There is a bit of euphoric overreach often accompanying the subject of production inkjet printing, one that Chris Illman would like to set straight. As amazing as the technology may be, production inkjet isn’t a magic pill that will transform your company overnight...nor is it accompanied by “the force” or any other supernatural phenomenon that, by extension, will naturally resonate with a printer’s sales team. 

By the same token, Illman—CEO of OneTouchPoint, a digital printing giant headquartered in Hartland, Wisconsin—is a huge proponent of the technology, as it enables both his firm and its customers to be more competitive in the marketplace.

His firm was one of the handful of beta testers for the Océ VarioPrint i300 sheetfed press from Canon, and the company has experienced much initial success with the device. 

So while Illman offers some caveats to production inkjet newcomers, it is nothing that a little homework and some preparation won’t solve. 

The company prides itself as a single-source, marketing execution services provider, addressing a multitude of needs from digital printing output to direct mail and fulfillment. A $140 million annual performer, OneTouchPoint employs just south of 1,000 people.

The client list for OneTouchPoint (which includes health care, manufacturing, and retail) is a perfect match for the production inkjet environment, as they are markets with a heavy need for personalized customer communications. The need for variable, black-and-white content in tandem with color were easily met by the Océ VarioPrint i300, which provides speed, flexibility, and the ability to offer a lower-cost price point. 

“We’re living in the ‘I want it now’ society,” Illman observes. “You have shorter run lengths and more personalized, targeted communications. Every day that goes by, fewer and fewer offset impressions are going to be printed. It’s all about the cost, the flexibility, and the urgency. The flexibility of the sheetfed i300 is going to claim a significant amount of offset impressions.” 

From an operational standpoint, the greatest challenge facing not just the i300, but any production inkjet device, centers on the current limitations of stocks. Once paper manufacturers catch up with the technology, according to Illman, it will open “an endless amount of possibilities around that unit.” 

The ease of use and automation paint a clear picture of the i300’s productivity. OneTouchPoint did not endure any learning curve, as the company has already used several pieces of Canon gear, including a bevy of Océ 6250s and black-and-white continuous-feed devices, which made the transition to the former “project Niagara” fairly seamless. Adding to that ease is the firm’s use of the PRISMA-based front-end workflow. 

Production inkjet technology fits well into the wheelhouse of OneTouchPoint’s customer base. A large agricultural products and equipment manufacturer relied on the printer to crank out its technical manuals, a production process that entailed offset, and black-and-white work. That required two runs—one for the offset shells, the second for the digital black- and-white printing. “With the i300, we’re able to batch all these technical manuals and run them at very high speeds in one full pass,” Illman notes. “No more shell covers from commercial offset. Our productivity has increased because we’re running multiple manuals and shorter versions that are more targeted—all in one pass.” 

Another client that benefitted in the same vein was Sportsman’s Connection, whose fishing and hunting map guides are sold through major retailers such as Cabela’s and Wal-Mart, as well as sporting goods/ outdoor enthusiast chains Bass Pro Shops and Dick’s Sporting Goods. This customer didn’t get left with a cache of unsold product and was able to reduce inventory levels by as much as 70 percent. “Now they don’t have all that inventory sitting there. It’s a true books-on-demand model, with the cost point where they need it to be,” he says. 

Output quality may not be one of production inkjet technology’s primary selling points, but it has won over some skeptics. Christie Kimbell, Vice President of Marketing for OneTouchPoint, notes that the company has received favorable comments regarding the printing quality coming off the VarioPrint i300 sheetfed press. “Customers are surprised at how great it looks and are impressed with the sharpness of the picture quality when compared to offset printing,” she says.  

Illman believes that once more optimized stocks are made available, the quality of printing coming off the i300 will improve even more. “In this day that we live in, the quality is what it needs to be,” he says. “It’s the other value propositions that deliver. Part of the allure of this machine is going to be the new applications that it can produce. You need to be selling the flexibility, the cost, speed, and the versioning.” 

Kimbell explains that in an age of 1:1 personalization and variability, OneTouchPoint will increasingly focus its equipment investments on production inkjet to foster success and growth for both the firm and its customer base. “We are innovators and being the second printer to install this technology is an indication that we put our money where our minds are.” 

And while production inkjet won’t transform a printing business overnight, it will certainly accomplish the task in due time, especially for those firms that are careful to cultivate a sales force that is keen to the task. “A traditional sales force is not going to be able to sell these applications,” Illman concludes. “You truly need marketing-based, solutions-based, technology-type salespeople. Make sure you have your sales force and sales strategy done first, then look to this type of technology to support that.” 

Christopher A. Illman is CEO of OneTouchPoint, a fast growing, leading Marketing Communications Company headquartered in Hartland, WI. Chris has full P/L responsibility and manages all Sales, Operations, HR, Finance and Administration. Chris has extensive M&A experience being a part of over 15 transactions as an investor and operator. Chris helped lead a successful exit of OneTouchPoint with Huron Capital to ICV Capital as part of its next growth chapter. Chris earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. He resides in Delafield, WI with his wife Cathy and three daughters, Sydney, Madeline, and Sophie.

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Tonya Powers is the Graphic Arts Segment Marketing Manager for Canon, with a focus on marketing strategies across North America in the Commercial and Book print production markets.  She brings with her a wealth of industry knowledge that enables her to lead field relevant go-to-market production print strategies and programs for Canon that bring value-add to the production print customer and print industry. Previous to Canon, Tonya spent several years at Hewlett Packard on the marketing team developing go-to-market strategies within the Graphics Solutions Business for their Wide Format and Digital Press & Inkjet divisions. Tonya has been in marketing roles identifying and implementing B2B marketing strategies since 1999.