Nov. 14, 2005—When Nugent Printing Co. first opened its doors in 1972, the owners had no idea what the future would hold. When, in 1986, Nugent moved to a building that already housed eight other printers, the owners never imagined that in time they would be the last ones standing.

Founded by Paul Nugent as The Nugent Organization Inc., the printer has seen tremendous growth in a time when growth was hard to come by, going up 25 percent in just the past year. Antonino Longo joined the company in the 1980s, and his son, Vincent, runs it today as company president. In 1997, Nugent purchased the floor of its building, which has, according to Mr. Longo, been a big factor in keeping costs down and allowing them to be the last printer at 207 W 25th Street.

“We have ... been able to get a little more money for work [as well],” said Mr. Longo. “Prices seemed to have stablized a little bit. A few years back everybody was beating each other up and charging lower and lower prices. That seems to have stablized a little bit to the point where we are able to get better pricing for our jobs.”

Nugent Printing prides itself on being one of the few mid-sized print shops left in Manhattan, allowing it to provide a level of service and support, quality and convenience, that others can’t match. In fact, Nugent doesn’t employ an active salesforce, relying on word-of-mouth and recommendations to bring in new business.

“Our success is based on the fact that we service our clients—and this might sound a little bit boastful—better than most printers do,” said Mr. Longo. “I think that we tend to go the extra mile for our clients and do the extra things that clients need. ...Where in years past jobs would come in and they would be ready to go, we seem to be much more involved with the jobs from the beginning now. I tend to think our customer service level is a little bit higher than most shops and that is one of the main reasons why we have gotten a positive response from our clients in getting more business.”

There is a low staff turnover—of a staff of 25, the company has only had to replace two in two years—which Mr. Longo attributes to his company’s success as well.

“We push to create a feeling with our clients of comfort and of family. [We aim to provide a] place where our clients feel comfortable coming in and asking us questions and working with us. It’s very important that [clients] want to work with us, not that they have to work with us because we have the cheapest price, but that they want to work with us because the experience has been good,” Mr. Longo stressed.

Size Medium, Please
Nugent focuses mostly on medium-run work, 10,000–20,000 sheets of items such as postcards, inserts, and quick-turnaround color jobs. While all jobs have a certain amount of challenge involved, Mr. Longo notes that those with difficult coatings, intensive finishing, or time constraints tend to require the most care, such as one stationary job, which had four different color schemes, all of which needed to be collated. There were business cards and envelopes, all of which needed to be collated in the same order so that it corresponded to a specific purpose or person.

“We’re sort of like the tortoise and the hare,” Mr. Longo explained. “We want to be the tortoise. We are slow, but we’re steady and we’re going to finish the race. As opposed to those people who are fighting and pushing, and trying to get more, and being so aggressive they turn people off.”

Nugent Printing is in an interesting postion, having been a part of the New York City printing landscape for such a long period of time. What trends do they believe will have a major impact on the industry in the next few years? Digital short-run work, which, Mr. Longo noted, will increase in quality and size range. He predicts this market will see a huge amount of growth, but at the same time, he doesn’t plan to participate in that segment. “There will always be a need for mid-sized niche players,” he said.

Printers in the New York Metro area must be more aware of costs, Mr. Longo noted. They can’t overspend on incidentals, and they can’t have too much waste—including over-employing and inefficient use of space, as well as the paper and materials waste. In addition, he believes printers need to be more proactive about their business, and more flexible to change as technology changes.

When it comes right down to it, Mr. Longo has only one piece of advice for anyone who wants to enter this market: Don’t. “This is a very difficult business,” he said. “Margins are low, it requires a great deal of investment, and it requires a great deal of patience. For the amount of money you have to invest in a business like ours, for the return you get, unless you have a love for the business, it is very difficult for me to say ‘Go out and try to open a print shop.’ Clients can be very demanding at times, and the returns aren’t as great or as lucrative as they could be in other businesses.

“When I say ‘Don’t,’ I do not mean ‘Don’t ever,’ but if it is something you want to get involved in, I would tell you to think twice about it and make sure it is something you are going to love to do. You have to be able to put up with the downturns and headaches that come with the business. When things are good, they’re very good. When they’re bad, it’s tough and you have to have a thick skin to get through it.”