Albany, New York
Albany Printer Launches On-line Print Tools just for Funeral Homes
Patrick M. Ryan, Third Generation Owner of Modern Press in Albany, N.Y., has launched a new division dedicated to providing printing services just for funeral homes. SameDayPrayerCards.com is the first website in the nation to implement web-to-print tools for photo prayer cards, funeral programs, acknowledgement cards and federally mandated price booklets.
Prayer cards are typically displayed by the sign-in book at a wake. They are cherished keepsakes that most will hold dear forever. “You only get one chance to get it right”, Patrick says. SameDayPrayerCards.com will help streamline the proofing and ordering process. “It’s a long way from the days when my Grandfather had to set the prayers and names by hand with lead type and print the cards on a Heidelberg letterpress.”
“Web-To-Print” is a trendy buzzword in the printing industry. For Modern Press it means creating on-line tools so the customer can upload photos, pick out a card style, choose from hundreds of prayers and see an instant PDF proof. “For over 60 years we have relied on a printed catalog. The catalog keeps getting bigger. The amount of choices can be overwhelming. Having an online catalog will help our funeral directors service their clients easier and quicker”, says Patrick.
Patrick says “for 62 years we have provided same day service for our funeral home customers. Our new website is just another way to make it easy for the directors to order. It will also help with our national & international sales.”
“In 1999, a funeral director asked me if we had any non-religious prayer cards. Even non-religious people like to have a picture of a departed friend or family member as a keepsake. It didn’t take me long to come out with a line of non-sectarian cards” Pat said. “The very next month we were selling the non-sectarian cards nationally. It was exciting to be receiving phone calls from San Francisco, California, Anchorage, Alaska, Dallas, Texas... Our small, family-run print shop in Albany started carving a niche in a national market.”
Pat says that “most funeral directors grew up working in their family business the same way I did. I changed my title to ‘Third Generation Owner’ to let funeral directors know that I can relate to the dynamics of a family-run business.”
