BELLEVILLE OFFICE:44 Moira Street West,Belleville, Ontario K8P 1S3Tel: (613) 962-2360 1-800-238-6376Fax: (613) 962-3055 Email: info@essencegroup.com

OSHAWA OFFICE:1240 Simcoe Street North Oshawa, Ontario L1G 4X3Tel: (905) 434-1771 Fax: (905) 434-8373 Email: copiesplus@essencegroup.com

P R I N T I N G I P U B L I S H I N G I M U L T I M E D I A P R O D U C T I O N

Easy Print• Full colour printing• Complete in-house design• Still affordably priced

Essence PublishingOne of North America’s largest custom book publishers

Essence ProductionsVideo,Multimedia & Internet solutions

Copies Plus• Satellite office for all of the above services• Complete in-house copy services• Always affordably priced

Your informative guide to PRINTING & PUBLISHING

Volume One NUMBER ONE

O v e r a l l c o n s i s t e n c y – E C G d o e s i t a l l !

When you are busy, taking the time to launch a new publication is a diffi-cult commitment to justify. This newsletter, however, has been a burningdesire for quite a while. So finally, we have simply made the time. Needless

to say, we are proud to present the first quarterly issue of Essence CommunicationsGroup’s Work & Turn.

Some of you are probably wondering about the title. “Work and Turn” is a print-ing term that involves one set of plates imaged with both sides of the printed page.After one pass through the press, the paper is simply turned over and run throughagain. No extra plates, no extra set-up, and both sides of the page are printed.This technique can be very efficient when the circumstances are right. Andthat is what our newsletter is all about – saving you time and money whenthe situation is right. More than that, however, it refers to turning from theway printers traditionally view themselves and changing to a full-fledgedcommunications provider – printing on both sides of the page, so to speak.

Many businesses have a good relationship with their printer and haveno desire to switch. That’s great – reading this newsletter will hopefullysharpen your skills as a consumer and maybe you will have a better under-standing of the products and services you are purchasing. It may giveyou new ideas that you hadn’t thought of before. Or it may simply helpkeep you up to date with the frantic pace of technological change.

Some of you don’t have a relationshipwith your print provider. Some businessesvisit stationery stores for the occasionalorder of business cards and think of printas a sporadic type of purchase. Or yousimply place a call a couple of times ayear to get new forms sent down.

The rest of you probably have alove-hate relationship with yourprinter. They are great sometimes,but manage to let you down at justthe wrong time. Orders get messedup; they forget to call, don’t under-stand what you are asking for,miss your deadlines and don’talways seem to care. Readingour newsletter isn’t going to bea magic cure, but we hope togive you a glimpse of what’s

Save money on your printing costs...

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Our Comprehensive Services Include:Marketing & Promotion

Experienced assistance availableCorporate Identity & Logo Creation

Skilled design teamWriting, Editing & Proofreading

Writers and editors on staffDigital Printing

Colour and B/WWhen speed is of the essence

Large Format PrintingPosters, Tradeshows, Signage

Offset PrintingBusiness Cards to MagazinesWhen quality counts

Internet and MultimediaWeb page & CD-ROM design

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Visit us often at

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Inside This ISSUEClient SUCCESS – EMSCO.................................2Family & FRIENDS .........................................2Spot a TYPO – WIN $100 CASH (SEE DETAILS)...............2Should You Be On THE WEB? ..............................3Staff PROFILE – GUS HENNE ...........................3New PRODUCTS – BIG COLOUR POSTERS ...........4

t w o

involved in the printing businessso that you can judge for yourselfwhat is going wrong.

At the same time, we hope toillustrate our vision that a com-munications company should bemore than just a printer. We cur-rently have four sister companiesoperating under the umbrellaname of Essence Communicat-ions Group (ECG). Easy Print isour offset and digital printing divi-sion. Essence Publishing is ourbook and artwork publishing divi-sion. Essence Productions is ourdigital video and internet division,and Copies Plus is our first satel-lite office located in Oshawa, spe-cializing in quick-print services.

Strategically, these companiescooperate in many ways. CopiesPlus, for instance, is able to offer ahuge range of printed product andcreative design through our offsetdivision. Our marketing depart-ment can utilize expert editorsfrom Essence Publishing to providethe final polish to your sales mater-ial. Book cover designers can work

on creative brochure designs andso forth.

Inside each issue, you will findsome regular columns like: ClientSuccess Stories; Staff Profile; TechTips; Questions and Answers;Trivia lists and many more. Youmay find these useful to keep forfuture reference, and we havethree-hole punched them forarchiving purposes. If you wouldlike a place in which to keep them,please contact us and we will sendyou a free ECG binder.

Work & Turn is distributed quar-terly around the geographical areain which we operate, but if you orsomeone you know is interestedin receiving a guaranteed, per-sonalized edition, please don’t hes-itate to subscribe. The easiest wayis to visit our Web site at:http://www.essencegroup.com.Of course, it is free.

Last, but not least, we hope toinclude many comments, ques-tions and answers from our read-ing public. If you have one of theabove you wish to share, pleasedon’t hesitate to contact us. Theeasiest way is emailing:

worknturn@essencegroup.com

Save Moneyc o n t i n u e d f r o m o n e

Family & FRIENDS

EmscoApproximately one year ago,

Belleville-based electrical companyEmsco approached us to quote ontheir monthly sales flyer. Initially,their concern was with the quality ofthe photo reproductions since manytimes they were taken out of suppli-er catalogues. Traditional methods ofreproduction resulted in dark andblurry images – not helpful for prod-ucts you are trying to sell! ECG design-ers and scanner operators are care-fully trained and highly skilled, andwere able to utilize high-end equip-ment to produce a much better repro-duction. Digital photography was alsoused very successfully to give furtherflexibility for items that did not haveexisting photos. George Reid, pur-chasing manager at Emsco says, “Wewere very happy. The enhanced qual-ity immediately paid off withincreased sales and positive exposure.”

But that was the easy part. ECGsales and marketing staff suggestedchanging the format of the sales flyerand adding more colour. Exceptionaldesign utterly transformed this prod-uct into a highly professional mar-keting piece. The changes resultedin a net SAVINGS per month forEmsco – ECG actually produced asubstantially better product and savedthe client money. Reid says, “A bet-ter product for less money – how canyou go wrong?”

If you are interested in discussingways your company can deliver amore powerful, productive and pro-fessional product and possibly evensave money, contact an ECG repre-sentative today.

With a close-knit staff of more than 20 full-time employees, ECG can’thelp but be interested in more than work performance. This regularcolumn will give updates on the people standing behind our companyand will seek to honour them and their families.

In this first issue, however, we will succumb to nepotism and presentthe two new babies born to the owners of ECG.

Victoria VISSERBorn May 18,2000 toMichael &Sharon Visser

NathanVISSER

Born July 4,2000 to

David &Bonnie Visser

We take proofreading very seri-ously over here, and to keep our edi-

tors on their toes, we’re offering $100 cash to the first person who spots aspelling or grammatical error anywhere in this issue. If you think that youfound something, call our office and enter extension 49. This is a specialvoice mailbox set up for this contest. You will be instructed to leave yourname and number, and we will follow up with you.

If you can’t find any errors, consider using our editors the next time youwrite something that you want to be perfect.

Client SUCCESS

Spot a TYPO ...win $100 CASH

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Questions & ANSWERS – Ask DAVE

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Just about anything you readtoday mentions the internet. TheWeb is becoming an importantpart of everyday life for millionsof people and the way they com-municate. Essence CommunicationsGroup has a vested interest instaying current with internettrends, and this column willattempt to translate some of whatwe see out there.

“Should you be on the Web?”almost sounds like a rhetoricalquestion in today’s world. I wouldsuggest, however, that it is not. Veryfew businesses are making anymoney from their Web site; some

A company is only as good as thepeople it employs. At ECG we areproud of our employ-ees and theirdedication toquality, theirwork andour clients.As we havegrown, wehave beenfortunate tobring peopleon board whohave special sets ofskills that our clients can utilize.

Gus Henne is such a person.Gus has been with ECG sincethe fall of 1999. His official titleis Marketing Director and that ishis specialty. Not only does heprovide sales and marketingadvice to the Essence Group ofcompanies, but he is availablefor consultation with our clientsas well.

Gus has worked in variousaspects of printing, publishingand sales his entire life. Hecomes from Western Canadaand worked for many of themost successful printers in thatarea. Gus worked for Friesen’swhen they were relatively small;now they are the second largestbook printer in Canada. He wasalso instrumental in helpingTeldon Calendars grow to bethe world famous company it istoday. Coming to a smaller com-munity, he was unsure of thecaliber of business people hewould find. Happily, he hasfound himself constantlyamazed at the level of creativi-ty and craftsmanship shown bythe entrepreneurs in this area.

Gus is available for appointmentsregarding any printing or market-ing questions that you may have.There is no cost or obligationwhen meeting with him. Typically,Gus spends two days a week inOshawa and the rest of this time inBelleville. You can reach him at:

(613) 962-2360 ext. 30 oremail: gus@essencegroup.com

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I’ve noticed that everything I see from big companiesand franchises looks fancy and is printed in colour whilemost of my brochures and invoices look basic. I’m afraidthat it makes my business look second class. What doyou think, and what can be done?

Bigger companies and franchises generally have bigger budgets andlarger print-runs which traditionally have helped to make full-colourprinting feasible. These same companies are typically not hesitant tospend money on professional design. Smaller companies often thinkthey can’t afford it.

Times are changing! With the advent of digital pre-press and print-ing, almost everyone can afford high quality work. Our graphicdesigners can produce a full-colour, professional look for your compa-ny very quickly and inexpensively. Furthermore, by utilizing digitalpress technology, even short runs from 1-500 copies are easily justified.

In today’s information-bloated, fiercely competitive environment,you have to be seen to be heard. Science proves that those withimpact get noticed and get respect. It costs relatively little to look pro-fessional if you meet with the staff of Essence Communications Group.Whether you’re just starting out in business or simply need to updateyour image, I recommend it as a first priority.

are losing a lot, and many don’t real-ly need to be there at all – at leastin the capacity that they are.

I would suggest that almost everybusiness needs an email address,just like everyone needs a fax num-ber and a regular phone number.You must make yourself as acces-sible to your customer as possible– don’t try to force them into doingthings the way you like it. Email isa tool, just like any other.

A Web site is different. Ask your-self, “What do I want my site to dofor my company?” The most com-mon answer is to bring in newclients and customers. Hopefully,

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Should You Be on the

WEB?

On The Lighter SIDE

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they will find you on the Web, read aboutyour services, visit your virtual brochureand then call you up or visit. Your sitefunctions as a virtual yellow page ad. Butwho are you trying to attract? If you sellto local clients and don’t offer anythingmore than a yellow page ad or abrochure, you’re wasting your time andmoney. Why? Because local peoplewon’t find you on the internet. Somepeople from all over the world will, but

you’re not interested in them. Let’s dothe math. If 1/100th of a percent of thepeople in the world found your page,you would have a lot of hits. But if1/100th of a percent of the people in yourlocal areahit your page, the count wouldbe almost non-existent. How do you getlocal people hitting your page? You adver-tise with signage, radio and print ads,and by word of mouth. So what’s thepoint of your ad on a Web site if you haveto advertise to get people to see it?

Next time:Local Web sites that make $ense.

ECG recently installed a large format poster printer.This machine is capable of printing 4 feet wide by 20feet long on many different types ofmaterials. Many of thesematerials are UV and waterprotected, suitable foroutdoor use. We also havefloor laminates so you canadhere logos andadvertisements to the floor. Thismachine can also produce regularvinyl letters, so ECG can now providefor all of your sign-making needs.Mounting on many different types of materialis also available. Some ways that our clientsare utilizing this new technology include:

Posters, banners, full-colour signs, smallstickers, big stickers, floor stickers, tradeshow displays, menu boards, life-size cut-outs, lettering, vehicle graphics – almostanything that you see out there, we can

do it!

N E W P R O D U C T S

Production NOTES

On The Web?c o n t i n u e d f r o m t h r e e

IS 99.9% ACCURACYGOOD ENOUGH?If employees around theUSA are giving just 99.9percent, then...• 811,000 rolls of faulty 35

mm film will be loadedthis year.

• Two plane landings dailyat O’Hare InternationalAirport will be unsafe.

• 3056 copies of tomor-row’s Wall Street Journalwill be missing one ofthe three sections.

• 291 pacemaker opera-tions will be performedincorrectly this year.

• 315 entries in Webster’sDictionary will turn outto be misspelled.

• 18,322 pieces of mail willbe mishandled in thenext hour.

• 12 babies will be givento the wrong parentseach day.

Editor: David VisserLayout & Design:

Joe VanVeenen

Assembled in Photoshop5.5, Illustrator 8.0 andQuark 4.1 using aPowermac G3/450. PDFfor the Web producedthrough Adobe Acrobat4.05.

Proofed on a connectedXerox Docucolour 12 copi-er.

Film created through aXitron RIP on a 4-pageHercules Imagesetter at2540 dpi, 175 line.

Printed on 80lb JensonGloss using a 725P Omni-Adast offset printingpress.

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