Innovative Inkjet Print Technology Leader Shares Their Journey

Broadridge, a prominent Fintech leader generating over $6 billion in revenue, operates across 21 countries with a team of over 14,000 associates. Renowned as one of North America's major transactional printers, Broadridge maintains seven facilities in the U.S. and Canada, and produces a staggering 275 million statements each month – totaling 1.3 billion sheets. This impressive output is achieved through high-speed production inkjet technology, including Canon ColorStream and Canon JetStream web-fed inkjet presses.

Naveed Choudhry, Sr. Operations Manager, shared with us their journey to the highly efficient inkjet printing operation Broadridge runs today. "At Broadridge, we specialize in creating personalized, engaging customer experiences, spanning industries like Consumer Finance, Healthcare, Insurance, Retail Banking, Telecom, and Utilities. Almost all the work we do here at our California facility is transactional work, accomplished through Canon continuous feed inkjet technology. Transactional work contains private and confidential information that requires high security and compliance, so accuracy and confidentiality are non-negotiable. In addition to accuracy and compliance, our clients have a sensitivity to timely delivery and demand superior color quality, personalized variable data, consolidated marketing and transaction documents, interactivity, and seamless integration with digital channels. It’s my job to figure out how to best use our technology to deliver all of that cost-effectively and efficiently.”  

Naveed boasts an extensive 32-year tenure in the print industry and played a pivotal role in transitioning Broadridge from toner and offset technology to inkjet print technology. "Our voyage into the realm of inkjet started well before it became mainstream. Back in 2002, operating under the name DST at the time, we started our transition to inkjet in our Bristol, UK facility, with the goal of replacing preprinted forms to reduce costs and gain operational efficiencies. So, starting with that facility, we left toner devices, which were tapped out at 290 feet a minute, behind and moved into inkjet. Shortly thereafter we brought in the same inkjet technology along with Versamark to our facilities in the U.S to replace four of our offset presses to help us eliminate pre-printed forms, which effectively cut our costs in half.”

From 2003 to 2007, Naveed and his team of 20 engineers continually refined and optimized their print technology by taking a modular approach and building their own presses using print heads and chassis to get to the technology solution they needed to have a competitive advantage. “At that time we primarily engaged in monochrome printing with spot colors, totaling 600 million images monthly. To facilitate that we built six 36” presses to handle work with spot color.”

In 2007, Broadridge won an RFP that required MICR to print multiple forms. “That is where Canon came into play,” said Naveed. “The Canon JetStream seamlessly integrated with our fleet and offered us the inline MICR printing technology that we needed, so it quickly became our press of choice for high-speed, high-quality variable data MICR jobs. We regarded Canon as our preferred choice due to the ability of the press to perform all required tasks inline on blank stock, so this marked the inception of our partnership with Canon.” Over the next few years, the dedicated engineering team at Broadridge meticulously constructed and maintained their press fleet, with the Canon JetStream bridging any gaps.  Soon thereafter, Broadridge added the Canon ColorStream web-fed inkjet press for increased operational efficiencies and to enhance their competitive advantage.

“Today, as print and maintenance costs have come down so dramatically, we have approached a point where the time and effort of having a dedicated engineering team building presses doesn’t pay off as much as it did in the past, and we rely more and more on Canon’s inkjet press technology to run our business,” said Naveed.

“As the print industry continues to transform, Naveed remains at the forefront, driving progress and pushing the boundaries of what print technology can achieve,” said Francis McMahon, executive vice president, Production Print Solutions, Canon Solutions America, Inc. “I am pleased to know Naveed personally and to serve with him on the thINK board.”

About Broadridge

Broadridge, a global Fintech leader with more than $6 billion in revenues, provides the critical infrastructure that powers investing, corporate governance, and communications to enable better financial lives. We deliver technology-driven solutions that drive digital transformation for our clients and help them get ahead of today’s challenges to capitalize on what’s next. For more information, visit broadridge.com.  

About thINK 
thINK is an independent community of Canon Solutions America inkjet customers, solution partners, and print industry experts, and Canon Solutions America is a proud executive sponsor. Led by some of the most successful inkjet service providers in the country, it provides a forum for members to network, gain knowledge, discuss common challenges, and share best practices. For more information, visit thinkforum.com.