utilizing variable data to maximize their campaigns, request a sample pack today.

Bio: Melissa Fransen is our Marketing Manager. She started with Nahan in May of 2017. Melissa is responsible for Nahan’s marketing initiatives, which includes everything from conference planning to social media initiatives. In her spare time, Melissa enjoys spending time with her husband and enjoying time in the outdoors with family and friends.