Preferred Direct Expands Capacity With 2 New Equipment Technologies

Second Generation Family-Owned Printer Invests In Their Future

Norfolk, VA – Preferred Direct, industry-leading print, direct mail, and digital communications partner, is proud to announce the successful installation of a new Hunkeler-Horizon roll-to-fold converting machine and a new performance upgrade to their HP 250 Digital Press. These strategic investments will further increase the quality, efficiency, and lead times of the company’s printing, finishing, and mailing services nationwide.

Purchased from Standard Finishing Systems, the addition of the Hunkeler Roll to Cut to Horizon AFV-566/T564 Folder System marks a pivotal step for Preferred Direct’s production capabilities. This advanced technology streamlines the process of converting large rolls of paper into neatly folded, ready-to-mail products. The machine’s precision and speed will provide a seamless transition from printing to finishing processes, reducing turnaround times, and increasing overall efficiency.

Furthermore, Preferred Direct has invested in a performance upgrade for their existing HP 250 Digital Press. The upgrade now allows the company to achieve an impressive speed of 800 feet per minute (fpm) for monochrome print and mail jobs. This upgrade will accelerate production while maintaining exceptional print quality for Preferred Direct’s transactional and informational print clients.

“We are thrilled to add these new technologies to our equipment line up,” said Bill Nee, President at Preferred Direct. “These investments reflect our commitment to remaining a local family-owned printer with BIG print and finishing capabilities. As a technology-forward company, we are always looking for innovative solutions to automate and streamline our processes and empower our employees. Our focus will always be our clients and our employees, and these new technologies will enable us to serve them both more effectively.”

To discover the Hunkeler-Horizon roll-to-fold system from Standard Finishing Systems, visit https://www.sdmc.com/product_stand/roll-to-fold-gen8/.

To discover the HP 250 Digital Press solution, visit https://www.hp.com/us-en/commercial-industrial-printing/pagewide/t250-hd-web-presses.html.

Preferred Direct Named Top Printing Service in Virginia Beach by Expertise.com

June 24, 2022 Norfolk, VA – Preferred Direct, industry-leading print, direct mail, and digital communications partner, is honored to be selected as one of the Top 7 Best Printing Services in Virginia Beach by Expertise.com, a market research leader dedicated to researching and presenting the top service providers in over 200 industries across the U.S.

Expertise.com uses selection categories that include availability, qualifications, reputation, expertise, and professionalism to assess over 60,000 businesses monthly and present the highest rated professionals in each industry.

In Virginia Beach, Expertise.com reviewed 97 printing companies, including Preferred Direct and scored each business on more than 25 variables across the five selection categories, resulting in a handpicked list of the best printers in Virginia Beach.

As a result, Preferred Direct was chosen as one of the top 7 printing companies in the region. The company received an A rating for reputation, a criterion scored on publicly available information such as average review scores, professional database reviews, and volatility of ratings. Preferred Direct also received an A+ for professionalism, based on interaction with a mystery shopper who posed as a potential customer and scored the company’s knowledge, friendliness, and professionalism.

A family-owned company, Preferred Direct was founded in 1987 and recently celebrated 35 years in business. Located in a 50,000 square foot facility in Norfolk, Virginia, Preferred Direct owns 25+ print, bindery and fulfillment assets, including an HP T250 digital printer, a Xerox Impika inkjet printer, a Canon 710 printer, Kern roll inserter, a Horizon binder and more. Specializing in high volume direct mail and print solutions, Preferred Direct services clients in the insurance, healthcare, finance, nonprofit, utility and other direct marketing industries, nationwide.

“We take pride, not only in the quality and efficiency of our print services, but in the level of professionalism and customer satisfaction we provide,” says Bill Nee, president. “For 35 years, we have built a name as a technology-first, data-secure, family-owned print partner in the Hampton Roads region and we are incredibly honored to be named one of the top printing services in the area. Thank you to Expertise.com for recognizing the dedication and outstanding work our staff puts in every day to serve and support our customers.”

Preferred Direct Celebrates 35 Years and Two Generations of Business

April 18, 2022, Norfolk, VA – Founded in 1987, Preferred Direct, a second-generation commercial printer, is excited to announce the achievement of 35 years in business. Founded by Bill Nee, Sr. and his wife, Patricia Nee, , Preferred Direct started from humble beginnings as a mail sorting business in the family home and has grown to a 50,000 square foot commercial printing facility in Norfolk, VA. As the company steps into their 35th year, Preferred Direct is proud to be a local family business serving companies nationwide with print, mail and communication solutions.

From a Home Office Mailshop

In 1987, Patricia and Bill Nee Sr. were an average couple with a house in the suburbs and three young adult sons. At the time, Bill Sr. was working long hours in corporate America, but he and Patricia had an American dream of their own – to be successful business owners.

Throughout the 1980s, the United States Postal Service invested in automation technology for mail processing and was offering large discounts to bulk mailers with pre-sorted mail (Smithsonian National Postal Museum). Bill Sr. recognized the potential for services in mail collating, sorting, and processing, which led him and Patricia to start a small mail shop in their home office. As the business grew, so did their dream

“My parents long-term vision was to create a ‘one stop shop’ that would simplify the work of their clients by providing an end-to-end solution that includes everything from design to printing to mail.” Says Bill Nee Jr., son and now President of Preferred Direct.

After three years in business, the company outgrew the family home and moved to its first commercial location in Virginia Beach, VA. That same year, Bill Sr. incorporated the company in Virginia as Preferred Direct Marketing Services Inc.  For the next eight years, Bill Sr. and Patricia would grow the company to become the “Preferred” mail service center for clients throughout Hampton Roads and the East Coast.  In 1998, they decided to purchase a printing press, an investment in capital equipment that would take Preferred Direct to the next level.

To Nationwide Commercial Print & Mail Fulfillment

In 1998, Bill Nee, Jr., joined the family business to operate the new press, and his younger brothers, Rick and Chris, came on board over the years that followed. The company quickly outgrew its facility, and in 2008, moved into a 17,000 square foot premises on Virginia Beach Blvd.

Six years later, in 2014, Preferred Direct signed its first master service agreement with the largest Healthcare provider in the United States. Thus began investments in multiple print, mail and fulfillment technologies, including the first roll-to-roll Xerox Impika in the US for faster inkjet printing capabilities. Four years later, Preferred Direct purchased its first roll to insert equipment to speed up the mail inserting process for their clients.

In January 2019, the company had outgrown yet another facility, prompting the move into its current 50,000 square foot building located at 4590 Village Avenue in Norfolk, VA. The move made room for the company to purchase an HP T250 digital printing press capable of high-speed variable data inkjet printing, with vibrant color and quality.

“Our capital investments over the past 10 years have enabled us to offer higher quality and faster turnaround times, while keeping our pricing competitive for clients” says Chris Nee, son and  vice president of business development.

Living the American Dream

With a deep commitment to security (HITRUST certified & HIPAA compliant), technology and efficiency, Preferred Direct continues to thrive.

“It’s amazing to see all that our family has been able to accomplish over the past 35 years, as we’ve gone from sorting mail in the kitchen to having 57 employees, 10+ equipment assets and a multitude of customers across the nation,” remarks Chris.

 

“We are incredibly proud of the hard work of our team of employees and the great collaborations we have built with our customers. We’re looking forward to continued growth in the future and to maintaining the family connection that has brought us so far,” says Bill Nee Jr., whose son and grandsons now also work at Preferred Direct.

What began with a dream has evolved into a growing family business that has made an impact in the Hampton Roads community and for companies nationwide. Today, Bill and Chris Nee continue to build the legacy their parents began and remain committed to helping businesses around the nation with their print and mail communication needs for many years to come.

February 10, 2021 – After the success of the HP PageWide T240 installation at Preferred Direct, HP reached out to the company to discuss the history of Preferred Direct and the ROI of the new print technology. Here’s the article content:

If Preferred Direct can be described in one word, it’s surely passionate.

As an industry-leading print, direct mail and digital communications company, the Norfolk, Virginia company thrives on an innovative spirit – something their Director of Operations carries in abundance. Kristen Hollar has worked at Preferred Direct for 18 years, standing ready to meet the marketing and communications needs of any commercial organization in direct mail, digital or, mixed media. She continually looks for new ways to help her customers succeed on all marketing fronts with the help of the HP PageWide We Press T240 HD. But forward thinking has been Preferred Direct’s hallmark for 34 years.

The company was started as a mail shop by owner Bill Nee’s parents out of a spare bedroom in 1987. Bill Nee, Sr. spearheaded the company’s entrepreneurial drive, having worked for years with different mailing, printing and software firms. He determined to write his company’s own software and streamline as many processes as possible. By 1992, the Nees had expanded their offerings into printing, as they found themselves waiting constantly for printers to deliver, which impacted drop rates.

In the ensuring years, as has been their history, Preferred Direct kept innovating, quickly adopting personalization and incorporating variable data processing into production. That dedication to forward thinking served the printer well in a challenging economy. Kristen saw how the 2007 recession impacted competitors that had not yet transitions to digital printing. Kristen kept fulfilling orders, handling runs of any size on short deadlines, and helped her company get through tough times. She believes strongly that customers will always choose vendors with newer ideas, lower costs and speedier turn arounds.

As digital printing came of age, Preferred Direct’s next step was the installation for the HP PageWide Web Press T240 HD. Of its speed and versatility, Kristen says, “It allows us to print on a much larger scale, the color is tremendous, and we can print roll-to-roll on different substrates. When someone comes to us with a need for 100,000 pieces in two days, the HP press makes all the difference.”

Today, with the T240 HD at hand, customers can bring in complete integrated campaigns. With the advent of email, display ads, and SMS, Preferred Direct has watched digital communications grow to 40 percent of their business. But direct mail will remain the heart and soul of their operations.

As Kristen says, “Our evolution into digital marketing happened because we’re always staying on top of technology as it comes to market – always reinvesting in the company and our processes, procedures, and equipment. We believe it’s important to have everything under one roof.

Preferred Direct is an industry-leading commercial print, direct mail and digital communications provider founded by Bill Nee, Sr. in Norfolk, Va. in 1987. Now, 35 years in and in its second generation of family ownership, Preferred Direct is a HITRUST-certified, HIPAA-compliant partner to the healthcare, insurance, finance and other industries nationwide. Learn more at www.preferreddirect.com.

December 11, 2020 – Norfolk, VA – Aiming to bring some relief to families experiencing hard times due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other issues, Norfolk-based Preferred Direct, a family-owned commercial printer, has donated $20,000 to the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore (SEVA). The funds will help provide 50,000 meals to people in crisis in the SEVA community.

”It has been a very difficult year for so many people,” says Bill Nee Jr., president of Preferred Direct. “We feel fortunate to be in a position to hopefully make a difference and show our commitment to our community.”

He added: “We knew that the SEVA Foodbank is helping meet the immediate needs of numerous households affected this year. We are honored to be a part of the meaningful work they do.”

Preferred’s donation comes at a crucial time. According to SEVA Foodbank President Ruth Jones Nichols, “This year, food donations are down by 1 million pounds.” Meanwhile, the economic effects of the pandemic mean more Americans are experiencing food insecurity for the first time in their lives. “Feeding America has projected about 59% of people facing food insecurity, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, won’t be eligible for federal nutrition programs,” Nichols explained. This means SEVA Foodbank’s mission is more critical than ever.

SEVA uses cash donations like Preferred’s to make bulk purchases, which it then assembles and distributes. This includes fresh, frozen, canned, boxed, and prepared foods. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the SEVA Foodbank has supplied nearly 6.5 million meals to those in need.

Nee said that despite the detrimental effects COVID-19 has had on many businesses, Preferred Direct — which has been providing essential printing, direct mail and digital communications services to businesses locally and nationally since 1987 — was able to maintain healthy operations. He hopes that the company’s donation will spur more giving.

“This pandemic is a reminder that life is unpredictable. Your situation can change in the blink of an eye. We wanted to give when we could, because we never know when we’ll be the ones in need of help We hope others will be inspired to give as well.” Nee said.

To learn more about the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore, visit: https://foodbankonline.org/

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Preferred Direct is an industry-leading commercial print, direct mail and digital communications provider founded by Bill Nee, Sr. in Norfolk, Va. in 1987. Now in its second generation of family ownership, Preferred Direct is a HITRUST-certified, HIPAA-compliant partner to the healthcare, insurance, finance and other industries nationwide. Learn more at www.preferreddirect.com.

Preferred Direct Enhances Speed and Efficiency with Transformations’ Uluro Customer Communications Platform

July 22, 2020 — Transformations Inc., a software solutions company based in Franklin, TN, announces that Uluro, its front-to-finish customer communications management (CCM) platform, has been selected by Preferred Direct, a full-service print service provider based in Norfolk, VA. Preferred Direct is a family-owned company, 35 years in business, launched in 1987 by Bill Nee, Sr. As the management of Preferred Direct passed to Bill Nee, Jr. in 2015, the company, known for its end-to-end offset and digital capabilities, recognized an opportunity in offering high-volume transactional services for its clients that encompass a wide range of industries. Preferred Direct chose Uluro for its advanced automation, which is making it possible to eliminate manual processes and enhance the speed and efficiency of the company’s print and electronic services.

“We produce customer communications for a lot of non-profits, health insurance and mutual fund companies, which means we work within very tight SLAs. As the volume of work from these clients began to increase, we knew we needed a more advanced technology for document processing, especially when you get into processing multi-million pieces within a month’s time,” said Kristen Hollar, director of operations at Preferred Direct. “Expanding our capabilities with Transformations’ Uluro software was a no-brainer for us because everything’s automated with Uluro. Not only does it open up the ability to take on multiple files and projects, but our printers are also able to access files and start processing and printing and inserting immediately. We are going to press with a multi-million-piece file approximately 24 to 48 hours sooner than before by using this software.”

The Uluro platform is delivering on Preferred Direct’s requirements for speed, efficiency and productivity, not only in its production environment but with its data as well. The company processes variable data applications with multi-sheet variables of data included, a plethora of statements and invoices, postcards, newsletters and even incorporates variable data into booklets and surveys. With the increased productivity Uluro is delivering, Hollar predicts they will be able to take on twice as much work as they have been able to handle in the past.

Preferred Direct’s president, Bill Nee, added, “Streamlining workflow and enhancing efficiency are two of the biggest initiatives in our company. Uluro isn’t a product that’s off-the-shelf—it can be customized to fit a company’s unique requirements. With that in mind, we worked with Transformations to configure the best solution set that would satisfy our existing customer needs as well as those of potential new customers. This is a very exciting time for us. We’re really looking forward to taking advantage of everything that Uluro has to offer.”

“We strive to meet the current and emerging communication needs of our customers, so the fact that Uluro is able to help make Preferred Direct’s production processes easier and more efficient for both print and electronic delivery is an excellent example of the platform’s flexibility,” said Bill Tidwell, CEO of Transformations. “We look forward to helping Preferred Direct continue to be successful and innovative in meeting market demands as they grow and change in the future.”

ABOUT TRANSFORMATIONS

Transformations, Inc., based in Franklin, Tennessee, is a software solutions company and developer of Uluro. Uluro is an award-winning, comprehensive front-to-finish Customer Communications Management (CCM) platform for creating, producing, delivering and tracking critical customer communications. Uluro’s mission is to provide the most secure delivery solution available and provide customers a significant competitive advantage that can help them grow their businesses and increase their market share. For more information visit: LinkedIn.

ABOUT PREFERRED DIRECT

Preferred Direct is an industry-leading commercial print, direct mail and digital communications provider founded by Bill Nee, Sr. in Norfolk, Va. in 1987. Now in its second generation of family ownership, Preferred Direct is a HITRUST-certified, HIPAA-compliant partner to the healthcare, insurance, finance and other industries nationwide. Learn more at www.preferreddirect.com.