Xplor Heats Up Dallas

Have you gotten any advertising postcards in the mail lately? Any brochures or newsletters? Bet you have. And I bet you tossed some of them with barely a glance.

But what if, during that glance, you spotted your name? And what if, instead of useless, generic topics, the copy was about one of your main interests? You'd read it, wouldn't you?

We're talking about targeted marketing, using variable data. It's nothing new. Nothing profound. But it may be something you hadn't thought your shop could provide.

Think again.

Marketers everywhere know the value of variable data in targeting their pieces. But if you don't show the marketing folks in your organization how you can add variable data to their pieces, they won't even consider you when choosing their print vendor.

And we all know where that will lead.

Variable printing, and how printers can provide it, was just one topic covered at the recent Xplor Global Electronic Document Systems Conference and Exhibit. In all, more than 300 educational sessions were offered at the Dallas event, which drew about 14,000 attendees from around the globe. The show included a 300,000-square-foot exhibit floor—about 15 percent larger than last year—along with 220 exhibitors, 23 more than last year.

Repeatedly, Xplor speakers stressed the importance of having a document strategy for your organization since, according to Xplor, documents cost American business up to 15 percent of corporate revenue. And document mismanagement claims up to 60 percent of workers' time, accounting for 20 to 45 percent of labor costs.

Variable Printing Will Help You Grow

As part of their document strategy, in-plant managers should analyze the documents they produce, looking for ways to make them more effective. Variable printing is one such way.

Personalized documents, according to the Direct Marketing Association, have resulted in 23 percent response rates, while mass marketing brings in a 3 percent response at best. And while customization costs more initially, it actually costs less per customer gained.

In a presentation by Peg Ganger or Digital Works and Joel Hoefle of Digital Marketing Inc., Hoefle noted that marketing jobs make up less than 5 percent of DocuTech volume. Call on your marketing department, he urged. Let them know that you can give them personalized color materials by printing color shells on an offset press and then adding variable data with a black-and-white digital printer.

How You Can Offer Variable Printing

It's not hard. You just need a digital printer and an interested customer—and the latter shouldn't be hard to find. Show your marketing folks how you can provide personalization in one of the following ways:

• Print a color shell on an offset press, then add variable information with a black-and-white digital printer.

• Use a digital color press.

Specialize in a product. (Customized newsletters work well.) Evaluate your organization's customer base, decide what will work best and then sell this product to your customers.

Tips On Retooling Your Skills

As the Internet expands its role in document delivery, businesses are using it to service and support customers. This means traditional printing managers must retool their skills. P.C. McGrew of GenText told managers how to do it:

• Check out Web sites: industry sites, education sites, business sites (your bank and credit card providers for starters) and pop culture sites.

• Check around your organization for projects and initiatives involving information distribution. Volunteer for teams.

• Examine at your documents. Build a prototype for digital delivery. Show your boss.

• Teach a class in digital document creation, html or the Internet.

• Keep aware of changes in technology. Issue bulletins to your management and peers.

• Sponsor a discussion group to review technology requirements.

From The Show Floor

The equipment and software vendors were out in force at Xplor. Here's what some exhibitors had on display:

C.P. Bourg was showing off its new Bourg Document Finisher, a self-contained system that can stitch, fold and trim up to 4,000 sets per hour. It can be docked to almost any type of collator, laser copier or digital printer.

Danka Business Systems announced several new products, including:

• Kodak ImageSource 92sp printer, a fast scan-and-print solution. Its controller maintains full output speed of 92 pages per minute while scanning TIFF images.

• Kodak ImageSource M50 copier-printer-controller, which lets PC and Mac users drive the entry-level M50 copier-printer, turning it into a multi-function printer.

• Kodak LionHeart print server 250, which speeds output by combining a 250 MHz processor with Sun's Solaris operating system and a Sun UltraSPARC-II processor.

• Kodak multiple printer software, which drives two ImageSource 92p printers from one server.

GammaGraphX demonstrated the GGX System 2135 working with a Xerox DocuTech 6135 printer. It will allow users to manage multiple printers, including DocuTech 6135/6180s, from one server. Features include automated job scheduling, document creation, editing, proofing and job ticketing.

Hewlett-Packard is also working with GammaGraphX. The two are developing GGX Digital Print Executive, an open, Windows NT architecture that can integrate into existing networks. It supports eight HP D640 printers (40 ppm) from one server.

HP is working with ENTIRE, too. Together, they announced Image Manager 40X, which lets users manage, format and store large, complex documents in a Windows NT 4.0 environment and print to a cluster of HP 5000 D640 printers.

IBM unveiled its 1,002-ipm InfoPrint 4000 at Xplor. It provides a lower total cost of printing by reducing operating costs and time to print. Because of its speed, it can handle the work of several printers, reducing the number of operators needed.

Konica Business Machines exhibited the 7060 Workgroup Document System, a 60-ppm connectable digital printer/copier. Boasting a touch-screen interface and scan-once-print-many technology, the 7060 can be turned into a powerful network printer when the user is ready to upgrade.

The long-awaited Lanier Worldwide Demand Print System was made available at Xplor. Developed for environments with monthly print volumes of 300,000 pages and up, the system allows the capture of scanned originals or electronic files, job tracking and prioritization and digital output.

NIPSON Printing Systems announced extensions to its VARYPRESS electronic press. The speed has increased to 394 feet per minute and duplex printing can be done on one engine. Also, the VARYPRESS allows continuous personalization with up to 100 percent variable data. Stock can be from 7˝ to 201⁄2˝.

Océ Printing Systems debuted three new products at Xplor:

• The PageStream 1000web, a 932-ipm continuous forms printer. It uses Océ's new pinless web technology, which allows an increased print width of 18˝.

• The PageStream 466 MICR Printing System, which produces MICR-encoded documents at 466 ipm. It was shown in conjunction with Océ's new PrintVision verification system, a real-time variable print inspection system.

• The PageStream 88, for tough-to-print media ranging from light-weight stocks to heavy card stocks and plastics. It's a continuous-forms system that prints 92 ipm with a 17˝ print line.

Océ USA showed the Océ 3165, a 62 cpm digital copier designed for use as a walk-up convenience copier. It is built to let users expand into networked, online printing. It uses Océ's image processing technology, Image Logic, which detects weak text, narrow lines, shadings and photos on originals and automatically selects the the best processing for optimal copy quality.

Roll Systems announced the new LaserSheeter Model 180, designed to supply paper handling automation to the Xerox DocuPrint 180 Enterprise System. It feeds from the back of the DocuPrint, handling a range of sheet sizes up to 14x17˝. It can feed continuously for up to 20 hours. This model includes the Roll Unwinder and Cutter/Feeder.

Standard Finishing Systems showed its Standard Horizon BQ-330 perfect binder working in-line with the Xerox 6180 high-speed cut-sheet laser printer to produce perfect bound books in one continuous production path. It features automatic set-ups and a touch-screen console.

Standard also premiered the Standard Hunkeler SF4 SheetFeeder for the Xerox 135, 6135 and 6180 printers. The SF4 prepares sheets on demand from a roll mounted behind the printer.

A Standard Horizon BQ-330 perfect binder working in-line with a DocuTech.

Union Camp's exhibit, set up like a '50s-style diner, showed off innovations like the Express Pack, a carton with a flip-down front panel that offers easy access to 2,500 sheets, and the Express Roll, which comes without pin-fed strips for use with roll in-feed devices. Also shown were four lines of paper:

• Lightning DCP, for printers with Xeikon-based engines.

• Lightning Laser Opaque, for high-speed copiers, laser printers and offset presses. It takes images on both sides without show-through.

• Great White Recycled Content Multi-Purpose, with 25 percent post-consumer fiber.

• Yorktown Xerographic, an 84 brightness sheet that gives good text and graphics contrast. For use on high-speed copiers, laser printers and offset presses.

Xerox announced at Xplor that it had finalized its acquisition of Delphax Systems, a move that gives Xerox access to ultra high-speed (over 1,000 ipm) black-and-white production printing technology. Xerox also announced cut-sheet digital printers:

• The 180-ppm DocuPrint 180 LPS for printing Xerox-formatted data streams, including Line Conditioned Data Streams (LCDS).

• The 96-ppm DocuPrint 96, which brings cut-sheet printing and finishing to the 100-ppm printer market. It's designed for customer billings, statements, policies, direct mail, etc.

• The Docu Print 135 LMX and the DocuPrint 96 MX, two new MICR check printers.