Bloomingdale's Direct

Recognizing excellence in printing quality, Gold Ink Awards were handed out in August to 17 business and consumer catalogs. This year’s catalog winners joined more than 1,500 entrants in competing for the 19th annual awards in more than 40 printing categories. Aside from catalogs, these include hardcover and softcover books, magazines, direct mail, annual reports, brochures and point-of-purchase displays. Entries are judged on the quality of print production, paper choice, binding, finishing and other measures. The year’s winners “often push the limits of what can be achieved using the materials, treatments and available technologies,” says Noelle Skodzinski, editor in chief of the Publishing Media

Problem: Bloomingdale’s By Mail catalog didn’t have an e-commerce counterpart in 2002. Solution: The company put its print catalogs online and improved e-mail marketing efforts a year later. Results: Business increased fourfold in one year, and Bloomingdale’s online sales channel has grown to more than 20 percent of its overall business. In early 2002, Bloomingdale’s executives realized they needed to expand their e-commerce capabilities. “At the time, the company’s site merely was a store marketing Web site,” explains Charlie Silver, vice president of marketing at Bloomingdale’s By Mail. The company initially set up a catalog quick-order function on its Web site. The only