Perfect Printing — Digital Is Perfect Solution

IT’S NOT that ‘digital’ is an unsavory term around the pressroom at Perfect Printing of Moorestown, NJ. But when their salespeople call upon potential customers, some more choice words are used.

“We don’t sell the digital,” notes Joe Olivo, president of Perfect Printing. “We tell customers we can offer improved turnaround times, improved finishing capabilities and even an improved array of products.”

Olivo might not be selling digital, but his family owned company recently bought the digital. Perfect Printing acquired Blaze Digital Printing of nearby Lumberton, NJ—a fledgling provider of on-demand booklets that boasted a staff of veteran digital experts.

The deal closed the end of August 2006 and has provided a decisive leg up on the conventional/digital hybrid market, bolstering a company that previously offered only half-sized sheetfed printing in the Delaware Valley area.

Perfect Printing works with print management firms, freelance designers, associations, universities and publishers to provide direct mail (postcards and newsletters) and collateral marketing materials for trade shows or corporate identification products. It’s a family owned company, with brothers Charlie and Chris, mother Ann and Joe’s wife, Susan, at the helm of the 50-employee operation.

On the conventional side, Perfect Printing is a Heidelberg shop with four Speedmasters (two-, five- and eight-color, 29˝ SM 74 models and a five-color, 20˝ SM 52) and a two-color QuickMaster 46 accompanying a digital trio of Kodak gear.

It’s been an eventful period for Perfect Printing, which debuted in 1979 as a retail copy shop. Along with the acquisition of Blaze Digital, the company also obtained a five-color Kodak NexPress 2100 Plus and a pair of black-and-white models, the Kodak Digimaster 150 and the 9110.

Between bringing in new equipment and a staff of digital-savvy employees, Olivo paved the way for a smooth integration process, keeping incumbents and newbies happy under the roof of their 43,000-square-foot facility. In fact, about 95 percent of Blaze Digital’s employees came to work for Perfect Printing.

Digital Expertise

“(Blaze Digital) really brought a lot to table,” he says. “They had substantial digital experience. Many of their employees have been in the industry a long time and have substantial digital variable data experience. That knowledge of the digital workflow, how it works with on-demand booklets, was really helpful for us to bring in right away. There was a very short learning curve with what needed to be done to get them running at peak performance.

“It’s proven to be a logical extension of our business. Blaze has blended very well with our existing capabilities.”

Olivo began exploring the possibility of entering the digital realm around mid-2005. Being a small company, the concern for Perfect Printing was the length of time it would require to reap a return on the investment for the digital presses. Olivo wanted to be successful at selling the product, having a proficient and knowledgeable staff, and be able to build a roster of clients in short order.

Olivo hired Pound Consulting and, inside of a year, Blaze Digital—owned by Ned Hood—was targeted as being an ideal partner. But digital know-how wasn’t the only benefit that came with Blaze Digital; it offered substantial bindery capabilities, from perfect binding to Wire-O and coil binding. Olivo has augmented Perfect Printing’s arsenal with the purchase of a six-pocket Muller Martini Presto saddlestitcher, along with mailing and inserting gear, ink-jet addressers and inserters.

“We’re one of the few companies in this area able to provide a complete digital and conventional solution that matches and is integrated with each other,” Olivo says. “Some companies offer a digital solution and that’s all they have to offer. And a lot of printers are putting in a digital box, but they’re the lesser expensive models that don’t have the color control that I feel the higher-end models offer. That’s helped us to provide a seamless product, where we don’t have to differentiate what type of press the job is going on.”

One other area Perfect Printing has embarked upon is a marketing initiative, something the printer had never done before. But with the addition of Blaze, Olivo felt the time was right to promote the company’s virtues.

“It’s all about quick turnaround and providing a superior level of service,” he says. “That’s what we promote about our company. The printing is the easy part.”

While building brand recognition, Olivo also hopes to capitalize on internal efficiencies as Perfect Printing continues to reconcile its expanded digital capabilities.

“We want to improve how products flow through our shop. Even though digital runs are somewhat shorter in length, they often require more operations,” he adds. “We’re looking for solutions that tie into our existing MIS system to help get the product through our shop consistently and with the fewest amount of problems.” PI