2009 DESIGNER FRIENDLY COMPANIES

Canon U.S.A.
Canon U.S.A. delivers consumer, business-to-business, and industrial imaging solutions. Parent company, Canon Inc. is listed as one of Fortune’s Most Admired Companies in America, is on the 2008 BusinessWeek list of “Top 100 Brands,” and last month won six “Pick” awards from Buyers Laboratory for its image-RUNNER, imagePROGRAF and imageCLASS lines. Among the many products for graphic artists: the new imagePRESS C1+, the first color device with clear toner for the light production and proofing markets. Based on the acclaimed imagePRESS C1, the new version continues to produce the highest quality color proofs, layouts and graphic imagery with the added feature of clear toner to offer exciting possibilities for design by introducing to the creative market a visual texture treatment that expands design capabilities. The high-profile Carbone Smolan Agency of New York was selected to “test drive” the imagePRESS C1+. “The exceptional print quality, endless paper options and simulated spot varnish technique enables us provide seductive, finished looking prototypes for our client design presentations,” said Carla Miller, CSA’s Design Director.
T 800.OK.CANON
W www.usa.canon.com

CDW
CDW is a leading provider of technology solutions for business, government and education. A regular on Forbes’ list of America’s Largest Private Companies, CDW features dedicated account managers who help customers choose the right technology products and services to meet their needs. Technology specialists offer expertise in designing customized solutions, while its advanced technology engineers can assist customers with the implementation and long-term management of those solutions. Areas of focus include notebooks, desktops, printers, servers and storage, unified communications, security, wireless, power and cooling, networking, software licensing and mobility solutions. CDW was founded in 1984 and as of late 2008 employed approximately 6,900.
T 888.399.4CDW
W www.cdw.com

Cheryl Roshak Associates
Cheryl Roshak Associates, a pioneer in the industry, is the only creative recruitment firm in New York City with a full-service temp division for both print and new media in addition to a permanent placement division. Their candidates are among the best in the business, and their client list is equally impressive —— from top advertising agencies, design firms and Fortune 500 corporations to publishers and internet companies. The firm is dedicated to helping candidates find the right job and helping clients find the right candidate. Principal Cheryl Roshak has unmatched experience in the market.
T 212.228.5050
W www.croshak.com

Clearwater Paper Corporation
Potlatch Corporation spun off its pulp-based businesses into a publicly traded company called Clearwater Paper Corporation. That leaves Potlatch as a pure-play timber REIT and Clearwater as a quality manufacturer of paperboard, consumer tissue, and wood products. Of special note to graphic artists, Clearwater offerings include a broad range of bleached paperboard products including Ancora and Candesce. The former is a high end, coated, two-side bleached white paperboard — one of just three such products manufactured in a full line of calipers in the U.S., and the only one that is on-label FSC-certified. Applications include brochures and mailers, point-of-purchase displays, presentation folders, luxury packaging, and promotional materials requiring a consistent, premium print surface on both sides of the sheet. The latter, Candesce, is the umbrella brand for premium lines of C1S folding carton and commercial print paperboard, carded packaging, and more.
T 509.838.2327
W www.clearwaterpaper.com, www.ancoraC2S.com

Corbis
Corbis is a leading visual media provider for the creative community, licensing the widest array of award-winning contemporary, historical and entertainment photography as well as extensive collections of acclaimed illustration and footage. Its imagery is seen everyday around the world in advertising, media, publishing and corporate communications. Headquartered in Seattle, Corbis maintains 15 offices and serves more than 50 countries worldwide. It also provides many related intellectual property services for creatives, such as GreenLight, a Corbis company that helps clients handle talent negotiation, rights clearances and other licensing projects involving celebrities, feature film and tv clips, music, trademarks and more to create innovative products and advertising. Corbis is privately held by its chairman, Bill Gates, who founded the company in 1989.
W www.corbis.com

Corel
Corel develops graphics, productivity and digital media software with more than 100 million users worldwide. The product portfolio includes some of the world’s most popular and widely recognized software brands, including CorelDRAW, Graphics Suite, Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo, Corel Painter, Corel Designer, VideoStudio, Win-DVD, Corel WordPerfect Office and WinZip. With a mission of helping people become more productive and express their creative potential, Corel software strives to set a higher standard for value with full-featured products that are easy to learn and use. Corel’s products are sold in more than 75 countries; the company’s headquarters are located in Ottawa, Canada, with major offices in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
W www.corel.com

Crane & Co.
With its roots extending to before the American Revolution, Crane & Co. is now in its seventh generation. From those early times to the present, the company has built a reputation for quality and integrity. Crane continues to be owned and managed by members of the Crane family, and the Crane watermark continues to be a significant and meaningful mark of quality. Products include Crane’s Crest, Crane’s Bond, Crane’s Choice, Lettra, Crane’s Palette, Byron Weston and Museo. The company uses cotton to produce its papers, giving them a naturally soft and distinctive feel. Other benefits, note Crane officials, include performance, permanence, brilliance and ecology. The website includes a useful Designer Resources section.
W www.crane.com/business

The Creative Group
The Creative Group specializes in placing a range of highly skilled creative, advertising, marketing and web professionals with a variety of firms on a project and full time basis. The Creative Group’s internal account managers typically have prior experience working within the creative industry, which helps them better understand their clients’ needs and their freelancers’ unique talents. Headquartered in Menlo Park CA, the firm has offices in major markets across the U.S. and Canada, including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta, Denver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle and Toronto. As a designer-friendly company, The Creative Group is second to none. Executive Director Megan Slabinski is a regular columnist for GDUSA, the team contributes career tips at gdusa.com, and they sponsor and support many important creative awards programs and conferences. The website is definitely worth a visit: it includes online job hunting services, candidate portfolios and The Creative Group’s award-winning career magazine.
T 888.846.1668
W www.creativegroup.com

CTI Paper Group
CTI Paper USA offers an eclectic ensemble of specialty papers and envelopes designed to inspire creativity. The Fine Paper Collection includes translucents, cast coateds and metallic printing papers. CTI continually strives to develop, manufacture and source these innovative papers and envelopes for annual reports, announcements, brochures, business cards, covers, greeting cards and invitations, among others. This collection — which includes brands like Aspire Petallics, Bindakote, Constellation Jade, Currency, Glama Natural, Jazz and Splendorlux — is available through paper merchants, converters and online. The newest addition: Glama Natural Digital, the first and only translucent paper to offer a digital surface certified for HP Indigo printing. CTI Paper USA, a division of CTI Paper Group, has a deep commitment to the environment, exemplified by the 100% use of wind power for electricity needs. The company is also FSC and SFI Chain of Custody certified.
T 800.284.7273
W www.thepapermill.com, www.thepapermillstore.com

Dell
Needless to say, Dell is a major provider of computers and information technology infrastructure. Its climb to market leadership is legendary. Dell is making a concerted effort to serve the creative professional community and related small businesses with targeted products, such as the Dell Precision workstations, which often come with special offers on Adobe software. Interestingly, in the traditionally Mac-oriented world of design and publishing, Dell’s use among designers, artists, photographers and 3D animators is on the rise. A notable green initiative: Dell is implementing a plan to simplify computer packaging that will result in the elimination of approximately 20 million pounds of packaging material over the next four years. The company’s campus is already powered 100% by green energy. Dell says it is striving to become “the greenest technology company on the planet.”
T 800.WWW.DELL
W www.dell.com

Domtar
Domtar is the largest integrated manufacturer and marketer of uncoated freesheet paper in North America and the second largest in the world based on production capacity. Domtar is also a leader in environmentally-sustainable practices. The company designs and produces a wide range of papers for printing, publishing, and business communications with recognized brands such as Cougar, Lynx Opaque, First Choice and Husky Offset, as well as Domtar EarthChoice, the company’s high quality, socially and environmentally-responsible papers. Cougar, a premium uncoated printing paper long revered by designers and printers for its value and performance, is FSC certified contains 10% post-consumer recycled fiber and is endorsed by the Rainforest Alliance — symbolizing Domtar's continued commitment to conservation. The Ode To The Earth promotion demonstrates convincingly how a premium uncoated paper can provide superior quality results while embodying environmental and social responsibility.
W www.domtar.com