Direct mail print service provider, Service Bureau Jansen, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, has invested in a Ricoh IP5000GP continuous feed production inkjet press. The system features Ricoh's new Pigment PLUS inks and variable drop size inkjet technology to ensure premium quality and full colour, single-pass duplex prints, without the need to use preprinted stock. Service Bureau Jansen chose Ricoh for its technology and for its ability to support the company's drive to improve efficiency of its production and differentiate its customer services.
Jansen has also invested in Tecnau LasermaxRoll, pre- and post-finishing equipment, a customer communications management solution from GMC Inspire and Ricoh Process Director for efficient production workflow.
SB Jansen, formed in 1953, is a family-owned business that has historically focused on traditional direct mail, overprinting offset preprinted rolls. With its new Ricoh IP5000GP production inkjet press, SB Jansen has expanded its services into logistics, automation and digital communications. SB Jansen mails an average of half a million envelopes each week, filled with letters, transcripts and leaflets.
Bart Jansen says, "Print remains an important part of the integrated solution that we offer to our customers. Thanks to the latest production inkjet technology from Ricoh, white paper in, we can produce jobs quickly and efficiently in full colour. This eliminates the need to produce offset preprinted paper rolls, reducing cost and time, and giving us complete control over the entire process. It also means that we can easily switch from one customer's work to another without the need to change paper rolls. In addition, the capabilities of the Ricoh IP5000GP enable us to increase the effectiveness of print, using more colour and graphics to enhance communications, making them more compelling and readable."
"Our customers are increasingly ordering smaller print volumes more frequently instead of a million items at once," he explains. "There is also growing demand for colour and variable data printing. And companies want us to manage their printing and also support their entire marketing process. I believe that this trend could double our total annual production volume to 80 million A4 pages within the next two years."
Graham Moore, Director of Business Development, Ricoh Production Printing Business Group Europe, says, "Our clients have already created over 65 billion colour pages using the IP5000 platform. Such extensive use of our inkjet technology in the marketplace can be attributed to its flexibility when producing a variety of different applications beyond transactional, including book printing, direct mail, flyers, brochures and posters, as well as its ability to use more than 400 different substrates. And as our clients regularly tell us, our customer support and ability to work with them to enhance their services and grow profitably is a driving factor in helping them to meet changing client needs.
There is an exciting future for direct mail as campaigns become more sophisticated, personalised and bring both print and digital domains together. And at Ricoh, we are working with leading companies such as SB Jansen and other direct mail experts to ensure brand managers, creative agencies and print service providers are better equipped to commission or deliver direct mail activity that brings value to its recipients."
Bart Jansen concludes: "Ricoh certainly has the right technology, but it is above all a partner with the right vision. It is a service organisation with a strong focus on working together to further develop SBJ's business by enhancing our service to our own clients. By exploring possibilities jointly, with a client, you will arrive at better solutions. This approach has already given us new customers and new orders."
