Affordable Short-run Color Comes to Columbia College

The Print Shop at Columbia College recently installed a Canon imagePRESS 7000 CV to meet quality and speed expectations that its previous device, a Canon CPP500, could not fulfill.

Mark Tindell, director of Mail and Print Services at the Columbia, Mo., college, says the CPP500 “required frequent repairs, and the amount of up time was problematic.”

So the in-plant turned to the imagePRESS 7000 CV, justifying its lease from Ikon by examining what it would cost to do the same type of work using outside sources. It is using the new digital press primarily to print newsletters for the start of the school session at the college’s 30+ campuses. But it is also doing most of the college’s short-run color work, which was previously sent to outside printers.

So far Tindell is happy with the results. He says the 7000 CV allows the in-plant “to offer a much more rapid delivery time. It also makes us very affordable for short color runs. For the most part, I am very pleased with the device. As with any new equipment, workflow and procedures must be modified.”

The in-plant also upgraded its Objectif Lune PlanetPress VDP software, because the earlier version was three or four versions behind. The college uses PlanetPress in conjunction with it’s Datatel business management software to print accounts receivable statements, grade cards, transcripts and more.

“For the most part, the [integration] is seamless. For example, once the initial form layout is designed, it’s as simple as dragging a Microsoft Excel file [containing name, address and bar code information] into the same folder containing the workflow,” he explains.

“At this point, variable data printing is used, by-and-large, to individually print name, mailing address and PostNet bar code information on the newsletters we print for the campuses,” he continues. “PlanetPress is unbelievably capable of things I’m sure we haven’t dreamed about yet. Next, I hope to print the Intelligent Mail Bar Code on the newsletters.”