In This Issue

. Wind Power p.1

. from Roy p.2. On the Home Front p.2. In-Line with MGA p.3. The Sales Landscape p.4. Expansion into FlexoLabel Market p.6. SA Office Listings p.8

Pr in t Mat tersSandyAlexanderFall 2005

Roy Credits Entire Team withSpate of Industry Honors;Hall of Fame Opens Doors

Sandy Alexander was honored in a life-sizedway this September 12 at The Annual Gold InkAwards & Hall of Fame Gala when our very ownRoy Grossman was inducted into the 2005 PrintingImpressions/RIT Printing Hall of Fame. Held dur-ing Print 05 at Chicago's McCormick Center, Sandywas also festooned with two gold, five bronze, andtwo pewter medals during the Gold Ink Awardsportion of the ceremony; judging decisions werebased on quality of printing, technical difficulty, andvisual effectiveness.

In typical humble fashion, Roy attributes Sandy'swell-earned prestige in the marketplace to the teameffort. According to Printing Impressions magazinecoverage, "The key to success is surrounding your-self with people who possess more skills than youhave," says Grossman. "My job is to provide leader-ship and guidance which I think I do very well -only because I have the people who have the talentto execute. There is no single CEO today, in anybusiness, who can possibly know enough to havethe final word in all aspects of the business. Mostly,I take the recommendations of people that I trust,because they're in a much better position than I amto know if what they're recommending makessense," he adds.

Sandy Makes

Biggest Wind PowerPurchase in

Printing’s History(The Equivalent of

Planting Nearly 336,000 TreesEvery Year !)

continued on p.8

continued on p.3

Beginning in December, we will buy half of our electric powerfrom clean and renewable wind-generated sources. In a seven-yearagreement with Pennsylvania-based Community Energy, SandyAlexander will buy 4,500 megawatt hours (MWh) of wind power eachyear. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's GreenPower Partnership, this makes our company the largest consumer ofgreen power in the printing and publishing industry.

"As a leader in the commercial printing industry, we recognize theimportance of helping our clients achieve their environmental andsustainability objectives," Roy says. Once more, Sandy's annual pur-chase of wind energy offsets more than 4.9 million pounds of carbondioxide (CO2) that would have been released into the atmospherethrough conventional power generation.

"This single largest purchase moves the power-dependent printingand publishing industry toward a cleaner, more secure energy future,"says Brent Alderfer, president and CEO of Community Energy.

Spewing less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere isn't the only sig-nificant advantage of wind. "The environmental benefit of our wind-energy purchase is the equivalent of planting nearly 336,000 trees,eliminating 4.2 million miles of automobile driving, or taking 357 carsoff the highway every year," Roy also says.

NewWind Energy®, Sandy's wind power source, will include atleast 1,000 MWh per year of power from the Jersey-Atlantic WindFarm. Currently nearing completion in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the

SandyAlexander

from Roy

On the Home Front:D e p a r t m e n t N e w s

STRIKE ONE !

Softball players and fans took to the field on Sunday,October 2 to play against Sandy’s core supplier, PrintCommunication Group.

In spite of the fact that the one-game season ended indefeat for the 12-member Sandy team of athletes, everybodyhad a ton of fun. “We had a great season with just one loss,”as Sandy’s Neal Alexander, the self-appointed team managerputs it. The game’s closing score was 14 to 10 in favor of PCG.

“The food at the barbeque afterwards was delish. Peoplelaughed, the players’ kids ran around and had fun. It wasgreat,” says Neal who was also the team photographer andshot the photos shown here.

Next year, when PCG’s president Mike D’Alessandro tosses another softball challenge our way, we’ll be ready toheat up the field and win. (Go team!)

Vinny Roldao winds up for action.

Some of the day’s softball players and a few fans smile for the camera.

As we head into the homestretch of 2005, I can'trecall a year that presented more challenges. Evenwith all of the hard work and dedicated effort of somany people, we continue to work under tremendouseconomic pressure. I believe that we are performingat the highest levels compared to all our competition,as well as the many printing companies that we don'tcompete with. But just exceeding others' unacceptablelevels isn't enough. We all must continue to focus onthe fundamentals that will allow us to continue oursuccess: eliminate waste, reduce re-work, find newways to be efficient, and constantly seek to differenti-ate ourselves in the market. We have the brightest andmost talented people in the business here, and I havethe highest confidence in our group.

We have accomplished much this year:

• MGA received ISO 9001:2000 certification.Congratulations to everyone in St. Pete who workedvery hard to make this happen.

• Both Sandy and MGA became FSC certified.For those not familiar, FSC is the ForestryStewardship Council's Chain-of-Custody certifica-tion that demonstrates a commitment to responsi-ble forestry practices. This has become a very"hot" topic for our clients, and we are one of veryfew printing companies to combine FSC with theenvironmental ISO 14001:2004 standard.

• Sandy Alexander made the largest purchase ofwind generated power of any printing company inhistory. Along with ISO 14001:2004 and FSC, wehave established a very strong "environmentallyresponsible" positioning that sets us apart from ourcompetition.

I would also like to welcome two very importantpeople to our family at MGA. Jeff Michael, directorof manufacturing and Frank Piper, assistant vp of manu-facturing come to us with very impressive experienceand have already made major contributions in Florida.

And finally, I'd like to wish everyone, and yourfamilies, a very happy upcoming holiday season.

Roy 2

Congratulations to the employees ofMGA and Sandy Alexander for theireffort and success on behalf of ourquality initiatives. After a year-longprocess the Florida plant got a thumbs-up on September 1 when MGA was for-mally approved for ISO 9001:2000Certification. At the same time, Sandywas approved for the renewal andupgrade of the certification to ISO14001:2004, and the renewal of the ISO9001:2000 certification. MGA is alreadyseeing the positive results of followingISO principles.

Also on the production front, MGAchanged ink suppliers on October 1 toInk Systems, Inc.

Ink Systems is Sandy's supplier and will provide continuity between the plants. We have several customers thatprint at both the Florida and NewJersey locations and who will now haveaccess to the same inks and high levelof customer service.

Frank Piper has joined MGA as the assistant vicepresident of manufacturing. Frank started working in print-ing at age 16. He has worked for four different printersthat all performed in-line finishing. For the past five years,Frank worked for WPM and traveled to printing plants allover the world to install, set up, and train employees on theWPM equipment. His travels brought him to the MGAplant on several occasions.

You can always find Frank out in the pressroom with asmile on his face and lending a hand to anyone that needsassistance. He has been known to show up at all hours ofthe day and night to help MGA get the job done. Hismechanical and maintenance skills have already made a sig-nificant improvement in ourpress operations. Frank’sgoals are to train employees,improve makeready time, andreduce waste.

Frank and his wife, Leticia,along with sons Edgar andArthur, have moved to Valrico,Fla. while waiting to moveinto a newly built home. A verywarm welcome to you Frank!

In-Line with MGA by Sharon Pratt

Jeff Michael is our new vice president of manufacturing.Jeff brings almost 20 years of printing experience and has anextensive background in both in-line finishing and inkjet imag-ing. Jeff ’s manufacturing expertise will enhance MGA’s capabil-ities and format options and has already proven to be a valuableasset for MGA.

Jeff ’s short-term goals are to hire and train pressroomemployees; improve com-munication between shiftsand departments; addresssafety and housekeepingissues; set up a parts cagefor parts used daily in thepressroom and replacedefective press equipmentwith new or rebuilt parts.Long-term goals are toreduce makeready hours,increase productivity, anddevelop a preventive main-tenance program. Jeff andhis wife, Sharon, along with

daughters Mikayla and Julianna, recently moved into their newhome in Trinity, Fla. Welcome to the MGA family, Jeff !

Jeff Michael

Frank Piper

MGA is pleased to announce the addition of two key managers.

More MGA News

Sandy Alexander received 10 awardsin the Gold Ink competition and severalin the Premiere Print Awards, including a"Benny" (for “Best Of ” category).

Roy's legacy as a printer began withhis grandfather who founded LaurelPrinting in 1917. Eventually ownershipwas passed to Bernard Grossman, Roy'sfather. Some years after graduating fromBucknell University in Lewisburg, Penn.,Roy joined the family business in 1977 asvice chairman.

The exorbitant cost of doing businessin today's market has meant a shift in atti-tude and strategy. "Twenty years ago, ifyou bought a press and it turned out notto be an ideal decision, you were going tosurvive the mistake," Roy is quoted assaying. "That's not necessarily the casetoday. The sale is so much more sophisti-cated; we've gone from selling jobs to

selling clients and solutions. That's a com-pletely different paradigm from the onewe grew up with in this business."

Success also hinges on creating a posi-tive work environment for employees;taking care of the people who make it allpossible is every bit as important to mar-ket growth as listening and respondingwell to clients, Roy believes. Once more,he notes, "What makes Sandy so specialand unique is that, although the commer-cial printer reached a pretty significantsize, it always maintained a family orient-ed, entrepreneurial spirit," he points out."It's unusual that you can have all of thosecultures come together and work so well."

Another noteworthy aspect of thehonor, Roy says, is Sandy's particular past.Roy adds, "What makes the award some-what unique is that I'm the second Sandy

Hall of Fame (continued from p.1)

(continued on p.8)3

Two years ago, Henry Hernandez joined the SandyAlexander sales team, and is based in Coral Gables, Fla. Withthe past two of his 12 years in printing sales spent here atSandy, Henry splits his time almost evenly between New Jerseyand Florida. His focus, he says, is not so muchgeographic as it is concentrated on high-endagency work, particularly for nationwideFortune 500 companies.

The printing work can be as various as thedifferent clients within this category. "I'vejumped between in-line and web printing andweb and sheetfed work; it depends on the job,"Henry says. "What I really try to do is find thecustomers that fit Sandy best. That profile is ahigh-end client who's more quality than cost-conscious. Someone who's willing to pay forthe high-end service we provide — and whoallows us to give them a better product.

Of course, some print work stands out. Forinstance, the high-end in-line job for theMiami agency Cristin, Porter, Bogusky, Inc., agroup that last year was given the distinctive "Agency of theYear" award by Advertising Age magazine. This particular piece isa mock "citation" car ad for the Mini Cooper and designed forreproduction in a variety of magazines including Rolling Stoneand Auto Week, with different versions of the citation intendedto complement specific readerships. "The idea is to grab peo-ple's attention; to let them pull the citation out of a magazineand hold it, interact with it," Henry offers.

With three different versions and a run length of 4.2 mil-lion, the job was not insubstantial in size for the client or forSandy. "Besides the standard four colors, the job included anadditional run of black ink, two PMS colors, a spot varnish,

perforation, and glue-tipping," Henry says ofthe details.

"We get involved at the design and conceptstage," to be sure notions of design jive withthe parameters of print production,Henry says of him and his colleague DanMichels (also in the Coral Gables office),Manager of New Business Development. "Wemake dummies of actual concepts to see theweight and size, to get approval from maga-zine ad managers ahead of time."

The citation job in particular makes for avery happy customer story. "Cristin, Porter,Bogusky's business has grown substantially —over 100 percent — since we started talkingwith them last year. They've just been given theVolkswagen account, so we expect to continue

to satisfy their printing and consultation needs," Henry notes.

Cristin, Porter, Bogusky, like others of Henry's clients, have"expectations beyond what the common marketplace requires."Clients with these printing ideas are uncommon. "But once wefind them," Henry says, "we can really form a lasting businessrelationship with them."

SandyAlexander

4

The Sales Landscape:Conversations from Around the Country

Henry Hernandez

.Miami, Fla.

Customer SurveyYields High Marks

Recently Sandy conducteda customer satisfaction sur-vey that showed a very highlevel of contentment amongour biggest and most loyalclients.

The survey was designedand administered by EKGResearch Associates, Inc., ofFenton, Mich.

The survey process takessix weeks from start to fin-ish, with the focus on mainbilling accounts. "As you canimagine," says Dallas C. Dort,president and founder ofEKG Research, "althoughSandy has many hundreds ofcustomers, there is a coregroup of customers thatgenerate 80 or 90 percent ofbusiness," he notes. Morespecifically, the 107 respon-dents are estimated to repre-sent 40 percent of activecustomers," Dallas explains.

Upshots of the surveygive useful insight into themarketplace. In particular,Sandy's rate of customer sat-isfaction is higher than aver-age, or 8.8 on a scale of 10for "overall satisfaction,"Dallas indicates, adding,"You have to have a certainamount of will to even orderthe survey."

Perhaps the greatest con-tending force Sandy bringsto the market, which is itscolor management system.Everything from well-cali-brated hardware and soft-ware to an in-house ink facil-ity gives Sandy its competi-tive advantage. This is espe-cially important in an envi-ronment where makingmoney is closely linked todistinctive service.

"It's very important forprofitability to find ways to

increase competitive advan-tage, even in little amounts,through differentiation.

Noteworthy too is thecustomer profile itself. "Theseare demanding customers whoknow what the best printingin the world is and they'revery satisfied," Dallas elabo-rates. Also clear, however, isthat customers are also verypleased with the competition."The challenge in this busi-ness is to create distinctionin an extremely competitivemarketplace. Sandy is vyingfor market share against thebest in the world, and itscompetition also got a high-er-than-average score on itscustomer satisfaction sur-veys, yet lower than Sandy'soverall score in the same cat-egory," says Dallas.

EKG clusters meaningfulsurvey results for Sandy andits staff. In other words,responses from agencies ver-sus corporations, for instance,and data organized intogroups that comprise thebiggest customers.

Inquiries that get at theworthiness of the questionsthemselves are also signifi-cant. "We asked respondentsto rate the questionnaireitself," to give Sandy insightinto the validity of the sur-vey. "So when we askedoverall, 'How well do thesequestions address the keyissues?' The result was 8.9out of 10 in favor of whatwas presented. We also askedrespondents to rate theimportance of the issues. Inthis case, we presented 16universal themes for a scoreof 9.2 out of 10," he notes.

According to Dallas,"For Sandy, customer satis-faction is a claim the companycan make. The question is howcan Sandy distance itself evenfurther from the competion?"

In other department news Roy announces with pleasuretwo very well-deserved promotions: Jim Diamond toBuilding Maintenance Manager and Cecil Thompson toMaintenance Assistance." As most of us know, for the pasttwo years Jim worked closely with John Peragallo, whorecently retired. Jim's broad knowledge and past experiencewill be a tremendous asset.

Cecil Thompson has been with Sandy for eight years. Inaddition to his current responsibilities, he will also assumethe position of Maintenance Assistant. Cecil's dedication andhard work resulted in this much-deserved recognition.

Estimating has been keeping up with increasing turn-around demands in a marketplace driven by tighter schedulesand increased competitive pricing requirements. Better than56 percent of all estimates are being completed in 24 hoursor less. Marty Levinson attended the IAPHC internationalconvention.

Forget your lunch money? It's no problem becauseSandy installed an ATM machine in the lunch room for employee convenience. Bon appétite.

On the Home Front:Department News (continued from p.2)

5

The poster lists the slew of Craftsmen ClubAwards bestowed on Sandy.

SandyAlexander

At the 53rd Annual Association of GraphicCommunications prestigious Franklin Awardceremony this past May, Roy Grossman washonored with the Power of Communications Awardfor Printing for his outstanding service and dedi-cation to the industry.

The bestowal drew record crowds, with stand-ing room only during the awards presentation.

During his acceptance as reported in PrintingNews Magazine, and echoing his important workas a co-chairman of the industry's PrintCouncil, Roy commented, "Print continues tobe the most efficient and effective medium tocommunicate ideas," adding that we shouldwork together to fight print's erosion.

"While the industry chose to recognize me,it's really the dedication and determination ofevery Sandy Alexander employee that is beingacknowledged with this award," Roy believes.

Sandy Earns Power of Communications Award for Printing

Sandy Expands intoFlexo Label Market

In yet another flourishing, strategicexpansion, Sandy widened its pro-

fessional offerings to include specialtyflexographic promotional label printingwith the purchase of Federal LabelSystems of Staten Island, N.Y. Theacquisition, completed this April andstructured to maintain Federal Label'slong-standing and well-recognized indus-try name, is already demonstrating success.

"I thought it would take six monthsto a year to show a benefit, but we'realready running the largest label order inthe history of the company," notes PaulRothchild, president and CEO ofFederal Label Systems.

"It's been a terrific decision for us,"Paul says of the acquisition. And a logi-cal next step for both businesses."Sandy's customer base was buying lotsof flexo promotional printing, but fromother vendors. Now they're buying itfrom Sandy along with other printingservices," says Paul.

Federal Label has maintained itslongstanding niche in what is known inthe label world as instant redeemablecoupons and multi-page labels. Such pro-motional work is different from otherlabel types, Paul says, in that it's generallyneeded faster because its necessity isdetermined in tighter spaces of time topromote a given product, let's say. "Thesekinds of labels are also more complicatedto make," Paul says.

For that reason Federal Label runs highly customized flexo presses. In particular, narrow-web presses that canprint up to 12 colors in one pass, do fold-ing, and run up to three webs (or threedifferent substrates) at a single time. Thewidest of these presses is 10 inches; thenarrowest, 6.5 inches.

It's been the change in competitiveenvironment that spurred the purchase ofFederal Label by Sandy. "We're more pow-erful in the marketplace as a combinedentity,” Paul offers. As corporations get

bigger and more conglomerated they wantto deal with large vendors who offer serv-ices all under one roof, he adds.

Evidence shows that the combinationof resources is paying off. In particular,Paul says, "The Sandy sales force hasresponded very, very favorably to theexpanded services they can promote.We're starting to see very positive activityturning into orders much sooner than Ianticipated."

Roy (center) and Joe Brocato (just behind Roy) with other AGC members at the Franklin Ceremony.

Photo courtesy of Printing News

6

Paul Rothchild

7

Acting as co-chair of the industry's Print Council,Roy spoke this September at Chicago's McCormick PlaceComplex for the Print 05 & Converting 05 show. Hisaudience: approximately 70 members of the media whoheard the important news about the future of our indus-try and promoting the use of our longstanding medium.Along with Jim Dunn, co-chair of the Print Council andpresident of Heidelberg USA, Roy’s remarks to his atten-tive audience were made at the year's largest show for thecommercial, package printing, and converting industries.

Formed two years ago, The Print Council's aim is topromote print to media influencers and print buyers, andat the same time raise awareness of the competition printfaces from other ubiquitous media, namely the Internetand technologies associated with it. "So many text books,manuals, and more have migrated to the Internet," Royobserves. And of course TV, radio, and CDs have longplayed a role in the competitive landscape.

In an effort to endorse print's authority “as the mostpowerful medium for generating a response,” Roy con-tends, the Print Council details the factual reality “Usingprint is the best way for marketers to create messagesand generate business by fashioning national print-basedmedia campaigns.”

More specifically, according to its mission statement,“The Print Council is a business development alliancededicated to promoting the greater use of print media.Formed by leaders across the spectrum of the graphicarts industry, The Print Council's goal is to influence andpromote the greater use of print media through educa-tion, awareness, market development, advocacy andresearch. In addition, the council will work closely withindustry associations, ongoing initiatives, and relevantuser groups that share common goals. Founding mem-bers represent a range of industry interests from com-mercial and retail printers to print equipment manufac-turers and software and services providers.

For more information check out www.theprintcouncil.org.

Print Council Strives to Bring Lasting Awareness of Print's Power

Roy and Vinny take time in front of Chicago'sMcMcormick Center at the September Print 05 show.Featured here above their heads (and behind the window glass) is the large-scale poster replicatingHeidelberg USA’s recent national print ad with a mes-sage for the entire printing industry: "Made forSuccesss". The poster was prominently displayed at theconvention center for thousands of visitors to see.

200 Entin Road • Clifton, NJ 07014Phone: 973-470-8100 • Fax: 973-470-9269

sandy@sandyinc.comwww.sandyinc.com

SATELLITE SALES OFFICESCharlotte, NC (Sean Schussler) 1827 Belvedere Avenue Charlotte, NC 28205 Tel: (704) 332-9788 Fax: (704) 332-9789 Cellular: (973) 557-6383 seans@sandyinc.com

Cherry Hill, NJ (Arlene Miller)Tel: (305) 444-9626Fax: (305) 444-8115Cellular: (305) 528-8025amiller@sandyinc.com

Detroit, MI (Dennis Austin)1911 Wakerobin DriveBloomfield Hills, MI 48302-1285Tel: (248) 332-1133Fax: (248) 332-4951Beeper: (248) 510-0340Cellular: (973) 557-6382dennisa@sandyinc.com

Kildeer, IL (Gary Feldmar)22563 Ruth CourtKildeer, IL 60047Tel: (847) 736-4442Fax: (847) 540-7409Cellular: (847) 736-4442gfeldmar@aol.com

Miami, FL (Henry Hernandez)2100 Ponce De Leon Blvd.Suite 1202Coral Gables, FL 33134Tel: (305) 444-3474Fax: (305) 444-8115Cellular: (305) 992-6867hh@sandyinc.com

Titusville, NJ (Dante Mazzocco)32 Maddock RoadTitusville, NJ 08560Tel: (609) 737-9601Fax: (609) 737-7956 Cellular: (609) 306-6698dante@dm25.com

Wyandotte, MI (Brian Kromrei)112 Emmons BoulevardWyandotte, MI 48192Cellular: (973) 557-3751Fax: (734) 284-6895bkromrei@sandyinc.com

Pr int MattersEditor ia l Staff

M.Grace Masell i - Editormgmwrite@hotmai l .com

Thomas Franken - Designdesignmatters@nyc.r r.com

SandyAlexander, Inc.

Copyright © 2005 by Sandy Alexander Inc. Quotation not permitted. Material may not be reproduced in whole or in-part in any form without the express written consent of Sandy Alexander, Inc.

8

MGA(Sal Campanaro)1527 102nd Avenue NorthSt. Petersburg, FL 33716Tel: (727) 579-1527Toll-Free: (800) 237-8474Fax: (727) 579-1528scamp@mga-sa.com

Federal Label Systems(Paul Rothchild)55 La Salle StreetStaten Island, NY 10303Tel: (718) 899-6000Fax: (718) 392-4339prothchild@

rothchildprinting.com

TBC Digital(Bob Logan)370 North StreetTeterboro, NJ 07608Tel: (201) 727-0400Fax: (201) 727-0552blogan@sandyinc.com

Hall of Fame (continued from p.3)

inductee to be soprivileged in a five-year period; I'm fol-lowing in the foot-steps of FrankStillo, our formerchairman and CEO."

Reflecting fur-ther on his long history as a printer, Roy says, "I was born intothis business. And I feel deeply honored to have all of Sandy rec-ognized in such a generous way by our entire industry."

Wind Power continued from p.1

wind farm is the first commercial wind project in NewJersey, and the nation's first coastal wind farm. The bal-ance of Sandy Alexander's wind energy will come fromother U.S. wind turbine installations.

"Our long-term commitment to using wind energyfurther enables us to provide our customers with veryhigh-quality printed materials while minimizing theenvironmental impacts of their projects," Chip Stineremarks.