Swift Printing supports troopscontinued from page 1 Walt Gutowski Jr.’s latest great idea began as he
watched the television news cover anti-war protesters in the first weekend
after the war in Iraq started. It seemed to him that only protesters got
coverage. He didn’t mind the protesters using their free-speech
rights, but, he explains, “my efforts aim to put some balance in
the public eye, and give those who support the troops a way to make their
own statement.” His idea: design, print, and distribute a pro-troops sticker
from his shop, Swift Printing in Grand Rapids. Gutowski designed the logo
that first weekend. The following Monday, his shop printed the first run
of 3-inch round, removable vinyl stickers; on Tuesday, he made them available
free in his store. In less than three days, 8,000 stickers had been distributed—and
that was before the local press ran a story about his project. Since the
article in the Grand Rapids Press, he’s given away many more thousands.
He has now printed 100,000 stickers in three printing
runs, as well as 50,000 bumper stickers and 30,000 11" x 17"
posters. “I had no idea it would get this big,” Gutowski says.
He printed the posters when he ran out of round stickers
and was swamped with requests for something with the logo on it. Posters
could be printed much more quickly and simply, so his shop produced them
to fill the demand until more vinyl stickers could be printed. The logo design is simple: an army helicopter on top (to
represent the first U.S. casualties, killed in a crash), an American flag
on the bottom and the phrases “Support our Troops” and “Pray
for Peace.” This isn’t Gutowski’s first great idea. He has
a long history of community involvement and received a “Retailer
of the Year” award from Michigan Retailers Association in 2001. Gutowski’s motivation is heartfelt: he wants the
veterans returning from Iraq to receive a much warmer welcome than the
Vietnam vets did 30 years ago, when they faced hostility or indifference.
“There is nothing worse than doing your best and then being treated
with indifference. I do not want our troops to be treated with indifference,”
he says. “I want the returning vets to feel the gratitude
and pride and warm support that I hear people expressing for them every
day. I want them to feel as loved and appreciated as a child whose mom
shows pride and love after he brings home a great report card.” Some soldiers serving in Iraq will see Walt’s logo
even before returning home. People picking up the stickers are sending
them to the troops overseas and to military bases around the country. A Care package that includes 1,000 stickers went to Hunter
Army Airfield/Fort Stewart in Savannah, Georgia. Word of mouth has spread
the idea, so requests for the stickers have also come in from Pennsylvania,
Florida, New Jersey, Louisiana and California. Gutowski will ship these free items anywhere. He requests
that people pay for shipping when the cost is more than a basic stamp.
He takes requests via e-mail (walt@swiftprinting.com). Swift Printing is the distribution center for the Michigan
area. Gutowski’s ultimate goal is to have the stickers distributed
across the country, and he is interested in any business that wants to
partner with him to help defray the costs. So far, Gutowski has put more than $5,000 into materials
for the project. He also has found some ways to keep costs down. John
and Joe Toigo at Grand Rapids Printing Ink gave him a deal on the ink
used in the project, and John Richardson at Quimby-Walston helped him
obtain good rates on the expensive paper stock needed for the vinyl stickers.
Gutowski has also received many requests for T-shirts
with the logo. Since he could not absorb the higher costs of making such
shirts, Gutowski was hesitant at first, since his other items are free.
But he has decided to print the T-shirts and sell them for the cost of
materials. “Of course, any money we make on the shirts will
be plowed back into the project, to get these things all over the country,”
he points out. He already has an order for 500 shirts. As people pick up these free items, they are asked to
sign a scroll to show support for the troops. Walt’s first plan was
to send the scroll to the local armory for display, but now a contact
at the armory has arranged to send the scroll to Iraq, where troops can
enjoy it even before they come home. Walt has another idea regarding this project: “I’d
love to have people who have gotten one of these items to take pictures
of themselves with it and submit the photos to me in e-mail. I will use
the photos to make a collage on my website. Then troops and their families
can see our expression of troop support.” The website address is
www.swiftprinting.com. Now that the war is essentially over, local demand for
items with the logo has fallen off. But Gutowski notes that U.S. troops
are likely to be busy in Iraq for some time, and their hard work is far
from complete. “I’d like to build a resurgence so that the
support stays strong until they come home. These stickers should last
a year outside and forever inside. If they are in every state in our country,
on cars, doors, hard hats and so on, the chances are that much greater
that our heroes will see them and know how much we appreciated their sacrifice
for us.” This article was written by Michigan Retailer staff writer Amy Buttery. |