Al Stoffel, Patty & John Turner

John and Patricia Turner have acquired Sorento Valley printer Shoreline Press (also known as Shoreline Services.    Shoreline specializes in offset printing for clients in San Diego and Nationwide, with an excellent reputation for quality and customer service.    Shoreline operates out of a 6000 square foot facility located at 10441 Roselle Street, in the La Jolla Sorrento Business Park, 6 miles north of downtown San Diego.      Historically Shoreline has focused on high volume offset printing with the shops  5 color 20” x 28” Komori press and two 2 color presses by AB Dick and Ryboi.   

Shoreline Press has been serving customers in San Diego County for the past 16 years.  Founded by Al Stoffel in 1991, the company has earned a reputation for high quality work with their customers through out San Diego County .  John and Patricia Turner were introduced to Mr. Stoffel last year when they told Stoffel about their plans to build a premier printing company in San Diego.  This plan included the acquisition of one or more existing companies and adding new equipment, technology and investment.   Mr. Stoffel realized the opportunity that, by selling Shoreline, pursue full time his filmmaking company, which he has been developing for the past five years.  The company has produced an award winning feature film and has participated and won several film competitions.   The Turners and Stoffel quickly became friends and started working out a deal.  For the Turners, launching their plan with an established offset printer and adding new technology, digital presses, variable data, etc., was the best of both worlds.

Patricia Turner stated "In Shoreline we found a company with an excellent track record of producing high end work for their clients.  Shoreline has focused on the B2B customers.   We see that printing technology is quickly evolving.  With the purchase of Shoreline and our significant investments in new technology, we will be able to offer our customers a variety of printing services and products to promote their products, services and business to better support the existing Shoreline customer base as well as attract new clients and grow the company.

Our growth plan has three significant elements.    It begins with the acquisition of Shoreline.   With this acquisition we get a company that has an established infrastructure, employees and customer base that has done very well in traditional offset printing.   The next significant element is the immediate addition of technology, more specifically new equipment that will allow us to bring our customers more product options, better services and value.    A significant part of this is adding digital production capability with the purchase of digital presses, both color and black & white from Xerox.  With Digital Printing, digital images are copied electronically and then reproduced on paper. Every impression made onto the paper can be different, as opposed to making several hundred or thousand impressions of the same thing from one set of plates, as in traditional offset methods.  Digital printing generally requires less waste in terms of chemicals used and paper wasted in set up, providing an excellent solution for lower volume or quick run jobs.  We will have our customers covered from high volume offset to smaller digital jobs.   

Digital presses, integrated with technology is where we can really help our customers.   Variable Data Printing using information from a database or external file allows us to print graphics and images that can be changed from one printed piece to the next without stopping or slowing down the press . For example, a set of personalized letters, each with the same basic layout, can be printed with a different name and address on each letter. Variable data printing is mainly used for direct marketing, customer relationship management and advertising. The technology is a direct outgrowth of Digital Printing, which harnesses computer databases and digital presses to create high-quality, full color documents, with a look and feel comparable to conventional offset printing. Instead of producing 10,000 copies of a single document, delivering a single message to 10,000 customers, variable data printing could print 10,000 unique documents with customized messages for each customer.

The final element of our growth plan is an aggressive marketing plan.   Equipment and technology alone does not serve our customers.   We will be working on sales and marketing programs that will give our clients more bang for their print and imaging dollar.  The company’s goal is to be a one stop marketing/graphics communications provider, that provides our clients with the products and services to meet the majority of their printing needs.  By offering an array of products and services our sales people are able to satisfy the printing needs of their accounts with fewer limitations such as set up costs for lower volume runs.   By offering the spectrum of services from digital (which can work with lower volumes), to economical high volume offset printing, to in-house mailing services, we can create a package of services for the customers that allow them to better and more cost effectively manage their print production needs.  

In addition to offset, digital and variable data printing services, the company will also be adding advanced bindery capability, mailing services, large format printing, signs, marketing services and other print and imaging products.   With the acquisition Shoreline Press will become a member of the Allegra Network.

Allegra Network LLC., is one of world’s largest graphic communications companies linking more than 600 locations in North America and the United Kingdom. The company supports six brands under its printing division – Allegra Print & Imaging, American Speedy Printing, Instant Copy, Insty-Prints, Speedy Printing, Zippy Print and the Signs Now brand under its sign division. Members of its printing division offer advanced graphic communications technologies including full-color printing, graphic design services and electronic publishing, digital color copying, high speed copying and online file transfer; members of its sign division provide an array of sign solutions from creative concept to final production of high-impact, professional signs, banners and other visual communications tools to businesses worldwide.   Founded in 1976, Allegra Network is privately owned by an investor group led by the company's management including chairman and CEO William McIntyre. Other shareholders include Michael Marcantonio and Domino's founder Thomas S. Monaghan.

John Turner stated " when Patty and I decided to acquire and build a printing business we recognized that 99% of the independent printers don't have much access to technology and have little or no peer group to discuss problems with or share their ideas with to strategize to grow their companies.   As a result it was easy to see how many of these printers failed to grow and were stressed with being on an island of sorts in how they ran their businesses.   There are so many printers in San Diego working to get the same customers, it is very competitive, so these printers tend to not share much information with each other.  By joining the Allegra network, we gain access to all of the printers in the network as well as very strong corporate mentor, to help us grow this business and avoid land mines along the journey.  We are very excited about our relationship with Allegra and it has already paid big dividend's to us in areas like putting together our digital production capabilities."

Shoreline Press is located at 10441 Roselle St. Ste. C, in Sorrento Mesa San Diego. For more information, call John Turner at 619-602-7916 or visit the company’s Web site at www.shorelineservices.com.

For questions or comments, contact John Turner jturner@jpcgm.com