“Paradigms Lost”—Screen Inks Trigger Shifts in Printing Preconceptions and Practices

In the two brief years since the first U.S. installation of the Screen (Booth 2613) Truepress Jet520HD high definition inkjet web press, the resulting shift in commercial printing and direct mail production paradigms have been worthy of a John Milton poem. And just in the past several months since Screen introduced its SC Inks for use on the 520HD, conventional wisdom about offset and inkjet may now be ancient history.

What that means for contemporary printers and direct mail producers is that production shackles are being removed and new markets opening up for early adopters of Screen’s technology. That’s why printing veterans are exclaiming, “I didn’t know you could do that with inkjet!”

The high-speed Truepress Jet520HD and SC inks are best described in the words and facts offered by current users: Jim Andersen, the CEO of the data-driven marketing services company, IWCO Direct says, “The Screen Truepress has created additional business opportunities—specifically in driving new creative formats for new and existing clients.”

He explains further: “We needed to achieve the print quality that meets our clients’ expectations, while introducing a wider range of coated paper options in a variety of thicknesses. The wide range of paper stock capabilities from the Truepress is a key feature that enables us to help our clients create new customers.”

Tidewater Direct, a trade supplier of direct mail component parts, has been watching one of those paradigms dissolve before its eyes. “We’ve kept an eye on the inkjet market for a long time, and we’ve noticed an increasing ROI between inkjet and offset technology,” says Geoffrey Eisenberg, the company’s EVP.

“We wanted to be able to use our commodity stocks that we already had on the floor, rather than having to go out and buy new inkjet treated stock. It was important for us to use the same inventory for both litho and inkjet processes. Now we don’t have to maintain two separate inventories. It offers cost savings to our customers because they don’t have to pay that premium for inkjet treated paper.”

Eisenberg had praise for SC Inks even before his company purchased and installed their 520HD and SC Inks. “The color replication was accurate, and when compared side by side to litho, the difference was indistinguishable. The combination of the SC Inks and Truepress 520HD allows us to achieve quality in a price point that really services a customer’s demands.”

Another Screen Truepress Jet520HD and SC Inks customer, AdMail West, has just installed its new printer and found that the paradigm of time is also falling by the wayside. “As a company, we have always been exceptional in our turn time. We’ve been sheetfed digital, never offset. And that is a much slower application in production than the roll-to-roll. The efficiencies that brings to us is tremendous,” says Kathy Pescetti, President of the full-service marketing agency with direct mail/database management/digital variable printing capabilities.

“For us and for our customers, the difference is dramatic: One particular job would take 130 hours to print via digital inkjet. By our calculations with Screen, the job takes only eight hours,” she adds. Vice President, Anthony Peschetti, adds his thoughts about the print quality: “The SC Inks particularly delivered extremely high quality to the point where we feel very comfortable that we could deliver as close to offset quality that there is out there right now with this equipment.”

A shift in how printers print? Yes, perhaps. But for many printers, the bigger shift is in how they go to market, what types of customers they serve, and how they actually see themselves. A new paradigm in the making, thanks to new technology from companies like Screen.