Océ Color Technology Helps Franchise Produce Marketing Programs In-house
BOCA RATON, FL—December 19, 2006—Océ (NASDAQ: OCENY), a global leader in digital document management and delivery solutions, announces that an Océ customer, the International Center for Entrepreneurial Development (ICED), has made the shift from offset outsourcing to in-house digital color, resulting in better support for their franchise network through more effective personalized mailings. Along with the convenience of web-based submission and the relevance of targeted personalization, this enhanced business model lets ICED offer more value-added services to their network to help franchise center owners grow revenue while reducing costs and improving targeting.
ICED is one of the largest alliances of print and copy, pack and ship, women’s healthcare, and children’s education franchises, with about 750 locations around the world. Using full color digital printing from Océ, ICED brought more marketing services in-house, achieving improved productivity and streamlined business processes and allowing their franchises to focus on driving revenue. ICED also saves time and money by eliminating offset printing for mailings.
“We didn’t have the option to print before, and now in-house color capability lets us broaden our services,” said Jay Groot, president of the Kwik Kopy Business Centers (KKBC), an ICED franchise. Because ICED provides these professional marketing campaigns, franchise owners have more time to concentrate on their businesses. The combination of high quality color and personalization brings greater effectiveness to mailing campaigns and increases the potential for capturing more leads for franchises.
ICED delivers personalized direct mailings in color for over 100 franchises in the US. Printing center owners can also use Océ digital color capability for their own customers’ direct mail campaigns. “Franchises can offer this online as a more convenient service and expand their value,” Groot said.
“We used to spend about one week a month doing mailings using outsourced offset printing at higher cost with less personalization and targeting,” Groot said. Now ICED does it all in one pass with variable data printing on an Océ CPS 800 digital full color printer. Fewer production steps and reduced labor resulted in an estimated savings of about $20,000 a year, along with the elimination of wasted inventory of preprinted offset shells.
ICED has further increased the convenience of its turnkey marketing with a web ordering system integrated with the Océ CPS color printer. All marketing materials are now available in an online library of variable data applications for ready access by franchise centers. “The Océ CPS system has made it easier to do business with us. Before, we used to go back and forth faxing and typesetting. Now the franchise can go to the web site any time, log on and proof a PDF online. Once it’s approved, they place their order, and it goes into the print queue, or they can download it to the franchise center for printing. This helps us hold down prices on pieces that get the most value,” said Groot.
“The CPS 800 has been very consistent and of the highest quality. The printer maintains its speed even on the largest stocks,” Groot said. ICED needs just one printer for a variety of work, including in-house materials, covers and color pages for their company magazine, as well as newsletters and postcards for mailings.
ICED averages over 100,000 full color pieces per month on the CPS 800 for newsletters, brochures and personalized postcard mailings. Average run length is 750 four-up postcards on 12”x18” sheets, or 188 pieces, although some runs have been as large as 11,000 pieces. Variable elements on postcards include franchise center address, recipient address, store coupons, maps, and sometimes an owner’s photo.
About Océ
Océ is a leading provider of digital document management technology and services. The company’s solutions are based on Océ’s advanced software applications that deliver documents and data over internal networks and the Internet to printing devices and archives -- locally and around the world. Supporting the workflow solutions are Océ digital printers and scanners, considered the most reliable and productive in the world. Océ also offers a wide range of display graphics, consulting and outsourcing solutions.
