Athlon

The Client
Athlon Sports Communications, Inc., publishes pre-season annuals, handbooks, and weekly newsletters covering professional and college sports.

The Need
Athlon needed a reliable and flexible printer to produce, manage, and fulfill several products (handbooks, newsletters, and cover wraps) with short turnaround times. It wanted a printer who would develop the program for a long-term relationship. Only in this way could true efficiencies be identified and studied. Over the years, Courier and Athlon have fine-tuned the program to best suit the Athlon’s needs.

The Solution
Handbooks. Athlon’s products include handbooks for pro and college football, pro and college basketball, baseball, golf, and NASCAR racing. The handbooks include profiles and schedules for each sport. Some may have custom inserts, some mail directly, some have varying page counts. Each has its own customized cover. Courier is able to meet a variety of needs within the customer’s budget and deadline requirements. To save time, Athlon conveys mailing and shipping information in advance so that Courier can custom-pack the product right off the press or stitcher. Also, Courier often prints and stores additional text pages. If Athlon sells the handbook to another customer, the cover for that customer can be printed and added to the existing inside pages. For Athlon, that results in a quick turnaround for a new customer, regardless of whether the book is to be shipped or mailed.

Newsletters. Each sport also has a series of newsletters—some weekly, some monthly. For example, during the 13-week football season, Courier produces weekly newsletters for both college and pro football. Print quantities vary from 100 to several thousand per week per client. Each also has specific folding requirements that can vary by issue. For the weekly newsletters, a pre-printed “shell” is completed in advance. The shells are pre-counted and sorted for the upcoming runs. Then, when Athlon sends the “insides,” this imprint can be completed—often overnight—to meet folding, mailing, and shipping deadlines. Because of Courier’s team effort, Athlon’s customers enjoy a timely, customized newsletter that allows them to communicate with their customers and prospect base and to keep their company’s name and product consistently in front of a consumer audience.

Cover Wraps. Many of Athlon’s clients also purchase a special wrapper for its magazine. After printing varying quantities of these, Courier also coordinates the application of adhesive strips to this product so that Athlon can attach them to the magazines in an efficient way. This type of adhesive also comes off easily so that the original magazine is not damaged.

A true team effort, with open and timely communication between customer and printer, is what it takes to complete the Athlon print order. Careful planning and efficient execution is a must.