Read the full article here.

Bennigan’s, a valued client of Thomas Reprographics, has honored the company with their “Vendor of the Year” award. Bennigan’s uses the Visualogistix service from Thomas Reprographics, which provides companies with control, customization and availability of marketing material through an online storefront. Franchises can order everything from signs and banners to menus and coupons through a branded online store, which streamlines the ordering process and allows for customization to meet the franchise’s needs. To see the full press release, click here.

Visualogistix brings collateral management into the 21st century. Instead of letting signs, menus, displays and other material get outdated because it’s too hard to make changes, you can quickly and easily make changes, while ensuring high quality and brand consistency. To see more about this service go to www.visualogistix.com.

As a team building exercise following our 2012 National Sales Conference, our Dallas sales team stocked the shelves at the North Texas Food Bank. They all had a great time together, but most importantly were able to prepare pallets that would feed 6,480 people!

They were able to complete:

• 7 pallets of food
• 225 boxes
• 7,774 pounds

Employees from Thomas Reprographics also donated 500 lbs of food which feeds about 417 people.

Thomas Reprographics cares about the community and is proud of the efforts made by the Dallas sales team. See how you can help in North Texas at www.ntfb.org, or check out your local area food bank!

Thomas Reprographics will be exhibiting at the 52nd Annual IFA Convention in Orlando, Florida on February 11-14. Representing the company will be Bryan Thomas, Trevor Hansen, Richard Lira and Mario Erwin. Thomas will be demonstrating Visualogistix® from a newly designed 20’x10’ booth. Over 300 vendors will be exhibiting at this year’s show. Thomas Reprographics has been a Supplier member of the International Franchise Association since 2009.
The keynote speakers at the convention will be:

• Bill O’Reilly from FOX News
• David Novak, Chairman & CEO of YUM! Brands, Inc.
• Guy Kawasaki, author and former chief evangelist of Apple

Thomas Reprographics is participating in the show this year to share with the over 3,000 franchise professionals, from many of the industry’s largest, most iconic franchise brands about the benefits of using Visualogistix®.

For franchisers, Visualogistix® brings their collateral management into the 21st century. Instead of leaving everything to individual franchisees (and worrying about consistent branding) or producing mass quantities of materials (without allowing for local customization) or completing separate jobs for each franchise (which is expensive), they can order what they need when they need it with the ability to enforce branding standards and allow for customization as needed.

Visualogistix® offers:

• All collateral — signs, displays, brochures, posters, flyers, everything — stored electronically
• A customized Web page to order the collateral — with 24/7 access from anywhere in the world
• The ability to establish standards for customization — and consistency — across the organization
• Access for franchisees to order collateral as needed — within your established approval process
• Reduced time — and the associated costs — spent ensuring brand consistency, managing revisions, resolving differences between franchisees, and more.

See all that Visualogistix® has to offer at www.visualogistix.com.

More information on IFA can be found at www.franchise.org. If you are attending the show, stop by and see us in booth #736.

What’s on the horizon for green building in 2012? Experts say it will rebound globally despite continuing economic stresses. Expected at the top of the trends are the transition to LEED 2012 (the newest version of the green building rating system), the adoption of sustainable building practices internationally and an increased focus on greening existing buildings.

See details on top trends here and here.

As a digital print service provider, Thomas Reprographics takes sustainability seriously. From the products and equipment used to employee and customer education, we have adopted sustainability practices to help make a positive impact for future generations. With the digital era, it’s much easier to offer our customers ways to manage and distribute their information without the use of paper. In Digital Publishing Solutions December 2011 issue, Thomas Reprographics is highlighted as an eco-conscious company featuring our sustainable practices (read the full article).

Remember Thomas Reprographics when considering your contribution to green building in 2012!

Happy holidays and good tidings of gingerbread!

Ginger and the Snaps represented A&E – The Graphics Complex well in Saturday’s Gingerbread Build-off competition. They didn’t bring home one of the awards, but at the AIA’s request, their holiday gazebo was chosen to go on display at the ArCH exhibition! The winning structures, along with a few select entries, will be on public display for a week in the ArCH gallery at 315 Capital.

Ginger and the Snaps is so proud of their gazebo; the team really stepped it up a notch from last year and paid a lot of attention to detail. Standing inside the gazebo was a decorated Christmas tree, with little wrapped packages and toys underneath. Snowmen and Santa in his sleigh were close by in the snow, and there was even a gingerbread man fishing in the outdoor pond! Hand painted nutcrackers stood guard at the gazebo steps.

Competition was very stiff this year (most of the winning teams brought in professional pastry chefs to assist them), and some of the entries were unbelievable. Winners included gingerbread interpretations of St. Basil’s Cathedral, the Astrodome and Houston’s historic Alabama Theatre. There was a realistic looking pirate ship and a tall tower with Rapunzel’s hair (spaghetti, of course) flowing out of the tower window. This year, the public got to vote on their favorite.

Ginger and the Snaps consisted of Ashley Ford, Ed Stevelman, Debby Joiner and Bettye Guillory. This is their second time in the Gingerbread Build-off. They look forward to next year’s competition!

Workflow Management

Bring your workflow together with ConstructionVaults to ensure clearly defined responsibilities and specific actions, make timely decisions, and track actions through to completion. You save even more time by automating standard workflow processes and assignments. Workflow Management eliminates bottlenecks, increases transparency, and ensures the job gets done right.

Efficient Results

• Establish consistent processes
• Clearly define roles, responsibilities
• Replicate common processes

When you get a process right, you do it the same over and over again. ConstructionVaults helps you both get the workflow right and automate the replication of that workflow for maximum efficiency.

Keep Projects Flowing

Workflow functionality in ConstructionVaults allows you to leverage the power of technology to keep your projects on track. Instead of manually tracking common processes, let ConstructionVaults do it for you.

ConstructionVaults simplifies and accelerates your projects by letting you:

• Turn repeated processes (like approval routes for documents) into reusable workflow groups, automating assigned actions
• Track who has seen which documents and when
• Perform the same action against multiple project documents
• Assign proxy access for other users for times when you are unavailable
• Designate actions to specific users and track completion of those actions

Plan for Success

By making standard processes easy to track and replicate, ConstructionVaults reduces bottlenecks and increases efficiency. Your projects stay on time and on budget with clearly defined responsibilities. You can even distribute tasks directly to users at any location and time by integrating smart phone functionality included in ConstructionVaults.

For more details on how you benefit from the ConstructionVaults workflow features, contact us.

Canstruction Houston is a unique design/build competition for Houston Area architects, engineers, and construction firms. Canstruction® puts a visual spotlight on hunger while showcasing the design and construction industry giving back to the communities it helps build.

Architects, engineers, designers, contractors and students mentored by these professionals, are challenged to design and build colossal sculptures using canned food as their primary building block. Tape and cardboard serve as nails and cement. The colors and designs on food product labels form the artists’ pallet. “Bricks” come in a variety of sizes from the smallest tuna can to the industrial-size tomato can. Competition rules dictate that structures can be only 10′ x 20′ x 8′ h and must be self-supporting.

This deliciously inventive charity broke ground in 1992, the brainchild of the Society for Design Administration in association with chapters of the American Institute of Architects and allied professional organizations in the design and construction industry. A truly grass roots, all volunteer charity, the competition currently takes place in over 90 cities across North America but is destined to spread beyond our shores to nations around the world. It’s the most exciting food drive ever created.

1.2 million pounds of food is currently raised annually as a result of the competitions. Our goal is to significantly increase this amount each year by increasing the number of cities and firms participating, and by increasing the quantity of food used in each structure. Canstruction® has the ability to cross all political, national, racial and religious boundaries, bringing all societies together to produce a visually stunning collective statement to put an end to hunger.

A&E – The Graphics Complex, a division of Thomas Reprographics was the underwriting sponsor for the 2011 SDA Canstruction® Design Build competition benefiting the Houston Food Bank! Fourteen area firms came together to build structures at Houston’s CityCentre and competed for the top awards.

This year’s Houston area winners are as follows:

• 2011 Best Meal – VLK/Langham Creek High School
• 2011 Best Use of Labels – Cobb Fendley Architects
• 2011 Structural Ingenuity – Costello
• 2011 Jurors Favorite – Gensler
• 2011 Honorable Mention – Perkins + Will
• 2011 Honorable Mention – English + Associates
• 2011 Best Use of Most Needed Items – Gensler
• 2011 Best Sign – Mitchell Carlson Stone

See photos here.

According to Fast Company, in a recent story about brand equity was an interesting observation. The survey, which talked to 50,000 consumers, “found that only 20% of the brands they interact with have a positive impact on their lives, and… that 70% of brands could disappear entirely without them noticing.”



There are 970,000 foodservice locations in the U.S. Each of them a brand, from Sally’s Sandwiches to McDonald’s store #7,794, each location has a local reputation even apart from the headquarters’ brand. How can “brands” have such a low impact on consumers? 

Hint: it is more than the food and it is more than the price or the promotion. Engagement comes with a high cost and according to the same Fast Company survey, “More than half (51%) of consumers want to reward responsible companies by shopping there; 53% would pay a 10% premium for products from a responsible company. (Read more)

As you plan for 2012, think about your brand, what does it stand for? Do you engage your customers? Do you have a positive impact on their lives? Does your brand demonstrate responsibility? Let Thomas Reprographics help you be a better brand, one that consumers would reward you by shopping with you.

Do you realize that before anyone takes a bite at your restaurant, you’re making an impression? Your signs, menus, and other collateral material are your first chance to establish your brand identity with your customers. Not only do you want these items to look perfect, you want to be able to make changes quickly and easily as you change menu items, update prices, and promote special offers. And if you have more than one location, you want to maintain brand consistency while allowing for local variations.

Everything at Your Fingertips

Visualogistix®, a service from Thomas Reprographics, brings your collateral management into the 21st century. Instead of letting signs, menus, displays and other material get outdated because it’s too hard to make changes, you can quickly and easily make changes, while ensuring high quality and brand consistency.

Visualogistix gives you:

• All your collateral — brochures, posters, signs, flyers, etc. — stored electronically (instead of stacked in a closet)
• Your own Web page to order your collateral — with 24/7 access from anywhere in the world
• The ability to establish standards for customization — and consistency — across the organization
• Access for others in the organization to order collateral as needed — within your established approval process
• Reduced time — and the associated costs — spent managing revisions, storage, inventory, and obsolescence.

Good news for retailers! The National Retail Federation’s 2011 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey is still forecasting overall holiday retail sales to grow 2.8 percent during the months of November and December to $465.6 billion. Additionally, nearly six in 10 holiday shoppers (59.9%) say they plan to take advantage of retailers’ sales and discounts to make additional non-gift purchases for themselves and their families during the holiday season. See the results of the full survey here.

Make sure you’re ready for the increase in business this holiday season with eye-catching banners, signs and window graphics for all your locations. Visualogistix, a new service from Thomas Reprographics, brings your collateral management into the 21st century. Instead of producing mass quantities of collateral materials (much of which is wasted) or carrying the expense of one-off production, you order what you need when you need it with the ability to customize as needed.

Visualogistix gives you:

• All your collateral — brochures, posters, signs, flyers, etc. — stored electronically (instead of stacked in a closet)
• Your own Web page to order your collateral — with 24/7 access from anywhere in the world
• The ability to establish standards for customization — and consistency — across the organization
• Access for others in the organization to order collateral as needed — within your established approval process
• Reduced time — and the associated costs — spent managing revisions, storage, inventory, and obsolescence.

Download our full brochure on how Visualogistix can help your business, or visit our website.