The convergence between the worlds of printing and promotional products continues to build momentum. In 2024, this convergence came to the forefront when PRINTING United Alliance and Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) formed a strategic partnership.

Since then, the conversations have grown more powerful, with the announcement that there will be an ASI Pavilion at PRINTING United Expo in 2026, the launch of the ASI/Alliance joint podcast Branding Together, and with the community at large talking about how their businesses have succeed in blending the two industries.

In a session at PRINTING United Expo 2025 titled, “Promo Success Stories From Print Pros,” Print & Promo Marketing Content Director Brendan Menapace moderated a panel of industry peers that shared how they’ve successfully implemented this convergence.

It’s these success stories that highlight the real business value of meshing these opportunities together.

Deep Dive into the Mixing of Print and Promo

“We … try to be a one-stop shop for our clients, and they started asking, ‘Hey, can you make this?’” said Linda Fox, owner of SpeedPro Imaging Nashville South during the session. And being in Nashville with events like CMA Fest, clients were specifically asking about wristbands and lanyards. Largely operating in the wide-format space, items like these weren’t necessarily on her radar at the time.

“I missed the boat on that,” Fox confessed. “I knew it was a big opportunity, so I joined ASI in July, went to the convention in Chicago, and we’ve just started implementing it.”

Joining Fox on stage were Kent Ross, owner/founder of RP&G Printing; and Gordon Klepec, regional vice president at American Solutions for Business. “When I first started in the business, we did a ton of forms and checks, and as anybody in the printing business knows, those have gone away for the most part,” said Ross. “What’s left is really not all that profitable. So, we were scrambling around for something to fill that hole. And the promo thing seemed like a good fit. It didn’t require any new equipment, and we certainly had the … product knowledge.”

Like his fellow panelists, Klepec noted that though American Solutions for Business started in print, they’ve experienced a swing to where nearly everything they do now is in promo.

As the conversation progressed, it became clear that in today’s market, offering both print and promo services benefits most businesses. That’s not to say it comes without challenges.

All panelists agreed that rush orders, whether they fall under print or promo (or both), can be a challenge without the right partners or in-house processes in place. If you’re partnering with another business, Ross believes it’s all about relationships and reliability.

“Honestly, there are not some great vendors out there,” he pointed out. But of course, there are plenty of good ones. For Ross, it’s all about service, quality, and even proximity, which helps with rush orders.

As the discussion moved toward the future, panelists agreed that convergence will continue to be the name of the game. Klepec discussed the trend of print-on-demand (POD) for promotional products and the benefits of offering one-off deals specifically. “[It’s] a game changer, especially in apparel,” he said. He added that this is not limited to just consumers placing one-off orders — it’s uniform programs, events, and more all shifting toward POD.

The biggest takeaway from the panel is that offering both print and promo provides the ability to say “yes” to more orders, but in a more thoughtful way that leads to real ROI for businesses. All speakers agreed that this is a revenue-generating source.

“A lot of people just like the customized stuff,” said Fox. “They want it now, and they don’t want to have to order 50 of them.”

Action Items

  • Evaluate the potential of offering revenue-generating promotional and print services for your current clients.
  • Follow up with vendors and potential partners to learn more about their offerings and capabilities.
  • Investigate print-on-demand and e-commerce solutions that can enable one-off customized print and promo orders.