Texoma Print Services: Betting on Thriving Casinos

It was love at first sight for Russell Marcum, director of commercial printing firm Texoma Print Services in Durant, TX. At least, that is how he felt after seeing a five-color, 29˝ Presstek 75DI digital offset press in action at the Presstek demo center. "We were familiar with the DI digital workflow, but we had no idea how far the technology had progressed since we acquired our two four-color Heidelberg Quickmaster DI (QMDI) 46 presses in 2003 and 2005," he explains.

"In just more than three hours, we ran 11 forms of 1,000 press sheets, including imaging all plates on-press. That would have taken more than a day to produce in a conventional workflow," Marcum adds. Some other features that influenced Marcum's decision to purchase the press were its on-press chemistry-free imaging and the ability to go from digital file to printed sheet in six minutes.

Last June, the press was installed in Texoma's 10,000-square-foot facility, which the company moved into earlier this year. To bolster the new capabilities, the firm purchased a new Muller Martini Presto six-pocket saddlestitcher, as well as another cutter, folder and shrink wrap machine to support its existing assortment of finishing and mailing equipment.

Less Outsourcing

Since the digital offset press was installed, the 16-employee operation has taken back about 90 percent of the work it previously had to outsource, including fast-turnaround printing and jobs requiring runs of more than 10,000 to 15,000 sheets.

"We produce a lot of booklets and technical guides. We can now run eight- and 12-page signatures, which we couldn't do before," says Marcum. The company still operates the QMDIs, as well as two Ryobi 2800 duplicators for single-color work such as business cards, forms and stationery.

"The Presstek 75DI has saved us the expense of a platemaker and an additional employee," notes Robby Syler, customer service representative at Texoma. "We can be on-press and output 20 makeready sheets in 10 minutes."

Today, the firm serves hundreds of clients throughout Oklahoma and Texas, and caters to a wide variety of vertical markets, including the casino industry (which makes up about half of its business), large banks, manufacturers and school systems. Printed products include catalogs, commercial publications, brochures, folders and pocket folders, flyers, newsletters, business forms, envelopes, posters, labels, instruction manuals, CD inserts, direct mail, point-of-purchase (POP) materials, banners, door-prize tickets and players club cards. The shop also sells promotional products and apparel.

A History Lesson

Founded in 1979 by Russell Marcum's father, Don Marcum, the business was known as Texoma Business Forms. He then purchased a small printing company called Texoma Printing & Supply. When Russell Marcum bought the company in 2003, he merged both of those firms into one location and called it Texoma Print Services. In 2006, Texoma Print Services became a profitable part of the family of companies owned by the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma—the third largest American Indian Tribe in the United States. The tribe owns seven casinos, as well as a manufacturing operation, a management services company, 13 travel plazas, 12 smoke shops and a document archiving company.

Since then, Texoma has grown from $3.3 million in annual sales in 2005 to nearly $8 million in revenues last year. Marcum credits this growth to the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, which has been a long-term client. Marcum and his staff have enjoyed the benefits that come with being owned by them—such as constant casino work, as well as funding to obtain a new facility and new equipment.

"A lot of the growth we are experiencing today is directly related to the healthy casino industry in Oklahoma," stresses Marcum. "While other printers were just trying to hang on during the recession, we were very fortunate to be positioned right in the center of the casino industry." While Texoma could survive solely on the sales it generates from the casino segment alone, Marcum says that he is constantly searching for new markets and opportunities.

In the next two years, he anticipates seven to 10 percent growth due to the output capabilities of the Presstek 75DI. Syler is also very enthusiastic about the new business opportunities the press will generate. "The 75DI has increased our level of credibility in the marketplace," says Syler. "We're excited about the market differentiation it has given us and are looking forward to winning more deals as a result."

So far, Syler relates, Texoma clients have been very impressed by how much cleaner their images look coming off of the 75DI. "Customers are often surprised when I tell them that they are looking at the actual finished piece and not a proof."

Next on the horizon for Texoma, according to Marcum, will be adding space to its facility." We have just about filled up our production area, so we're trying to push through an expansion project to add about 2,500 square feet of space before the end of the year."

Marcum says his goal moving forward will be to focus more on the sales and marketing end of the business. "We have been so busy with existing work that we haven't had a chance to reach out to potential new clients. It's a good problem to have—it's kind of a 'catch-22,'" he concludes. PI