Contra Costa Print & Mail on Working with Canon
Efficiency at Scale: Contra Costa County Print & Mail Services Transforms Operations with Canon
In the heart of California’s East Bay, Contra Costa County Print & Mail Services operates a high-demand in-plant facility. With 28 employees serving 1.2 million residents, the shop manages a staggering volume of 4.5 to 5 million impressions per month. To help keep pace with the rapidly evolving digital print landscape and meet the diverse needs of the county, the shop recently replaced its entire production fleet with a robust lineup of Canon inkjet and toner presses.
Meeting High-Volume Needs with Versatility
Operating as a "zero-net-cost" in-plant, Contra Costa County must balance extreme productivity with cost-effectiveness. The facility produces everything from health services variable data mailings and newsletters to brochures, posters, banners, and bound books.
According to Division Manager Scott Plaskiewicz, the primary challenge was finding a platform that offered:
Speed and Reliability: To handle millions of impressions without frequent downtime.
Substrate Versatility: The ability to print on coated, uncoated, and carbonless stocks.
Cost Control: Reducing the need to outsource complex jobs to third-party vendors.
The Solution: A Triple-Threat Canon Implementation
Canon provided a comprehensive solution by installing a fleet of specialized devices, each tailored to a specific segment of the county’s workflow:
The Power of Inkjet: Canon varioPRINT iX3200
The centerpiece of the upgrade is the Canon varioPRINT iX3200. For Plaskiewicz, seeing the varioPRINT iX3200 in person was the deciding factor. The press offers a significant jump in productivity, reaching speeds of 320 pages per minute.More importantly, it helped to solve the "coated paper" dilemma. Previously, newsletters printed on coated sheets had to be outsourced. With the varioPRINT iX3200’s ability to handle various media types in-house, the county has brought that revenue back inside, ensuring faster turnaround times and lower costs.
Precision and Flexibility: Canon imagePRESS V1000
For short-run projects, such as business card orders of only 12 to 27 sheets, the Canon imagePRESS V1000 provides an ideal digital toner solution.Canon’s optional sensing unit on the imagePRESS V1000 has been a game-changer for the shop. It automatically adjusts registration and color before printing starts. This is critical for business cards with tight margins, where even a slight misalignment can ruin a batch. Additionally, the long-sheet feeder allows the shop to produce 8.5" x 11" tri-fold brochures and landscape booklets that were previously difficult to manage.
Black-and-White Workhorses: varioPRINT 6180 TITAN
To free up the iX3200 for high-value color work, Canon implemented two varioPRINT 6180 TITAN presses. These machines handle the massive daily volume of black-and-white documents. A key benefit of the TITAN series is the downstream durability. The toner is exceptionally resilient, ensuring no smudging or rubbing occurs when documents are processed through high-speed folders and mail inserters.
The Benefits: Quality That Rivals Offset
The transition to Canon has provided several immediate benefits to the county:
- Superior Quality: Plaskiewicz, who comes from an offset printing background, notes that Canon’s digital output is the closest he has seen to traditional offset quality.
- In-Sourcing Revenue: By utilizing the varioPRINT iX3200’s media versatility, the shop no longer needs to pay outside vendors for coated-sheet projects.
- Operational Reliability: Canon’s proactive service model helps to ensure that any technical issues are resolved almost immediately, keeping the shop on schedule for its 5 million monthly impressions.
- Cost Efficiency: By routing jobs to the most cost-effective device (inkjet for high coverage/long runs and toner for short runs), the shop maintains its zero-net-cost mandate.
A Partnership for the Future
For Contra Costa County, the move to Canon was more than just an equipment upgrade; it was a strategic shift toward a more agile and self-sufficient future. With a fleet that covers every need from wide-format banners to precision-aligned business cards, the county is better equipped than ever to serve its residents.
Canon’s commitment to innovation and responsive service has helped Contra Costa County Print & Mail Services set a new standard for in-plant operations.
Interested in learning how Canon production printing technology can help your business grow? Contact us today to find the right solution for your high-volume needs.