My spec reps told me I was in the minority when I told the printer that I wanted them to get paper pricing from the merchant whose spec rep had helped me on a project–not just from the price book, but by calling the merchant. Often better-than-book price is provided that way.

The tricky thing about the non-commissioned spec rep role (which I think of as “paper PR”) is that it is not always apparent which spec rep activities have led to sales. When something is not measurable, it can be imperiled. As you suggest, I always tell the spec rep the job name so the merchant has some means of tracking the sale back to the reps, too.

I’m so glad there are still paper merchants out there like yours who see the value of spec reps!

If you still have Specification Representatives in your markets make sure that when you specify the paper also specify the Merchant that has helped you select the right paper for the job. The only way to make sure your Reps keep servicing you is to tell your printer where to purchase the paper and let your Specification Rep know about the job so they can report the order.
Specification Reps and PaperSpecs can save you valuable time and money and make your life easier!

I was impressed to learn that, in the scenario you describe, you could search the PaperSpecs database for “bright white” and “dull coated” and come up with a dozen suggestions, some new to me. Sabine and I agreed that it’s so easy to get comfortable with a few reliable paper choices and not venture into new territory.

I chuckled in recognition at your endless parental paper supply story. My mom worked in a printer’s bindery when I was in junior high and high school. She provided me with endless notepads, paper samples and cuttings for drawing and crafts, and lots of pretty printed paper promos. (Hm, so she’s the one who got me started!) There were so many beautiful colored papers then, far more than today.

Thanks for your kinds words and for being one of my regular readers and commenters! ~Nani

I’ve been looking at PaperSpecs for a while now and should probably give it a try. I’ve always loved paper and even fantasized at one point years back about being a paper spec rep. Maybe because I grew up in “Paper City,” Holyoke, Massachusetts, and my dad who worked for a converter gave me all the paper I ever wanted to draw on, I’ve always had a paper “thing.”

But in recent years, too many of my corporate employers then clients demanded only “bright white gloss (then eventually dull) coated” for *every*thing! Aaarrgh! The idea now of having every paper just about at my fingertips, online, would probably be my best weapon against such customer “thinking.”

Thanks for getting the word out there and putting a face on a fascinating service and business.