ENPOINTE makes the message move

A sheet of paper has an awkward limitation: it cannot deliver itself. Someone must decide who gets it, what goes on it, how it folds, whether it fits an envelope, and what happens after the recipient opens it. ENPOINTE built a business by taking those surrounding problems seriously. The interesting thing about this Minnesota printer is how much of its work happens on either side of the press.

01 / The printer that kept adding verbs

Gary Garner founded the business in January 1984 as General Litho Services. It served local manufacturers and advertising agencies with offset commercial printing. The company reports $748,000 in first-year sales. Its subsequent history reads like an expanding list of things a customer would otherwise have to arrange elsewhere.

Mailing equipment arrived in 1990. Data processing came in-house in 1993. Fulfillment and distribution followed in 1995; creative services in 1997. These additions suggest a straightforward commercial logic: once you have printed a customer's message, you are well placed to help it travel. Each adjacent task creates another reason for that customer to stay.

Acquisitions widened the toolkit. Digital Works Plus brought entry into color variable printing in 2003. Litho, Inc. added web printing and perfect binding in 2006. The business later acquired marketing agency NEXT Communications. By February 2021, GLS / NEXT Precision Marketing had become ENPOINTE, bringing branding, data, marketing and printing under one identity.

“Everything we do is about the customer.”

Gary Garner, founder, in the 2021 rebrand announcement

That announcement described evolving customer needs as the reason for broader offerings. The name change gave a long accumulation of capabilities a shorter introduction. A buyer could come with an audience and a business problem, rather than only a finished file.

02 / A box is a small engineering project

Consider the packaging prototypes ENPOINTE shows on its website. Unprinted white structures curl, close and stand upright. Before a color or slogan enters the picture, the material already has a job: protect something, reveal something, invite a hand to move. Structural design makes the opening part of the communication.

The company offers prototyping, CAD services, paperboard printing, retail displays and dimensional direct mail. Its Mail Magic idea kit puts examples in a customer's hands: pop-ups, unusual folds and formats intended to provoke a little investigation. The homepage describes samples with suggested applications, paper weights and self-mailing guidance. A charming mechanism still has to survive production and the postal system.

That is the appeal of combining creative work with manufacturing knowledge. The designer can ask about the fold before the entire campaign depends on it. The print buyer can discuss personalization before choosing a production method. ENPOINTE offers offset, digital and variable-data printing, so the conversation can include both repeatable volume and recipient-specific versions.

03 / The customer is also a database

Gemini, a manufacturer of dimensional letters, logos and plaques, provides a concrete example of the marketing work. ENPOINTE's case study describes repositioning the brand around helping independent sign shops find growth opportunities. The assignment covered sales collateral, print and digital elements, video, media planning, integrated campaigns and trade-show tools across multiple business units.

The relationship illustrates where ENPOINTE fits: between an agency that develops the message and a production company that executes it. Customers can also buy services individually. Its wider portfolio includes work for recognizable retail, manufacturing, healthcare and financial brands; the homepage displays names including Target, Medtronic, General Mills and Allianz.

Personalization adds another layer. Mail Magic Enhanced combines mailed pieces with technologies including QR codes, mail tracking, social advertising and online follow-up. A dashboard brings campaign activity together. The sensible buyer's question is what those signals actually measure: a scan, a visit and an order represent different stages of interest.

For distributed teams, DirectConnect addresses a quieter problem: ordering the right materials consistently. Plus includes customizable workflows, inventory reporting, approvals and print-on-demand. Xpress offers a simpler setup; Lite concentrates on ordering pre-printed stock. These tools sit alongside physical production and distribution, helping customers manage repeated orders rather than treating every request as a new expedition.

04 / The expensive part may be the journey

ENPOINTE sells commissioned work and continuing production, mailing and fulfillment programs. Its homepage makes a useful budgeting point: postage is normally the largest portion of a mailing budget. Size, proportions and paper weight deserve attention early. A small design adjustment can affect delivery economics long after everyone has approved the artwork.

The operational investment is tangible. In its January 2024 account of the previous year's moves, ENPOINTE described consolidating production on a connected Brooklyn Park campus, installing a six-color Mitsubishi web press and opening a nearby 50,000-square-foot fulfillment center. It said storage capacity doubled. This is infrastructure for storing, assembling and shipping a campaign after the printing stops.

Handling customer information also requires controls. ENPOINTE lists HITRUST, annual SOC 2 Type 2 audits and PCI compliance among its security credentials. Its published client controls make the shared responsibility explicit: customers must secure files in transit, including encryption and address validation. A capable vendor still needs a capable handoff.

05 / More places for the message to land

The ownership chapter has changed. ENPOINTE's current website names Barbara Marth as president and co-CEO and Mark Marth as chairman and co-CEO, and describes the business as women and minority-owned. A July 2026 announcement identifies Marth Group as its parent and places ENPOINTE alongside Digital Lizard and newly acquired Sandy Alexander in a wider national production network.

For a customer, the transferable lesson is wonderfully practical: bring the destination into the design meeting. Choose the audience, offer, response measure and delivery constraints before falling in love with a format. A simple, urgent digital notice may need little of this machinery. A personalized mailing, retail kit or carefully made book gives it considerably more to do. The paper is only the visible part of the job.