Courtesy of Seeley Office Systems
By Paul Post
The Digital Age has greatly reduced the need for thick, costly paper documents such as annual reports and quarterly financial statements, which can be delivered electronically.
And there’s much less need for office copying because many people work from home following the COVID pandemic.
But two well-known local printing companies continue to thrive by adapting, diversifying and renewing efforts to provide high-quality customer service with cutting-edge products and equipment.
“In the past people would share a large printer in the office. Now their print needs are at home where you don’t have ready access to the office printer,” said Rick Gallup, owner-president-founder of Hudson Falls-based Document Solutions of the North Country. “What’s new and exciting there is the changes in inkjet technology. Years ago an inkjet printer was something you put in your home, it was slow and kind of expensive to operate. Now the newer ones have the ability to do things that most typical laser-type office copiers can do in terms of speed — 40 to 50 pages per minute or more — and reliability.”
“They’re also more affordable because there’s very few parts,” he said. “Typical laser printers have components like drums, fusers and transfer belts while an inkjet printer doesn’t. They have just ink. So they tend to be more reliable than a laser device. We’re really excited about that product and think it’s going to do well for us.”
“A home-based printer is more efficient and cost effective,” Gallup said. “These devices connect to the cloud, which is obviously important because when working from home you use the cloud for everything.”
Founded almost 30 years ago, Document Solutions is the area’s largest Xerox dealer with clients ranging from small business to large manufacturers, non-profits and school districts. For many years it dealt strictly in Xerox before expanding several years ago to include Epson, which makes the new-style inkjet printers.
“We sell supplies for virtually any brand of printer whether you buy it from us or not,” Gallup said.
Recently, the firm started a second related business, Express Pack N Ship, at the same location (3316 Route 4, Hudson Falls) in an effort to provide a more complete line of services to meet customers’ needs.
Courtesy of Document Solutions
Glens Falls-based Seeley Office Systems is a Konica Minolta dealer covering an area from Albany north to the Canadian border.
“A lot has changed in the last three or four years, but the need for copy, print and scan is still in full demand,” said Tim Seeley, Jr., the firm’s president of client relations. “In many ways we’re in a high technology business, but we’ve discovered that people really appreciate our simplified approach to doing business.”
The company, which has 18 employees, was started 43 years ago by his parents, Tim Sr. and Maryann, who are still fully engaged in its operation.
Tim Jr. is part of a second-generation succession team that includes his sister, Victoria Foster (vice president of administration) and their first cousins, Brian Seeley (vice president, operations) and Kurt Seeley (vice president, sales).
Tim Jr. said color production printing is the fastest growing segment of the company’s business, up 15 percent-20 percent year over year.
“We sell digital production equipment to traditional commercial print shops, your every day mom-and-pop print centers, also to places that have specialty printing and then schools,” he said.
However, Seeley deals in printers and copiers.
“We look at the whole account and try to capture that,” Tim Jr. said. “The biggest thing we do is pair software with our copiers. The software becomes like an added component to copiers and their functionality and allows medium to large enterprises to manage their entire fleet and get a better handle on who’s doing what and where it’s going.”
In addition to equipment and service, the most significant change at Seeley Office Systems is the recent adoption and strict adherence to a company philosophy based on four main pillars — strong manufacturer relationships, company culture, client appreciation and community engagement.
“That defines how we operate as a company and what we attribute most of our success to,” Tim Jr. said.
Maintaining strong relationships with manufacturers has been key to the company’s growth by meeting their expectations and utilizing their partnership.
“They’re the reason we’re able to do everything,” Seeley Jr. said. “If we have a good relationship with them it directly leads to client happiness. There’s a total correlation.”
The firm also puts a high value on company culture.
“The average tenure at our company is well over 10 years and we’re attracting a lot of new people into our business employment-wise,” Tim Jr. said. “We realize that creating an environment where employees are happy leads to customers being taken care of well. We want employees to be part of the vision about where we’re headed as a company.”
But client appreciation is equally important.
“It’s real easy in the midst of growing to get lost with who you’re servicing and just focus on new business,” Tim Jr. said. “We make saying thank-you a priority to our clients two to three times per year with customer appreciation events in addition to having strong account support.”
A recent customer appreciation event at Saratoga Auto Museum was a “great way to get in touch with clients and just build relationships,” Tim Jr. said. “That’s all supported by our relationship to manufacturers because they help us hold the event.”
With regard to community engagement, Seeley’s is a major contributor, with time and financial resources, to a wide variety of area non-profits. “We think one of the foundations to our growth is giving back,” Tim Jr. said.