CHILI Publish Meets the ‘Uber-izing’ Ambition of Blanks USA

Thirty years ago, Blanks USA started small by providing door hangers and raffle tickets. Today it has evolved into an industry-leading supplier of security paper and die-cut paper products. This could not have been possible without a solid inbuilt self-service model, including the CHILI publish (Booth 257) online editor, that has taken the company’s ‘uber-izing’ ambition of web-to-print, to a new level.

Reducing design correction time and production costs are of the essence when you aim at booming the business. Blanks USA understood this challenge and was determined to ‘uber-ize the die-cut designs’ by sourcing new applications and revenue streams to offset any loss. “It was time to create an integrated design tool that featured a robust online editor that was easy to use for anyone, yet functional enough to meet the needs of professional designers,” Andy Ogren, proprietor of Blanks USA, clarifies.

With the CHILI publish online editing solution, the hunt for a perfect cost-effective cloud-based model came to an end. The integration empowers the user with a 100% capability to change any element in the Blanks USA templates, as far as allowed. Portions of the template that are not being altered, are locked down for editing. The user can plug-and-play without having to be concerned with print specs or his/her limited design experience. The end results turned out to be ‘THE’ perfect web-to-print deployment model that enabled Blanks USA’s ambition ‘to uber-ize the production of die cut products’; it has also brought down costs of current configurations.

The benefits

Besides providing a quick way to create professional quality materials by exporting the designs into the perfect print-ready PDF, the cloud-based configuration also brought down production time at Blanks USA’s by a staggering 40%. Ogren provides the case in point: “A packaging printer partner reported that his hand labor for die-cut boxes typically took three minutes per box in the past, i.e. removing the product from the matrix and getting the box ready for assembly. This was now reduced to literally 20 seconds. He attributed it to our web-to-print solution. He’s looking forward to producing a million boxes per month without any increase in labor using our solution.” This feedback supports the company in its quest to “uber-ize” the market. Blanks USA offers unlimited access to the portal for a mere $20 per designer per month. Ogren clarifies: “It’s a game changer for us and
for our customers. They save money on design, and end up with a higher quality product. Printers can focus on new revenue streams.”

Blanks USA is now finally able to offer an attractive cost model that not only secures an efficient process, but also delivers a flawless final product. The order volume increase, and the overwhelming customer response from the market, speak for themselves.