phew - we mussta been busy! the last post was March 23rd, are you kiddin' me?
Here's whats been going on at Allegra since that illustrious move - work - and lots of it - we've been busy, which is encouraging in this economy. Tooting our own horn, in addition to being painful, is not usually something we like to do much of but occasionally an exception has to be made to all rules. We are growing! Most of you know we're part of a nationwide franchise system so we get reports from - well, the whole nation and not many are growing - make that next to no one and we are. Reports of business down by 30, 40 even 50% are filtering throught the network
so ...
we have some love to give out
#1 - We love our customers - they keep trusting us with their communication needs and that's just COOL!
#2 - We love Great Falls - not that we don't love Bozeman and Missoula and Kalispell but here in the Falls we are just kinda steady - no rocket on the way up, more like an old Ford climbing the hill but is sure nice in this economy to not have to face that trip down don't ya think?
#3 - We love our employees 'cause they like their jobs, they like our customers and they are willing to do whatever it takes to make sure the relationships we've built continue. That's just COOL too!
#4 - We love summer's in Montana - lake's to boat on, courses to golf on, river's to drift on, national park's to hike in - people fly here from all over the world to enjoy this stuff in our backyard - again, that's just plain COOL!
and lastly, we love our new building and we want to show it off
SOON!
so ... save the date of Thursday, August 13th for our Grand Opening Party. We'll be grilling some dogs and some salmon, we'll be providing some beers and Albarino, we'll show you our old presses and our new shiny printers but mostly we'll be saying THANKS to all of you for sending business our way - watch for the invitations comning to a mailbox near you
mt
Friday, July 17, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Well, we’re moved – 10,000 pounds of Heidelberg 4-color DI Offset, babysitting the BizHub Digital Printing System for a few blocks and the scrubbing of the old linoleum makes for an interesting 10 days or so but, guess what – we’re done! Our new digs are cool, efficient, hip, creative and somewhat stressful. Yep, stress is involved in moving an entire, established business across town but a few things we can’t wait for:
1. The conference room being finished – how cool is a laptop Mac, a creative person at the helm, a projection system displaying that creativity and someone directing the creative process by whiteboarding across the room – are we talking what brown can do for you? No – we’re talking what Creative Central at Allegra can do - but that brown guy is pretty creative don’t ya think?
2. Our clients pulling up in the parking lot in anticipation of a fun, creative environment. A print shop is boring, a sign shop similar – a communications company, now a person could hang out there.
3. The place being clean! I know if you’ve been, it seems organized already but our goals go beyond that window in the sky. We believe in organization, cleanliness and orderliness. We admit to being somewhat OCD in our personal lives but believe in business that orderliness translates into on-time orders, delivery in quality and gosh darn it … we just like it that way.
4. Faxes being a thing of the past. Fax technology has been around for awhile now and frankly, it’s just gotta go. Scanning and e-mailing pdf’s is not just more efficient but frankly it makes all of slightly smarter. Learning how to do that will help you in life – we’re just happy to be part of the educational experience.
5. Our new Siruis sound system being operational – choices in life are good and we don’t have to elaborate.
6. Our new sign shop guy, John Ewald saying – “I can’t take any more orders.” If the world understood his talent we’d already be there but, as of right now, unbelievably, we still have capacity – call soon tho’, that’s bound to be a short lived phenomenon.
7. The Wells Fargo finance guy saying – “that’s it, we’ve paid all the bills on that remodel and you still have $21,538 left over” – I’m sorry to involve all of you in our dreams.
8. The electrical, plumbing, carpenter guy saying … “____________________” (for those of you involved in a remodel project now or in the past fill in the blank)
9. The NCAA basketball tournament to be over – we love it, don’t get us wrong – but productivity just goes to hell with that whole bosses button.
10. Having all the technology to satisfy all of our clients’ needs. We’re close, the move precipitated some purchases such as a programmable cutter, an automated folder, a new 6-color large format printer with laminator and combination die-cutter (if you, like me don’t know what that means please call Johnny, Johnny Ewald at 727-3291 and he’ll explain).
11. No one has an 11th – but we can’t wait for an 11th thing we’re excited for – we’ll keep you posted!
1. The conference room being finished – how cool is a laptop Mac, a creative person at the helm, a projection system displaying that creativity and someone directing the creative process by whiteboarding across the room – are we talking what brown can do for you? No – we’re talking what Creative Central at Allegra can do - but that brown guy is pretty creative don’t ya think?
2. Our clients pulling up in the parking lot in anticipation of a fun, creative environment. A print shop is boring, a sign shop similar – a communications company, now a person could hang out there.
3. The place being clean! I know if you’ve been, it seems organized already but our goals go beyond that window in the sky. We believe in organization, cleanliness and orderliness. We admit to being somewhat OCD in our personal lives but believe in business that orderliness translates into on-time orders, delivery in quality and gosh darn it … we just like it that way.
4. Faxes being a thing of the past. Fax technology has been around for awhile now and frankly, it’s just gotta go. Scanning and e-mailing pdf’s is not just more efficient but frankly it makes all of slightly smarter. Learning how to do that will help you in life – we’re just happy to be part of the educational experience.
5. Our new Siruis sound system being operational – choices in life are good and we don’t have to elaborate.
6. Our new sign shop guy, John Ewald saying – “I can’t take any more orders.” If the world understood his talent we’d already be there but, as of right now, unbelievably, we still have capacity – call soon tho’, that’s bound to be a short lived phenomenon.
7. The Wells Fargo finance guy saying – “that’s it, we’ve paid all the bills on that remodel and you still have $21,538 left over” – I’m sorry to involve all of you in our dreams.
8. The electrical, plumbing, carpenter guy saying … “____________________” (for those of you involved in a remodel project now or in the past fill in the blank)
9. The NCAA basketball tournament to be over – we love it, don’t get us wrong – but productivity just goes to hell with that whole bosses button.
10. Having all the technology to satisfy all of our clients’ needs. We’re close, the move precipitated some purchases such as a programmable cutter, an automated folder, a new 6-color large format printer with laminator and combination die-cutter (if you, like me don’t know what that means please call Johnny, Johnny Ewald at 727-3291 and he’ll explain).
11. No one has an 11th – but we can’t wait for an 11th thing we’re excited for – we’ll keep you posted!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
What do Allegra Print and Imaging have in common with the Five Man Electrical Band?
Sign, Sign everywhere a Sign – they protest ‘em, we create ‘em.
We are thrilled to announce the newest addition to our All Star Equipment Lineup – the 6 color Roland Large Format Printer, Plotter and Laminator (PPL for short - that's two acronyms the "big" guys have stolen now). The newest technology available allows us to offer unequaled quality along with very competitive pricing and best of all – we’ve hired an experienced “sign guy” - Johnny, Johnny Ewald - to smooth the way.
so . . . next time you need that banner for the upcoming trade show – call us! need a vehicle wrapped with your logo and slogans? you got it – call us! need a poster or two to display your products in the lobby – that’s us.
but . . . we’ll probably draw the line at printing a sign saying “long haired freaky people need not apply” – we’ve hired a couple of those and the result has been, well – creative!
Sign, Sign everywhere a Sign – they protest ‘em, we create ‘em.
We are thrilled to announce the newest addition to our All Star Equipment Lineup – the 6 color Roland Large Format Printer, Plotter and Laminator (PPL for short - that's two acronyms the "big" guys have stolen now). The newest technology available allows us to offer unequaled quality along with very competitive pricing and best of all – we’ve hired an experienced “sign guy” - Johnny, Johnny Ewald - to smooth the way.
so . . . next time you need that banner for the upcoming trade show – call us! need a vehicle wrapped with your logo and slogans? you got it – call us! need a poster or two to display your products in the lobby – that’s us.
but . . . we’ll probably draw the line at printing a sign saying “long haired freaky people need not apply” – we’ve hired a couple of those and the result has been, well – creative!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
300 5th Ave South
Good News - Allegra has purchased a new building - 300 5th Avenue South is the address and for the curious among you its kiddy corner from the Tool Box and is the old 6 Robles/Northwest Wheel building. Ten thousand square feet of unadulterated warehouse to set up shop in.
Looking Forward - Can't wait for the move, well not exactly the move but you know, can't wait to be in the new space. A cool 21st Century conference room - a collaborative area for our plethora of graphic artists, a new sign division with room enough to pull a van in for a full wrap - new cutters and folders and digital printers ... phewwww, oh yeah and an office for Eric and I - a Cohiba in his (Dominican of course, we try to stay within the law) and a nice Burgundian wine in mine, and we might even do some business in those offices as well
so . . .
this is a blog you know, and we get to write what we'd like, therefore - a poem - here goes:
there once was a print shop named Allegra
it moved and immediately improveda*
they had more space, more coolness, more hipness
the results were inevitable like a hypnist**
the Allegra team became less congested
the owners became much more invested
but the result in the end we relay
was the clients had more time for play***
we think we'll be moving in March or in May
to that the contractor has the last say
but whatever the time, be it April or June****
we promise we'll be humming a new tune
mt
* before casting stones, please try to rhyme something with Allegra and send it to mtronson@allegragf.com
** I know there is no such word as hypnist, but artistic license has got to mean something
*** see 'cause we'll be able to do that tedious work for you that you hate so you can go skiing or shopping or surfing or whatever other "s" word you so enjoy doing!
**** if it's June Eric will be in a straight jacket, the bank will have foreclosed and most likely this blog will be gone - so please pray for March!
Bad News - Contractors, construction, plumbers, electricians - I know, I know - some of you in these professions are reading this blog but I gotta be honest - I don't exactly know where I want that track lighting until you build the damn wall, I don't care what thickness of sheet rock you use and mostly, I can't believe a metal railing can be $10,000 - are you kiddin' me?
The Truth - We decided, due to budget constraints, that Eric and I would be our own generals. We told our dad that we'd never make it in the military and this is the proof! To be honest the electrician has been great to work with, the plumber ran that jack hammer so we didn't have to, the carpenter kept yelling fire in the hole to avoid deafness etc. etc. etc. - its just that sometimes we might regret that decision we just made and now we have no one to blame - never mind, its Skovy's fault!
Looking Forward - Can't wait for the move, well not exactly the move but you know, can't wait to be in the new space. A cool 21st Century conference room - a collaborative area for our plethora of graphic artists, a new sign division with room enough to pull a van in for a full wrap - new cutters and folders and digital printers ... phewwww, oh yeah and an office for Eric and I - a Cohiba in his (Dominican of course, we try to stay within the law) and a nice Burgundian wine in mine, and we might even do some business in those offices as well
so . . .
this is a blog you know, and we get to write what we'd like, therefore - a poem - here goes:
there once was a print shop named Allegra
it moved and immediately improveda*
they had more space, more coolness, more hipness
the results were inevitable like a hypnist**
the Allegra team became less congested
the owners became much more invested
but the result in the end we relay
was the clients had more time for play***
we think we'll be moving in March or in May
to that the contractor has the last say
but whatever the time, be it April or June****
we promise we'll be humming a new tune
mt
* before casting stones, please try to rhyme something with Allegra and send it to mtronson@allegragf.com
** I know there is no such word as hypnist, but artistic license has got to mean something
*** see 'cause we'll be able to do that tedious work for you that you hate so you can go skiing or shopping or surfing or whatever other "s" word you so enjoy doing!
**** if it's June Eric will be in a straight jacket, the bank will have foreclosed and most likely this blog will be gone - so please pray for March!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Gorilla Al
Yep, that's a gorilla you saw today on the streets of Great Falls. His name is Al, he's wearing a sports coat and he's delivering homemade beer and root beer to Allegra's busiest customers. In case you missed it - here's a picture.
Why a gorilla you might ask? Well we really wanted a guerilla marketing campaign started for the new year but we thought - the world has enough violence already! So we went with a gorilla marketing campaign instead - smart ay? Unless he gets arrested first you'll see him popping up around Great Falls for the next few months - and everytime you see him you've got a chance at winning a buck - just answer his flashcard questions correctly and voila - you've won the dollar lottery!
and as if that's not enough for the new year (and by gosh it sure should be) we've also provided to our customers, free of charge the top 9 New Year's Resolutions for Allegra Customers in '09
9. Find out what the acromym VDP stands for
8. Participate in the "who can be Allegra's #1 customer" upcoming contest
7. Frequently visit this blog
6. Try to get my Allegra marketing person to quit using so many acronym's
5. Visit the new Allegra office (Feb. '09 - if the contractor's on time)
4. Get them to deliver beer (or the root version) more than just once a year
3. Find out if one of the Tronson bros. really has an Allegra tattoo
2. Inquire as to who was wearing that damn gorilla outfit
and the #1 resolution for Allegra Customers in '09
1. WIN THAT "I'm the #1 Allegra Customer" CONTEST!!!
mt
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
allegragf.blogspot.com
well . . .
how much fun is this gonna be?
we plan on:
offering cool tips on design
offering cool tips on great wines
offering cool tips on personalized mailings
offering cool tips on San Diego sailings
and probably some other stuff too . . .
so stay tuned, it's just getting started
this being the first post and all
we're off and running at
http://allegragf.blogspot.com/
it can only get better from here
mt
how much fun is this gonna be?
we plan on:
offering cool tips on design
offering cool tips on great wines
offering cool tips on personalized mailings
offering cool tips on San Diego sailings
and probably some other stuff too . . .
so stay tuned, it's just getting started
this being the first post and all
we're off and running at
http://allegragf.blogspot.com/
it can only get better from here
mt
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