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When it came time to make a decision on the digital printing path it needed to take — toner or inkjet — the executives at direct mail and transactional specialist Impact of Minneapolis followed a simple business axiom: If you don’t take care of your customers, someone else will. The Twin Cities stalwart had been experiencing growing pains for the past 10 years, acquiring five competitors within that time frame. It carved out a niche as a marketing/mailing provider with pick- and-pack capabilities and transactional documents for a rich cast of verticals, including franchises, nonprofits and financial services. During its 33-year history, Impact developed a well-diversified set of service offerings; however offset lithography was not among them.  The acquisitions brought in a wide assortment of gear to the 190-employee operation, which has a sister- facility in nearby Winsted. Impact mostly relied on a fleet of “green button” cutsheet toner boxes, along with a host of continuous-feed …

As viable candidates for production inkjet printing technology go, one would be hard-pressed to find a firm with a greater need than Pinnacle Data Systems of Suwanee, Ga. This poster child status has been replaced by a solution that provided relief to numerous pain points. The company debuted in 1999 as an accounting software company that marketed and customized ERP solutions. Pinnacle added print-and-mail document output services two years later, essentially as an add-on service for its existing software client base.  Now, the firm exclusively focuses on print and electronic document output and hosting services, backed by facilities in Phoenix and Birmingham, Ala., as well as suburban Atlanta, along with a satellite in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which specializes in software development and electronic products. Pinnacle Data Systems employs 240 workers across its network. The company specializes in transactional mail services — the printing and mailing of business-critical …

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 …

Winterberry Group’s Managing Director Jonathan Marqulies came to the thINK 2016 Conference to relay a story we have been hearing more often lately:  personalized direct mail is growing and there is an opportunity for printers and marketers alike to integrate it into an omni-channel marketing plan, one that can marry production inkjet printing and big data in a cohesive way.  In his presentation, titled “Lessons Learned: What a Decade of Disruption Tells Us About Direct Mail’s Future,” Margulies explored the steady increase of direct mail spending and annual growth, specifically the 1.1% CAGR that was recorded from 2009-2015, according to a Winterberry Group analysis. And although Margulies pointed out that direct mail piece volumes have decreased — volume CAGR was -1.1% between 2009-2015, according to the same analysis — the fact that direct mail spending and growth are on the rise likely indicates that spending per piece has increased. This could be attributed to the increase in …

As 2016 comes to a close and we plan for 2017, Victor Bohnert, thINK Executive Director shares highlights from thINK 2016: The threat of Hurricane Matthew didn’t dampen the spirits of attendees at the second annual thINK user group conference. The event, which attracted more than 400 Canon production inkjet printing professionals, solution partners, analysts and trade press, was held Oct. 10-12th in Boca Raton, Fla., at the Boca Raton Resort & Club, a Waldorf Astoria Resort.  “There was a great deal of uncertainty with Hurricane Matthew, but we really had little falloff due to that risk. People were excited to be there to both learn from each other but also to contribute. The mood was very upbeat and energetic,” said Victor Bohnert, executive director of thINK..  Word on the Street  Throughout the three-day event, a prevailing sense of community, interaction and education was ever-present as both new and existing thINK members united to share their production inkjet experiences, learn …