The following appears on bizjournals.com

The Great Recession wasn’t kind to most printing operations.

Screen Shot 2013-11-26 at 3.13.59 PMWhile the lagging economy forced many printers to close shop, it compelled others, like Trabon Printing Company Inc., to evolve. And thanks to the company’s refocused mission, it’s grown employee headcount and its clientele.

“In the last five years we’ve survived and thrived, and that’s not a common theme for people in our situation,” said Trish Balmos, chief marketing and business development officer at Trabon. “We’re very thankful for this great niche that we have.”

Screen Shot 2013-12-20 at 2.42.59 PMIn the late 1990s, the 60-year-old, family-owned company in south Kansas City developed and launched MenuNet, which has since propelled Trabon’s growth. MenuNet, a menu versioning system, allows Trabon’s restaurant clients to go online to modify menu prices and items within a single-source database. In addition to creating supply and demand reports for restaurant managers, MenuNet simplifies differences between franchises in other locations, allowing for improved responsiveness to local markets. After amending its offerings, the restaurant can then order and print the menus directly from Trabon.

Screen Shot 2013-10-01 at 1.38.54 PM“It sounds easy from a technology perspective, but where we excel and really have performed well is we’re able to tie it in with the print process,” Balmos said of the technology. “That brings something to the logistical layer that differentiates us.”

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