Exstream Software

Ohio State University (OSU) has selected the Dialogue software application from Exstream Software by HP as the primary tool to overhaul and improve its student communication system. The university needed a standard platform for producing the more than 250,000 student communications it sends annually, including admission letters, grant awards, loan information and more. Dialogue will enable OSU to produce automated, data-driven student communications that are specifically created and customized for each student with the insertion of targeted, relevant messaging. It support delivery through print/mail and online channels. “We have seen an increase of several thousand applications each year and serve a student

Rising crude oil prices continue to put pressure on ink makers to find ways to recoup cost increases for their raw materials, including pigments, chemicals, freight and packaging. As a result, Flint Group is instituting surcharges and price increases for all commercial and packaging inks sold in North America, effective on all products billed on or after July 21, 2008. A surcharge of $0.10/lb. is being added for all solvent, energy curable and paste products (inks, coatings, extenders/blend vehicles), while water-based inks, coatings, extenders/blend vehicles and additives will carry a $0.06/lb. extra charge. Price increases will be assessed on a percentage basis depending on

“TRANSPROMO” IS one of the hottest buzzwords in the business world at the moment, and it’s a safe bet that we’ll be hearing even more about it in the coming months. The term stands for “transactional promotion,” and although the concept has received a lot of attention lately, it really isn’t a new idea—just a new catchphrase. You may already know that transpromo means combining an organization’s regular transactional documents, such as monthly invoices or quarterly statements, with promotional messages. For years some credit card companies have been adding products and services to the white space of monthly statements. Telephone and utility companies

InfoTrends has signed up several industry leaders as sponsors for its second annual TransPromo Summit, taking place August 13-14 at the New York Hilton. Exstream Software, HP, InfoPrint Solutions, Kodak, Océ, Pitney Bowes, Riso and Xerox have all committed to participating in the event as Platinum Sponsors. Other sponsors will include Printable Technologies, Ricoh and Solimar. The TransPromo Summit is designed to educate attendees on the strategies, techniques and tools for fusing the traditional transaction document with marketing messages to enhance customer communications, improve customer retention and increase revenue. “The educational program will bring together senior executives and managers from the vendor, service provider

PALO ALTO, Calif.—Jan 22, 2008—HP (NYSE:HPQ) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Exstream Software, LLC, a privately-held leading provider of enterprise software that streamlines the creation and delivery of personalized documents and other communications materials. Exstream is a portfolio company of American Capital Strategies, Ltd. (Nasdaq:ACAS). Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Exstream’s technology, when combined with HP’s presence in document output management and printing market leadership, helps businesses design, manage and publish structured and unstructured content in a fully personalized manner via print and online. Upon completion of the acquisition, Exstream Software will be integrated into

TRANSPROMO, ADDING marketing messages to bills/statements, is a rarity in today’s business climate—a printing segment that promises strong growth. Unfortunately, that spending is likely to come out of a company’s traditional direct mail budget. According to research done by Info­Trends, a Questex Co., color digital output of trans­promo work totaled more than 1.6 billion pieces in 2006. Info­Trends projects the annual output to approach 22 billion pieces by 2010, for a 91 percent compound annual growth rate. Several factors contribute to the bullish outlook for this market segment. 1|Bills and statements enjoy nearly 100 percent delivery and open rates, and consumers are interested