Full-time employees: 300 (more than 800
seasonally)
Headquarters: Seattle, Washington
Website: rpiprint.com
Products at Costco: Photo books, calendars
and business printing services (on Costco.com
search “business printing”)
New product: 30-page 8" x 8" softcover
photo book two-pack for $19.99 (auto-fill
your book on the Costco mobile app)
Comments about Costco: “I think our
culture aligns well with Costco. The importance of our people is well aligned with
Costco and how well Costco treats its
employees.”—Ted Reischling, founder–
executive vice president of business development
“The whole purpose of that was to give
us a distributed platform that would allow
us to be close to the Costco member, for
example, so that we could quickly produce
a personalized product and deliver it very
cost-effectively, with a very minimal carbon footprint, anywhere in the U.S.,”
Bellamy says.
It’s a large business, but still very personal. RPI inspects each photo book
throughout the production process, which
includes after the pages are printed, ho w it
is bound together and then a final quality
inspection prior to shipment. Its manufacturing software has more than ;; steps
to ensure the content matches what the
member ordered.
The company also focuses on sustainability as part of its cultural values. It
received certification from the Sustainable
Green Printing Partnership (SGP), which
sets the industry standard in sustainability
in the U.S. The certification demonstrates
RPI’s support for the organization; company supervisors educate their employees
about environmental responsibility, which
in turn broadens out to their customers.
RPI has reduced electrical usage by ;;
percent by creating efficiencies within the
company and maintaining sustainable
practices. Concerned with waste disposal,
RPI uses water-based inks, instead of oil-based inks, which are commonly used in
the print industry but don’t break down in
the environment. RPI began a company-wide zero-landfill initiative, in which waste
is recycled or diverted from landfills.
“We were the first in the narrow format to, in our market, essentially embrace
that and be certified; today over
;; percent of the waste
from RPI is recycled, so
it stays out of landfills,”
Bellamy says.
Whether due to its
international expansion,
its duty to employee
empowerment or its commitment to sustainability, RPI has earned a reputation as a top
digital print provider. C
Making
memories
Putting snapshots of life
into books and more
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BY CHRISTINA GUERRERO
WHEN CEO RICK Bellamy and founder–
executive vice president Ted Reischling
tour the Reischling Press factory, their
employees greet them with smiles, jokes
and even hugs.
“When you think about what we’re
doing, we’re dealing in large part with people’s memories or the identities of their
businesses. Our employees are all members
of the same local communities as our customers,” Bellamy says about Reischling
Press Inc. (RPI), a digital image printing
company and Costco supplier of photo
books, calendars and business printing
services. “So we work hard to make sure we
have a highly diverse workforce that is
reflective of the local community. We make
sure that the team is empowered to serve
the customer—and in the end the Costco
member—with a personal product that
makes a real connection for the member.”
Reischling’s father, Barry, founded RPI
as a commercial printer in ;;;;. In ;;;;,
Ted left his career as an attorney to join the
family business, now with headquarters
south of Seattle. Today, the business has
evolved to focus on being a high-volume
manufacturer and supplier of personalized
printed photo merchandise.
Bellamy joined the RPI executive team
as chief technical officer in ;;;; and
became CEO in ;;;;. Under his leader-
ship, the business expanded internation-
ally, purchasing a facility in Eindhoven,
Netherlands, in ;;;;, and opening another
U.S. location in Kennesaw, Georgia, in
;;;;. Next, RPI expanded its technology
platform, allowing the company to partner
with ;; additional facilities in the U.S.,
Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
that and be certified; today over
international expansion,
its duty to employee
empowerment or its com-
mitment to sustainabil-
ity, RPI has earned a reputation as a top
Reischling Press employee
Karen Alvarenga inspects a
photo book in the factory.
CEO Rick Bellamy (left)
and founder–executive
vice president Ted
Reischling of Reischling
Press at the factory.
