Brand Boost Prints, a newly formed company, has acquired Spokane Valley-based Lithograph Reproductions Inc., a nearly century-old commercial trade printing company, with the intention of repositioning the operation into a modern, data-driven, direct mail marketing platform for small-to-medium-sized businesses, says General Manager Paul Burns.

The acquisition was completed on Jan. 1. Burns declines to disclose the financial details of the transaction.

In an age of online advertising and email marketing campaigns cluttering inboxes and spam folders, Burns says that Brand Boost Prints owner Tom Lapham has noticed a gap in the market and a shift toward direct mail marketing.

“People are turning away from inbox clutter; they just delete it,” Burns contends. “They’re more excited to see what’s come in the mail now.”

Several industry studies report that direct mail has higher open rates and engagement than email marketing. Estimates suggest that 80% to 90% of direct mail is opened or read, compared to 20% to 30% of marketing emails. About 70% of marketers say their direct mail campaigns are performing better than they did a year ago.

Additionally, digital advertising costs continue to rise. According to a Digital Ads Benchmark Report from 2024, while spending on Google search advertising rose 17% year over year in the first quarter of 2024, click growth slowed to 4% year over year, compared to 8% growth in the previous quarter.

“As digital advertising costs continue to rise, many service businesses are looking for alternatives that are both predictable and measurable,” Lapham says in a press release. “Direct mail, when executed properly, provides geographic precision and clear performance tracking. We’re structuring campaigns around defined response expectations and revenue outcomes.”

Brand Boost Prints focuses on developing industry-specific marketing campaigns that use ZIP code targeting, carrier route selection, and demographic filtering to help businesses reach high-probability households. Burns explains that the company is focused on developing campaigns specially tailored for service-based industries, including construction, roofing, dental practices, insurance agencies, and professional services.

Brand Boost Prints, a trade name for TAL Printing LLC, operates in a 4,000-square-foot facility located at 17323 E. Trent in Spokane Valley. The company retained Lithographic Reproduction’s five employees in the acquisition, Burns says. 

Lithograph Reproductions previously operated as a 96-year-old family-run company founded in Oakland, California, by Jack Green, says his grandson, also named Jack Green. The family moved to Spokane in 1974, where the younger Jack Green’s father, Lloyd Green, founded the business on Trent Avenue, which previously operated as a former service and gas station. The commercial printer functioned as a trade shop that relied on smaller print shops and brokers for business. The company specialized in bindery, prepress, and graphic design work, the Journal of Business reported in 2011. 

Jack Green, who worked for the company for 44 years, says the decision to sell the business to Brand Boost Prints was simply because he wanted to retire. 

Brand Boost Prints plans to grow regionally and nationally, Burns says.

Lapham is the founder and CEO of Kirkland-based Cheq Lifestyle Technology Inc., a social payment platform designed for stadiums, restaurants, and entertainment venues that enables guests with the ability to order from their seats, access mobile pick-up, and send friends and family drinks and food through its mobile application. Pennsylvania-based Cantaloupe Inc. acquired Cheq in 2024 for $4.75 million. 

Burns says Lapham noticed the need for direct mail printing among his circle of business partners, and the company has already completed several printing orders for Seattle-based businesses.

“Our mission is to help local businesses flourish,” Lapham says. “When local businesses grow, jobs are created and the entire community benefits.”

Burns previously oversaw operations at Northwest Offset Printing Inc., a subsidiary of Cowles Co., which provided printing for The Spokesman-Review before the printing company shuttered in September.

Brand Boost Prints and its infrastructure are structured for scale, he says.

“This operation has strong production roots,” Burns says. “With the right systems and targeting strategy in place, we can deliver high-volume, high-quality, direct mail campaigns with speed and consistency. The foundation is here to support significant growth.”