Envelopes.com sees sales soar in digital age

Who needs envelopes in a digital age? More people than you might think, according to envelopes.com, a Lindenhurst-based company that has been printing and distributing envelopes for 40 years, and has seen sales soar.

But why? "Millions and millions of companies send out envelopes every day," said Seth Newman, enve lopes.com's president. "We also do invitation envelopes. Even in the world of the e-vites, it's still a paper-based invitation that is the norm."

The company was Action Envelopes for 40 years, until it changed its name last month, Newman said. The new name, he said, reflects the company's growing Internet business. The company's sales last year were about $12 million. A decade ago, sales were less than $1 million. The company has 40 employees, compared to five or six a decade ago.

Things looked bleak in 1993 when founder Ken Newman died of a heart attack. His widow, SharonNewman, quit her job as a teacher in Flushing and took over.

"I didn't know a lot about the business then," Sharon Newman, now chief executive, said. She learned. "I was astounded," she said, at where the business is today. "I pinch myself every day."

Seth Newman, a son who came into the business a decade ago, said he is looking to build envelopes.com into a $15-million business. "I don't think the world will ever be paperless. ," he said. "Did TV make the radio go away? No. Did the Internet make TV go away? No."