2024 Hall of Fame Inductee Dave Johannes Has the Golden Touch

Dave Johannes stands with a SCREEN inkjet web press on display while at the 2019 PRINTING United Expo in Dallas, Texas.

Though production inkjet is an established, trusted printing process today, that was not the case 15 years ago when Dave Johannes started investigating it. Then with IWCO Direct, he saw an opportunity in inkjet printing that others had overlooked.

“Sometimes you can look at these new technologies and can see the future in them,” reflects Johannes, now executive vice president, strategic initiatives, at Moore in Tulsa, Oklahoma. “The sooner you start, the more you’ll be able to influence the development.”

And his influence has been profound. Johannes’ in-depth consultation with Canon and SCREEN helped shape the development of inkjet technology. IWCO went on to install 12 inkjet presses, inspiring other commercial and direct mail printers to follow suit. And while he could have kept his insights to himself, Johannes chose to share them freely with the industry, in articles, videos, and user panel discussions. His involvement eventually contributed to the creation of the thINK Canon inkjet users group.

“Getting in a room with your industry peers and talking about what works, and what doesn’t work, is a great way to build the community — and it’s also a great way to help move the technology forward,” he says.

His efforts as an innovator, a pioneer, and a community contributor have led to Dave Johannes’ induction into the 2024 Printing Impressions Printing Industry Hall of Fame. And while the Hall of Fame has honored scores of printing CEOs and owners over the decades for their successes, Johannes is the rare inductee who has worked at multiple companies, using his skills and innovative thinking to improve them and inspire all who worked with him.

The honor has left him humbled and appreciative. “It feels good to be acknowledged,” he says. His many years in leadership roles have taught him a lot, but one of the most important lessons has been the value of communication. “The first thing you have to do is listen,” he advises. “You’ve got to get people to understand what the problem is, and then get them to buy into the solution.”

His Early Years

Born in Bethpage, New York, on Long Island, Johannes moved several times as a child, spending time in Florida, South Carolina, and Texas, where he graduated from high school. While attending community college, he worked for companies like Texas Oil & Gas and Continental Trailways, an early user of bulk mail.

“I prepared bulk mailings by hand, without mechanization, and learned how it all worked,” he recalls. After moving back to South Carolina, he took a job in the in-plant print and mail department at Texize Chemical Co. Though at that early point in his career, Johannes had considered other directions such as the petroleum industry and even becoming a lawyer (“because I like to argue and debate,” he laughs), something about printing pulled him in.

“I love manufacturing,” he explains. “I love processes, and I like figuring out how to make machines run faster.” He would put those interests to great use throughout his career.

Johannes’ first big printing job came when he took a position at Dallas Offset, which printed a weekly newspaper for local Baptist churches, and built the company’s direct mailing business. Owner Jack Allmon was an early mentor to Johannes, and one lesson that stuck with him came from Allmon’s resistance to expansion, reasoning that he was already making plenty of money, and if he grew the business it would just be to bolster his ego. To this day, when Johannes makes any business move, he asks himself if he’s doing it to make himself look good or because it’s right for the business.

Having succeeded at Dallas Offset, Johannes moved on to Co-Op Mailers, where he started up a lettershop to do direct mailings. As general manager, he ran the facility, bought equipment, and hired employees.

“I did the 1980 mailing for Ronald Reagan’s presidential efforts in all of Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas,” he notes.

He went on to become assistant plant manager at Arandell Corp., in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, and then director of distribution services and postal affairs at Case-Hoyt, in Churchville, New York, honing his catalog skills for his next big move.

A Postal Innovator

Johannes has spoken at industry events, such as thINK, Canon Solutions America’s inkjet users group, and at the Inkjet Summit.

In 1990, Johannes joined the Banta Catalog Group in Maple Grove, Minnesota, and it was here where he made his first big mark on the print and mail industry. When the U.S. Postal Service (USPS)introduced destination entry postal drop shipping in 1991, to give mailers discounts for consolidating and presorting mail, Johannes recognized it as a significant cost-saving opportunity, as well as a chance for Banta to become a leader in drop shipping.

He led the creation of an automated program to analyze volumes of mail and create consolidated shipments across multiple customers to get the best transportation costs and the lowest postage rates. Johannes then worked closely with the industry through GCA to standardize an input file for mail planning. This would eventually morph into the Mail.dat file format, which was adopted by the USPS and is still used today.

“I still like to say I’m the grandfather of Mail.dat because it really started with the file that we built,” he points out, with pride. Johannes ended up winning the prestigious 1991 GCA Innovator Award for his efforts.

He made other improvements at Banta, such as moving data processing in-house by using server-based PC applications instead of bulky mainframes. “It made us super competitive pricewise, because we didn’t have all the overhead of a mainframe,” he says.

Promoted to general manager in 1999, Johannes turned around the struggling Maple Grove facility. “Before I took it over, that plant had never broke even,” he says. “I got them into the black.”

He did this by implementing standards of performance, setting processes and procedures, improving communication, and finding more appropriate roles for existing managers where they could thrive. Maple Grove’s profit grew to $6 million in his second year, and Johannes and his team won Banta corporate-level continuous improvement awards for two consecutive years for their success.

After 12 years at Banta, and a short foray outside the printing industry, Johannes joined IWCO Direct, a producer of standard advertising mail in Chanhassen, Minnesota, as director of warehouse services. He made quick progress at solving issues and was soon promoted to director of mailing operations for all Minnesota lettershop operations.

His greatest impact at IWCO, however, came in 2010 when he spearheaded the company’s trend-setting move into four-color, continuous-feed production inkjet output. He researched the developing technology, bringing files and paper to four manufacturers to test the quality of their output. IWCO started with Canon inkjet presses, later adding SCREEN devices. Within six years, IWCO would have 12 continuous-feed production inkjet presses and become a model for the industry.

“When I started at IWCO, we were probably $225 million in sales,” he says. “After 2010, once we embraced inkjet and became the leader in it within the commercial space … we grew to $485 million in sales. We were able to do things that others in the industry couldn’t.”

Johannes made other improvements as well. He applied Lean and Kaizen methodologies, which led to a 16% boost in machine run time, a 30% decrease in idle time, and a 16% cut in labor costs per operation.

By 2017, though, “it was time to do something different,” he notes. Johannes was hired by Moore, a leader in marketing solutions for nonprofit organizations, to serve as executive vice president, strategic initiatives. Here, he has made great strides in adding leading-edge equipment. The company recently installed its second W+D BB1000 inserter to produce personalized direct mail letter packages by using digitally printed envelope rolls, which are converted and inserted in a single pass.

“Dave Johannes’ innovative leadership has helped us harness the power of technology and paved the way for Moore’s future growth,” lauds Moore CEO Gretchen Littlefield. “His vision has steered the printing industry toward new levels of technological advancement.”

Johannes has also enjoyed the shift from sales-oriented companies to one serving nonprofits. “You get a little bit more engaged with the customers and what they’re trying to achieve. It feels good because you’re helping raise money for causes that matter,” he points out.

A Long-Lasting Impact

Johannes has made an impact on many people throughout his career, and those who have worked with him have nothing but good things to say. Michael Patterson, founder and former owner of King Solutions (now retired), worked with Johannes for 30 years on mail logistics and was always impressed with his drive.

“Dave was never satisfied with the status quo, no matter how well it was performing,” according to Patterson. “Dave’s persistent commitment to improvement resulted in ongoing challenges to be a creative and innovative partner.

“Dave always works with goals in mind, and through an incredible amount of thought and hard work these goals are achieved. I will always be grateful to Dave for the inspirational influence he has had in my life. He made me expect more from myself,” Patterson notes.

“Dave may seem gruff and tough, but there is a softer side to Dave that makes him a great leader and a great friend,” Debora Haskel, vice president of development at Moore, says. “He has a unique talent for walking onto the floor of a manufacturing facility and instantly seeing how to make it run more efficiently.”
Littlefield adds, “Dave is a pioneer of innovation in the printing industry and a visionary leader at Moore. No one deserves this prestigious induction more than him.”

Never shy about sharing his knowledge or his opinion, Johannes is proud of the industry networking he has inspired by helping form Canon and SCREEN inkjet user groups, and by participating in user panel discussions at the Inkjet Summit and other events.

“A lot of people in the industry think they’ve got the ‘secret sauce’ so they don’t want to share what they know,” he says. “I figure if I share my knowledge, I can get people to open up and share with me, and usually everybody learns something.”

Dave Johannes poses for a candid picture with his wife Esther, who he describes as his “biggest supporter.”

Now living in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with his wife Esther, the couple enjoy trips to their family’s Delaware beach house, where Johannes loves to go deep sea fishing. He’s also an avid cook and cocktail mixologist who enjoys entertaining friends. He has five children and seven grandchildren.

Looking back on his 40-plus years in the industry, Johannes is most proud of one thing: “That I’ve had success pretty much everywhere I have been.”

As for the future, the word "retirement" is not yet in his vocabulary. “I’m 67 and I’m not planning on going anywhere,” he concludes. “I really like the role that I have at Moore.”