WARWICK, Rhode Island – According to Chris Butler, executive director of INSIGHT, a local organization that promotes independence and opportunities for people with vision loss, a primary challenge is finding a printer that delivers high quality marketing materials at a reasonable cost.

“In an increasingly competitive nonprofit environment, it is important that our marketing materials stand out in a mailbox and on brochure racks,” said Butler. “Minuteman Press Providence-Warwick is always great about identifying ways that we can reduce costs by using different types of paper or printing a few more to reach a quantity price break.”

The printer has established a successful full service working relationship with INSIGHT and provides all printing including newsletters, brochures, direct mail appeals, business cards, and promotional flyers.

The mission of INSIGHT is to inspire confidence, build skills and empower people who are blind and visually impaired by providing diverse services that produce opportunities and choices. The organization is located on Jefferson Boulevard in Warwick with a fully equipped radio station, technology center, training apartment, classrooms, a chair caning shop, and a low vision products store.

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“For a recent direct mail appeal, I requested a quote for printing, assembling and mail merging the piece,” said Butler. “I honestly expected the price would exceed our budget and that we would have to gather volunteers to handle the mailing – which is very time consuming for our staff.”

Butler said he was pleasantly surprised when the quote came in far below what he expected.

“I was even happier when they delivered the ready to mail order in the same timeframe as it would have taken our corps of volunteers to complete the project,” Butler said. “Ultimately we saved money because staff members and volunteers were able to focus on other projects.”

Butler has worked in the nonprofit sector for over twenty years during which time he was solicited by dozens of printing companies, most of which provide great prices and service for the initial order and then significantly increase prices and provide a lesser quality of service as time goes by.

“My experience at Minuteman Press over the past ten years – I also did business with them when I was AIDS Project RI – is that they provide honest quotes, meet deadlines, and provide a consistent product, Butler said. “When I send a job to Minuteman Press, I know that it will be done right, on time, and for an affordable price.”

According to Karen Fraielli, co-owner of Minuteman Press Providence-Warwick, it is important for a printer to be sensitive to non-profit budgets, production scheduling for direct mail appeals, and to understand the target end-user of the printed materials.

“Some of the projects we produce for INSIGHT, like the newsletter, are received by visually impaired readers,” said Fraielli. “In this instance, we print on a non-gloss, opaque paper oversized to accommodate larger print.”

About INSIGHT (www.in-sight.org)

The history of INSIGHT dates back to 1905 when a group of churches in Providence began offering luncheons for Rhode Island residents who were blind. In 1925, the volunteer group officially incorporated as the Rhode Island Association for the Blind and opened the Outlook Shop on Eddy Street in Providence employing a small handful of blind men to cane chairs.

In 1938, the Rhode Island Association for the Blind purchased the historic Arcade building in downtown Providence and appointed its first paid director, Ms. Helen Worden. In March 1938 Helen Keller came to Providence to cut the ribbon of the new headquarters. Along with chair caning, people were employed to create greeting cards, baskets, jewelry, and rugs which were sold to the general public.

In 1959, Dr. Frank DiChiarra opened one of the first low vision clinics in the country at the Arcade building. The new service outfitted people with lighting and magnifying devices that helped them to maximize their limited vision.

In 1965, having outgrown the Arcade space, the Association moved to a much larger building on Broad Street in Providence. Along with an expansion into the jewelry assembly and sewing trades, the organization also expanded its low vision clinic and added an array of daily living classes.

In 1986, the Rhode Island Association for the Blind merged with the Rhode Island Radio Reading Service, forming INSIGHT. The merged agencies sold the Arcade building and the Broad Street building and purchased a new building on Jefferson Boulevard in Warwick, the current location.

About Minuteman Press Providence-Warwick

Owned by Karen Fraielli and Valerie Chanoux, Minuteman Press specializes in business communications printing, document management technology, and consumer print production. The Providence location of Minuteman Press opened on Westminster Street in 1987 then moved to the corner of Orange and Pine Streets in 2005. Fraielli and Chanoux have been owners since 2002. The Warwick location on Jefferson Boulevard opened in 1993 and the women purchased this location of the business in 1999. The company is a member of the Women’s Resource Network (WRNRI).

For more information, visit online at:
www.warwick.minutemanpress.com
www.providence.minutemanpress.com

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