IWCO Direct

THE GOOD news, bad news scenario has struck the commercial printing industry, as well as the mailing community. The first bit of news should help serve as some consolation to the latter. Unless you’ve spent the last month on holiday in Copenhagen, you’re well aware that the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act was miraculously salvaged by Congress in the closing minutes of the 109th session, a.k.a the lame duck, (see story on page 5). On December 20, H.R. 6407 was pushed through by President Bush, giving the green light to legislation aimed at modernizing the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) business practices. The

WHEN YOU think about it, the direct mail industry boasts some of the most formidable enemies and loyal friends today—just another way of saying there are “challenges and opportunities.” But it’s not tired, cliched rhetoric. It seems that the tougher life gets for the mailing community, the bigger the potential payoff. As this edition went to press, the ‘Lame Duck’ Congressional session was winding its way down and, with the Republican party so severely beaten, the likelihood that meaningful postal reform could be hatched prior to the final whistle seemed quite remote. But for some producers of direct marketing materials, the farther away cost

CHANHASSEN, MN—IWCO Direct knows how to both multi-task and play the role of printing industry savior. The direct marketing solutions provider enhanced its capacity, expanded its geographic footprint and rescued nearly 450 jobs with the acquisition of Cox Target Media’s Valpak plant in Elm City, NC. The deal caps a two-year search by Cox Target, which in 2004 announced it was consolidating its operations into a new Florida facility and searching for a buyer to take over the Elm City plant. “This facility and its skilled workforce fully supports IWCO Direct’s unique, integrated business model that delivers direct marketing like no one else,” IWCO Direct President

CHANHASSEN, MN—IWCO Direct to the rescue! The direct marketing solutions provider enhanced its capacity, expanded its geographic footprint and rescued nearly 450 jobs with the acquisition of Cox Target Media’s Valpak plant in Elm City, NC. The deal caps a two-year search by Cox Target, which in 2004 announced it was consolidating its operations into a new Florida facility and searching for a buyer to take over the Elm City plant. “This facility and its skilled workforce fully supports IWCO Direct’s unique, integrated business model that delivers direct marketing like no one else,” IWCO Direct President and CEO Jim Andersen said in a statement. The Elm City

IT MAY be telling that, with a few exceptions, the presses in operation around the show floor of Graph Expo and Converting Expo 2006 were of the digital variety. Offset units were conspicuous in their absence. Digital presses largely have become part of the commercial printing mainstream, rather than being a specialty product segment or market niche. The exhibition’s Wide Format Pavilion showed ongoing interest in that segment, but adding a wide, large, superwide or grand format digital system still is seen as a way to diversify rather than being standard equipment. Hewlett-Packard shared results from an InfoTrends study that surveyed a sampling

BOULDER, CO—October 15, 2006—IBM announced today that IWCO Direct, one of the largest direct marketing firms in the United States, has chosen the Infoprint 4100 production printer to deliver increased speed for segments of IWCO Direct’s demanding environment. IWCO Direct installed IBM’s highest-speed production printer – the Infoprint 4100 model 5/6. “The Infoprint 4100 has delivered on our expectations for a high speed printer that produces quality documents,” said Marc Hacker, Operations Manager, IWCO Direct-New York. “With the appropriate applications, we can print 10 million feet per month on the 4100, delivering a 12% rated speed increase over competing production printers in our environment. In

Prism Award Event Promotes NYU Program NEW YORK CITY—More than 400 people turned out recently for the 21st annual Prism Award luncheon, held to raise money and awareness for New York University’s graphic communications program. This year’s Prism honor went to Richard Smith, editor-in-chief and CEO of Newsweek. The Distinguished Service Award was given to Manny de Torres, chairman and CEO of Metro Packaging and Imaging. Bramkamp Printing Holds ‘Wild’ Open House Event CINCINNATI—To help celebrate its 85th anniversary and the addition of a six-color Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 74 press, Bramkamp Printing put on a “Wild” open house. Held in conjunction with The Cincinnati Zoo and

PART OF the beauty surrounding printing on plastics is that the potential for applications is limited only by the imagination of designers. And, judging by the creativity of some gizmos and gadgets printed on plastic, that doesn’t appear to be an issue. Even with limitless possibilities, this discipline comes with caveats. The substrates cost more than most paper stocks. The adhesion can be difficult. Some substrates can be high maintenance. Not every great concept will fly. And neophytes need to educate themselves thoroughly on the nuances of plastics printing. Color Ink, based in Sussex, WI, has worked in the plastics space since 2001, with

OAHU, HI—Finding future revenue streams for continued growth was the leading theme of the PIA/GATF Executive Leadership Conference, held here at the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa at Ko Olina from March 12-16. The conference, titled “Profitable Growth—2006 and Beyond,” was set against the backdrop of the lush, tropical paradise of this breathtaking Hawaiian island, which put conference goers in a positive frame of mind to address a challenging future that looms for the printing industry. Kicking things off was keynote speaker and author/consultant Steve Little, who borrowed from his experiences as president of three high-growth companies to identify best practices and seven “Irrefutable

QUALITY CONTROL is a demanding proposition in all printing, but adding variable data to the mix ratchets the challenge up a notch…or three. Since each piece is intended for a specific recipient, there’s no margin for error in any of the steps required to get the right piece into the right hands. Multiple production issues can impact the integrity of every variable data job. Mailing requirements may be the most vexing component, though. * It should go without saying that a good database is a must for any variable data marketing. Unfortunately, service providers typically report their experiences with clients remain akin to the