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Jim Rosenthal, President of PDC Graphics, is driven by an insatiable curiosity for problem-solving and a fervent enthusiasm for technological advancement. With over three decades of dedicated commitment, Jim has infused his passion into every facet of the company’s operations, constantly seeking ways to enhance efficiency and effectiveness for both PDC Graphics and its clientele.
At the helm of PDC Graphics, Jim orchestrates a team renowned for its innovation and industry leadership. Under his guidance, the company has evolved into a digital-forward powerhouse, offering end-to-end solutions spanning offset, digital, wide-format, mailing, and fulfillment services. Jim’s vision is not merely to meet industry standards but to redefine them, accelerating the success of both customers and employees alike.
Beyond the boardroom, Jim finds solace and joy in family, friends, and outdoor pursuits. Whether bonding with loved ones, playing tennis, golf, or pickleball, or reveling in the unique accomplishments of his daughters, Jim’s life outside of work reflects the same dedication and passion that drive his professional endeavors. With an unwavering commitment to excellence and innovation, Jim Rosental continues to leave an indelible mark on both PDC Graphics and the printing industry as a whole.
PDC Graphics, a leading commercial printer in the nation, specializes in short-run color printing and cutting-edge technologies. With expertise in database management and direct mail, alongside Web-to-Print solutions, they empower clients to enhance efficiency and cost-effectiveness in their operations. Backed by a seasoned team and a state-of-the-art facility, PDC Graphics prioritizes exceptional quality, rapid turnaround, and unparalleled customer service to deliver extraordinary value to each printing project.
Chris Santomassimo: Welcome back to the Think Factory podcast Powered by Logic Solutions. And I’m your host Chris Santomassimo and I’m actually on site today at PDC Graphics, sitting down with Jim Rosenthal, the president of PDC Graphics in Southampton, Pennsylvania. Welcome to the podcast. Good morning. So if you’ve followed the podcast at all, you’ve probably seen a number of episodes where we talk about the power of direct mail and PDC graphics, and Jim’s business here is really no exception to that. Really furthering that that power that we see in direct mail in terms of return on investment, in terms of staying power, really brand messaging. So Jim is going to talk a little bit about what PDC does and, you know, maybe the history of how you got here. So take it away, Jim.
Jim Rosenthal: So the history is probably all too long. I’ve been doing this for 35 years, and prior to that, as a as a kid, I was around my family was in the printing business. So for a business that I swore I’d never go into. I’ve actually made made it a life’s work so far to date, so.
Chris Santomassimo: I think if you’ve been in the business less than 20 years, you’re probably a kid anymore, right? Folks that have really devoted their entire careers to it.
Jim Rosenthal: Yeah. And actually, maybe we’ll talk about it. But, you know, one of the things we’re trying to do, both as a company and as an industry, is to get young people interested in being in this business, because it’s a pretty exciting, diverse business that uses a lot of technology and a lot of the things that young people want to gravitate towards. This industry encompasses and uses.
Chris Santomassimo: So it’s got a little bit of everything. I think it’s got technology for the engineers, it’s got digital aspects of it. For the folks that like to write code and develop technology, it’s got artistic issues in it as well.
Jim Rosenthal: Yeah. Yeah, it really it really hits everything. You know, the the the the thing that they’re telling everyone, you know, coming to school is all you need to be able to code. You need to be able to code. Well, guess what? We use a lot of stuff that requires a lot of coding. So there’s a lot of things we do that use a lot of really super high tech stuff that, you know, borders on rocket science. So yeah,
Chris Santomassimo: they need to try to keep disparate systems connected and customers kind of.
Jim Rosenthal: Yeah, yeah. I mean, we’re even at this point, even today, we’re we’re just starting we’re dipping our toes. But AI is is definitely a space that we want to be in in terms of how we automate our business and how we provide a better customer experience for our for our customers.
Chris Santomassimo: Well, that’s really that’s the pinnacle of the technology side, for sure. Sure. Yeah. So before we got on tape, we were talking a little bit about, you know, how you how you grew the business, how you’ve grown it over time, but then also the staying power of what you do in terms of servicing your customers and really helping them further their brands.
Jim Rosenthal: Yeah. So, so when I started in the business right around 1988, 89, our focus was 100%, almost 100% ink on paper. Right? Everything we did was ink or toner or something like that on the paper. And then as we evolved, we and everything was about driving that for our customers and driving that business for ourselves. But as we evolved into the mid-nineties, we really found that our customers wanted and we wanted to put things in the mail. And it was just another way of driving more ink on paper business. But as time has gone on, we really looked at it as a focus for how we drive, return on investment, for what we do for our for ourselves and for our customers. So we talk a lot about with our customers, about messaging and return on investment and and what is the branding look like? And not that we’re a branding agency, that’s not what we do. But but how they’re getting their brand out there and how they’re getting eyeballs on what they’re doing. And it’s not just consumers. A lot of what we do is business to business. And a lot of what we do is business to trying to raise money or develop, recruit people or so it’s not just selling a particular product.
Chris Santomassimo: Right. You know, and the ability to deliver that, the concept that the marketers have in their head onto a printed piece, that’s where some of the artistic side comes in as well.
Jim Rosenthal: Oh, absolutely. We we’re very lucky we get to work with some super creative people. We don’t do a lot of design ourselves, but we work with some really amazing designers, some of which you work for our customers. Our customers do amazing things. We have a wall, actually several walls of awards that have been won by us for great print and mailing production. But really those designs come from our customers and the people who work for them. So and then we also just work with some phenomenally talented designers who, you know, the stuff is visually just amazing.
Chris Santomassimo: There you see a little bit of the digital side invade the mail space because you got to talk about omni channel communications to some degree to to really sort of cover all the bases, I think.
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