In September 2009, in order to reduce the number of fraudulent prescriptions, the state mandated that all prescription pads be printed on Washington State Board of Pharmacy approved paper by July 2010. These new pads must have at least three levels of security on them.

This law should reduce fraudulent prescriptions and should have been a boon for the smaller printers as we have a relationship with many doctors offices and any legitimate printer can print these new prescription pads. However, when this law was executed, the state inappropriately and erroneously posted on the Internet a list of printers that appeared to be state-approved printers allowed to print these new security prescription pads. Most of the printers on the list were either larger printers or franchise printers.

Several of our clients subsequently were either approached by the printers on this list, or when the law came out, went onto the Web site to find state-approved prescription pad printers. Because of this false implication, some of our clients bypassed us and had their prescription pads printed by the so called state-approved printers. Still today, I am informing doctors’ offices that we, like any legitimate printer, can print their prescription pads, and that there are no state-approved printers.

When I contacted the state department Board of Pharmacy Program Managers office last week about this issue, they were vague on how they notified printers and how printers got on the list. The Pharmacy Program Managers office, however, stated that the “approved” list has just been removed because of complaints that some printing companies stated only they could print the pads, and were using the list to show they had an endorsement of the state.

It must be noted that when I told the Pharmacy Program Managers Office that we lost business because of the list they did give us a sincere apology.

Hot Off The Press has no problems competing against larger chain printers. Indeed our service and caring attitude oftentimes gives us an advantage. But I think I can speak for all small businesses when I state that all small businesses want the state government to not give larger businesses an unfair advantage either by incompetence or design.

Andrew Koeppen, owner of Redmond-based Hot Off the Press