The family-owned business began in a garage as a one-man operation in Wisconsin in 1960 and has grown into a multi-award winning one-stop-shop that creates POP products that grab consumer attention at that critical moment of deciding whether or not to purchase.
POP marketing - such as hang tags, static clings, shelf strips, floor graphics, banners and end caps, among others - is designed to heighten brand awareness with clever placement and promotion instore, boosting the interaction between the customer and the product at the same time. It also enables the producer to educate the consumer and drum home a specific message.
Empire not only practices sustainable screening, digital and flexographic printing methods, but its revolutionary UV LED ink curing tech is changing the face of screen printing.
According to the La Cross-based printer, UV LED ink curing is a 98% more energy efficient process, which not only cuts costs, but ticks the consumer box, with three out of five consumers reporting a purchasing shift towards sustainable products, according to a study by the IBM Institute for Business Value.
LED lamps also emit far less of the volatile organic compounds known to harm people, the planet and the ecosystem in general than the traditional mercury vapour lamps. As it is, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) currently lists printing shops as much as a contributor to ozone emissions as car exhaust and other gas-powered equipment.
Empire has been a Wisconsin Green Tier 1 company since 2013 and is a member of the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council. It has also received the Sustainable Recognition Award from the Printing United Alliance for the past seven years.
Nimble and on point
With a quality management system that performs to ISO 9001:2015 standards and a company philosophy of using lean principles, Empire ensures consistent quality throughout the production of its POP products. As a custom print shop with several unique workflow options, it can also tailor solutions to suit a client’s specific needs.
Creating, improving and fixing problems as they happen forms the crux of Empire’s work ethic.
The company’s 150,000ft2 workshop houses facilities for pre-press, numerous printing capabilities, laminating, die-cutting, doming, assembly, inspection, kitting and packaging. It can combine print methods with various printing and finishing equipment, from full colour images to brand identity spot colours. Integrating digital variable data with ultra-durable screen printing or adding specialty processes, such as doming and embossing, also gives POP products the attention they deserve. It also makes screens and manufactures dies, along with printing machinery.
With 60+ years in the industry, Empire has also built strong partnerships with suppliers, meaning its raw material purchasing power gives it the ability to pass savings on to the customers.