For some catalog printers, Internet commerce is actually helping to create new business, a recent article in the Portland Press Herald points out. The story focuses on a major printer in Freeport, Maine — The Dingley Press — who now prints catalogs for many online retailers.
The message of the article is clear, that despite not having brick-and-mortar stores, online retailers still rely on print material to drive consumers to their digital storefronts. The influx of print catalogers has even encouraged The Dingley Press to expand, investing $17 million in a new press, robotics and other equipment.
The company’s president, Eric Lane, does consider the overall demand for printed catalogs to have declined over the past decade or so, but it is the new print catalogers entering the market that are dictating some growth.
Lane is quoted in the Press Herald article stating that, “in order to reach prospects, to bring them to your website, you need a tool for that.”
For many catalog publishers, not just printing but also postage can be a major cost in fulfilling the campaign, especially for companies who want their catalogs mailed directly to consumers (like many retailers demand). The article goes on to describe methods that printers have developed over the years to streamline postage and shipping and drive costs to a bare minimum. The technology employed is an impressive display of automation and organization that delivers pallets of catalogs to specific post offices, meaning only the mail carrier has to touch the catalogs in process of delivery.
Dirxion and other online publications companies offer an additional method of delivery, this method being via email, website links and advertising campaigns that link out to online catalogs. Some of Dirxion’s customers use this alternative method to mitigate some of the costs of printing and shipping, as well. Of course, Dirxion’s business is largely centered on the online publication of printed material. This creates a synergy between printers and online publishers.
A good example of this is the work Dirxion does with high-end furniture retailer Restoration Hardware. The print team works with its e-commerce team to find a balance between printing, shipping and online delivery. Today, RH’s online catalogs reach millions of consumers each year, providing a boost to its impressive print run for their large collection of source books. RH’s stock is up nearly 87 percent since the beginning of the year, and the company continues to focus on the production, printing and online publishing of its source book collection as it prepares for future releases.
Perhaps it is companies like RH, who is well known for placing high-praise and importance on its printed source books, that have inspired online retailers like Wayfair LLC, a Boston-based online retailer that sells furniture, housewares and other items, to embrace printed catalogs. In the Press Herald article, Paul Miller, vice president and deputy director of American Catalog Mailers Association, acknowledges that Wayfair has “gotten into catalogs quite heavily.”
“The catalog used to be much more of a self-standing mechanism than it is today, (whereas now it) serves as a springboard to get the customer to buy from that company,” Miller said in the article.
“The catalog still carries the identity of the company, of the retailer.”
Perhaps it is companies like RH, who is well known for placing high-praise and importance on its printed source books, that have inspired online retailers like Wayfair LLC, a Boston-based online retailer that sells furniture, housewares and other items, to embrace printed catalogs. In the Press Herald article, Paul Miller, vice president and deputy director of American Catalog Mailers Association, acknowledges that Wayfair has “gotten into catalogs quite heavily.”
“The catalog used to be much more of a self-standing mechanism than it is today, (whereas now it) serves as a springboard to get the customer to buy from that company,” Miller said in the article.
“The catalog still carries the identity of the company, of the retailer.” 
