Hughes brings more than 38 years of experience in the publishing, photo and printing industry to RPI. Currently, Hughes serves as partner at Cedar Grove Investments, a private venture capital firm comprised of former senior executives from leading wireless and internet companies. Prior to joining Cedar Grove Investments, Hughes was founder and president of PhotoDisc, Inc., and quickly grew the company to become a leading publisher of royalty-free stock photography, which was sold to Getty Images in 1998.

“I’m excited to be a partner in guiding RPI to the next level of success and providing my perspective to the company to help them maximize their potential in this emerging market,” said Tom Hughes. Before PhotoDisc, Inc., Hughes served as the founder and president at Northshore Publishing Systems, helping to bring PCs into traditional publishing companies and newspapers.

“Tom’s experience in facilitating company growth coupled with his extensive market knowledge will play a critical role in further enabling RPI’s rapid growth,” said Rick Bellamy, CEO of RPI. “His insights and expertise will complement the experience of the other members of our Board and be extremely valuable to RPI as we continue to innovate and enhance RPI’s product offerings and efficiencies.”

Additionally, Hughes currently serves on the Executive Committee for The SeaDoc Society, an organization that works to protect the health of marine wildlife and their ecosystems through science and education. He previously served on the board of directors for companies such as Lake Washington Printing, Loudeye, Talisma, Vacationspot.com and Avenue A, currently known as aQuantive. Hughes holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and minor in English from the University of Washington.

The appointment of Hughes to the Board brings the number of RPI directors to five. The other board members include Victor Petroff of Riverlake Partners, Tim Bubnack of Huntington Capital, and Rick Bellamy and Ted Reischling of RPI.

About RPI

RPI is a leading make-on-demand producer of private label personalized photo books, greeting cards and stationery products for mass and specialty retailers. The company’s broad range of blue chip retail and online publishing customers rely on its consistent, reliable execution, creative design services and best of breed manufacturing for the rapid delivery of innovative products utilizing consumer-generated content. The privately held company is headquartered just outside of Seattle, WA. For more information on how RPI is helping fuel the rapid growth of personalized products, please visit
www.rpiprint.com.

For further information, please contact:

“We’re delighted RPI is once again one of the fastest-growing companies in America this year. Since the company’s inception, RPI has pioneered the mass customization industry through our continued innovation in providing long-term value to our retail and online
publishing customers,” said Rick Bellamy, CEO. “With our recent acquisition of the Paro Group assets in the Netherlands, we’re well positioned to fuel our growth with enhanced product and service offerings, creating a new vehicle for expansion in the personalized consumer products industry.”

In a stagnant economic environment, the median growth rate of 2011 Inc. 500|5000 companies remains an impressive 94 percent. The companies on this year’s list report having created 350,000 jobs in the past three years, and aggregate revenue among the honorees reached $366 billion, up 14 percent from last year. To be considered, companies must be U.S.-based and privately held, for profit and independent – not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies. Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000

“Now, more than ever, we depend on Inc. 500/5000 companies to spur innovation, provide jobs, and drive the economy forward.  Growth companies, not large corporations, are where the action is,” said Inc. magazine Editor Jane Berentson.

About RPI

RPI is a leading make-on-demand producer of private label personalized photo books, greeting cards and stationery products for mass and specialty retailers. The company’s broad range of blue chip retail and online publishing customers rely on its consistent, reliable execution, creative design services and best of breed manufacturing for the rapid delivery of innovative products utilizing consumer-generated content. The privately held company is headquartered just outside of Seattle, WA. For more information on how RPI is helping fuel the rapid growth of personalized products, please visit www.rpiprint.com.

SEATTLE – August 25, 2011 – RPI (www.rpiprint.com), a leader in make-on-demand private label personalized photo books, greeting cards and stationery products for mass and specialty retailers, today announced the acquisition of Paro Group BV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of JP Media Group located in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

The acquisition, which includes the assets of Paro Printing and Paro Books, will benefit existing and potential customers by enabling them to expand their brand equity into new markets and geographies through a variety of quality, customized consumer products.

“Over the past 30 years, we have pioneered the mass customization industry by leveraging our consumer insight, creative product development expertise and developing the technology to manufacturer the highest quality personalized products for our customers,” said Rick Bellamy, chief executive officer at RPI. “As mass customization continues to grow at an exponential rate, it requires state-of-the-art manufacturing technology and processes to remain agile as customers seek innovative, customizable and affordable products to meet consumer demand.”

The acquisition brings together two leading innovators within the personalized consumer products industry. While both companies utilize lean manufacturing principles enabled by high-impact technologies, Paro Group brings a strong history in innovative manufacturing and process automation to RPI. Combining this expertise with RPI’s superior product design capabilities will further enhance RPI’s product offering and efficiencies, creating a stronger distribution mass customization platform to customers around the world.

As a recognized and respected name in the industry, RPI will transition the Paro Group brand, including Paro Printing and Paro Books. In addition, Paro’s executive management team and more than 50 employees will now join RPI to become RPI-Paro, a wholly-owned subsidiary of RPI.  Now, RPI-Paro will help eliminate economic and technology barriers, making it easier for brand owners to reach consumers in new markets and geographies  using a single partner known for innovation, quality and efficiency.

“We are very excited to join RPI,” said Jan-Paul van den Hurk, owner and chief executive officer of Paro Printing. “RPI is committed to making strategic investments that spur continued innovation and provide long-term value for our customers while moving the industry forward. We are thrilled by the new possibilities and together we are poised to become one of the world’s leaders in the mass customization industry.”

We have developed a list of Frequently Asked Questions to help address any questions you may have about the acquisition.

About RPI

RPI is a leading make-on-demand producer of private label personalized photo books, greeting cards and stationery products for mass and specialty retailers. The company’s broad range of blue chip retail and online publishing customers rely on its consistent, reliable execution, creative design services and best of breed manufacturing for the rapid delivery of innovative products utilizing consumer-generated content. The privately held company is headquartered just outside of Seattle, WA. For more information on how RPI is helping fuel the rapid growth of personalized products, please visit www.rpiprint.com.

For further information, please contact:

Molly McWhinnie, Communiqué PR

molly@communiquepr.com

(206) 282-4923 ext. 121

Monica Rodriguez, Communiqué PR

monica@communiquepr.com

(206) 282-4923 ext. 125

RPI’s Holiday “stash book” won the “Publications” category and the new company website earned its first accolade in a year when overall competition was nearly doubled from the previous year.

“RPI has and continues to steadily expand its creative design capabilities in order to offer customers unique, one-of-a-kind personalized products that meet the needs of their target consumers,” said Traci Pichette, vice president of product management for RPI.  “It’s exciting to have our product design team be recognized by the editors at Graphic Design USA and we are honored to be recognized among some of the nation’s most innovative companies.” 

For over 40 years, the American Graphic Design Award competition has honored graphic design firms, advertising agencies, in-house corporate and institutional designers, publishers and other media producers across the USA.  This is the third time RPI has been awarded for its creative design in the past year.

About RPI

RPI is a leading make-on-demand producer of private label personalized photo books, greeting cards and stationery products for mass and specialty retailers. The company’s broad range of blue chip retail and online publishing customers rely on its consistent, reliable execution, creative design services and best of breed manufacturing for the rapid delivery of innovative products utilizing consumer-generated content. The privately held company is headquartered just outside of Seattle, WA. For more information on how RPI is helping fuel the rapid growth of personalized products, please visit www.rpiprint.com.

Contact:

Traci Pichette
RPI
206-905-5999
tracip@rpiprint.com

Seattle, WA – May 16, 2011 – RPI (www.rpiprint.com), a leading make-on-demand producer of private label personalized stationery and photo book products, today announced that it was selected as a Finalist in the “Website – Manufacturing” category in the 2011 American Business Awards. More than 2,800 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted this year for consideration in more than 40 categories.

Finalists were chosen by business professionals nationwide during preliminary judging in April and May. Stevie® Award winners will be selected from among the Finalists in each category by members of 10 specialized final judging committees.  More than 150 executives will have participated in judging this year.

“It is exciting to have RPI acknowledged by the judging panel of the American Business Awards, and we are honored to be recognized among some of the nation’s most innovative companies,” said Rick Bellamy, CEO at RPI. “Despite the challenging economy, we celebrated the company’s 30^th anniversary by making significant investments to broaden the addressable market for our products and our new website is a reflection of our strategic growth”

This year’s Stevie Award winners will be announced during the annual gala on Monday, June 20 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. More than six hundred executives from across the U.S.A. are expected to attend. The event will benefit Camfed (camfed.org), which fights poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa by educating girls and empowering women to become leaders of change. The ceremonies will be broadcast on radio nationwide by the Business TalkRadio Network.

About RPI

RPI is a leading make-on-demand producer of private label personalized photo books, greeting cards and stationery products for mass and specialty retailers. The company’s broad range of blue chip retail and online publishing customers rely on its consistent, reliable execution, creative design services and best of breed manufacturing for the rapid delivery of innovative products utilizing consumer-generated content. The privately held company is headquartered just outside of Seattle, WA. For more information on how RPI is helping fuel the rapid growth of personalized products, please visit www.rpiprint.com.

About the Stevie Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide.  Learn more about The Stevie Awards at www.stevieawards.com.

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Contact:
Traci Pichette�
RPI
206-905-5999
tracip@rpiprint.com

Seattle, WA – December 2, 2010 – RPI (www.rpiprint.com), a leader in automated manufacturing and fulfillment for the consumer make-on-demand printed products market, today announced that it will be the exclusive printer for Cocodot (www.cocodot.com), the popular online greeting and invitation site used by celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Brooke Shields. RPI will print and ship orders placed for Cocodot’s new line of eco-friendly printed products that complement its chic, contemporary line of evites and greetings. Customers can now combine online and printing for upcoming holiday invitations, greetings and announcements using Cocodot’s exclusive designs, some of which allow the incorporation of family photos or other personalized mementos.

“Cocodot now offers a unique option for our customers—the ability to print as well as send our cards online,” noted Shawn Gold, Cocodot CEO. “With RPI as our partner, we’ve made it easy for Cocodot customers to print the cards they have created online, providing the same feeling of high design and environmental consciousness in the recipient. Plus, we can rely on RPI’s attention to quality and customer service, two hallmarks that Cocodot is known for achieving.”

“Cocodot is all about lifestyle and art, and we’re excited to create the products its customers expect and deserve,” said Rick Bellamy, RPI CEO. “Our recent investment in technology and streamlined manufacturing process guarantees we will provide high quality product and quick delivery to the customer. We look forward to seeing how Cocodot customers express themselves with the company’s highly unique designs.”

About Cocodot
Cocodot is a pioneer in the online invitation and greetings market, striving to elevate self-expression by offering premium-quality designs and a user-friendly site for event management. Through Cocodot’s designer and retail collaborations, the site offers the latest in exclusive invitation, greetings and social stationery designs for all life stage events, including special baby and wedding collections. www.cocodot.com

About RPI
RPI is a leading make-on-demand producer of private label personalized photo books, greeting cards and stationery products for mass and specialty retailers. The company’s broad range of blue chip retail and online publishing customers rely on its consistent, reliable execution, creative design services and best of breed manufacturing for the rapid delivery of innovative products utilizing consumer-generated content. The privately held company is headquartered just outside of Seattle, WA. For more information on how RPI is helping fuel the rapid growth of personalized products, please visit www.rpiprint.com.

Cocodot Contact:
Shawn Gold
Cocodot
1-888-9-COCODOT
shawn@cocodot.com

RPI Contact:
Traci Pichette
RPI, Inc.
206-905-3270
tracip@rpiprint.com