Paw Print and Mail is a print, mail, and branding business in South Burlington, Vermont. The thirty-four-year-old company is a local resource for many small businesses and non-profit organizations in the area. It works to bring quality products and professionalism to its customers. The firm primarily focuses on the printing of business cards, notepads, newsletters, flyers, posters, and envelopes but is dedicated to assisting its clients with a variety of print and mail orders.
Stepping Up to the Plate
Paw Print and Mail was first established in 1989 by the original owner before coming under the direction of the present owner, Tim Fortune, in 2019 when Fortune bought the business. The company's name was inspired when the original owner's cat walked through ink and left smudged paw prints on pieces of paper, establishing the company's name.
Usherwood Office Technology had called on the Paw Prints office and had periodically visited to ensure the company had all the equipment needed for daily business. However, it was a coincidence Fortune had met Wright Caswell, Major Account Executive at Usherwood before he acquired the print and mail business.
After time had passed, one day, when Caswell walked into Paw Prints to check on an envelope machine, he and Fortune recognized one another. "He did a Discovery visit and looked at all the various types of equipment we had, where we were going to take the business, and the time we had on our current large production machines," Fortune said. "And so initially, it focused on the large-production printers."
From then, Caswell and Fortune regularly worked with one another to ensure Paw Print and Mail received the necessary and upgraded equipment for their daily production needs. "We established this friendship, which has been awesome, and he's been a really good customer of ours," Caswell said.
Improving the Quality of Print and Mail
Fortune and Caswell's friendship and sales relationship resulted in Paw Print and Mail purchasing an envelope printing machine from Usherwood.
"I found that Usherwood is extremely professional in the nature of how service calls are managed," Fortune said. "I have a knee-jerk reaction to copy people on things as they're happening, so I probably involve myself in more things than Wright Caswell needs to know."
Usherwood also assisted Paw Prints and Mail with an MFP to help reduce the workload from production color machines. This allowed the production of color machines to print higher-quality-colored products to showcase to clients. The company sees a wide range of customers daily, so displaying its high-quality products at any given time is crucial.
"We have customers that come in, and they do projects with us that may be small in nature, like fifty pieces," Fortune said. "And we work with them once a year. There are others we work with that are institutions we print for every week."
Caswell is satisfied to have helped Fortune by providing a machine capable of improving the color quality of products. "It helps with a lot of walk-in business, and the color quality is far beyond what you expected. He can make sales off of his color quality just being pleasing to his customers. So, it's really helped him," he said.
Having a Partner to Rely On
Paw Print and Mail is pleased to have a company such as Usherwood to assist with any print or mail equipment needs, no matter the time or day. "I bought the business in 2019, and when COVID came around and shut the world down, we were very much isolated," Fortune said. "Vermont is a very isolated area, and there's not a lot of people to support your needs. The relationship I’ve formed with Usherwood during times of desperate measures is one where they’re always there for you, just a phone call away. "
Now, Usherwood and Paw Print continue to retain a friendly, great collaboration that equally benefits both companies and the locals in the area that depend upon Paw Print's print and mail solutions. "There's one thing about the sale of a product. The greater component is the service," Fortune said.
