Digital Dreams Come True In Color

"We design the mail piece, insert variable fields, match them to the database, do postal sortation on the database, print it, cut it, sort it, tray it and deliver it to the post office," he says. "This would be impossible with offset."

Digital printing also allows ACE Hardware to target specialized markets, such as stores serving Spanish-speaking communities, and print material for special events or regional promotions. The in-plant averages a "manageable" three- to five-percent increase in digital color volume each year, Salinas says, adding "If it was much more than that, we couldn't handle it."