Finding Success with Inkjet: The Mailworks
In search of ways to ratchet up its high quality full-color direct mail business, The Mailworks discovered Canon checked every box. Its production inkjet presses and workflow software helped them deliver outstanding pieces for customers both big and small—and opened gateways to high-speed growth.
The MailWorks Transforms Operations with Canon Production Printing Support
In the highly competitive landscape of direct mail marketing, controlling the entire production manufacturing process is essential for ensuring timely delivery and maximizing the return on investment for clients. The MailWorks, a nationwide full-service direct mail marketing facility based in Albany, New York, understands this operational reality fundamentally. The entire production model of the organization is strategically built around getting targeted mail into homes precisely on time to guarantee successful campaign outcomes. To achieve this level of logistical precision and customer satisfaction, the company recognized the critical need to evolve beyond its traditional operational roots and take complete ownership of its direct mail manufacturing capabilities.
Historically, The MailWorks operated primarily as a standard letter shop, meaning their main customers were offset printers who controlled the primary relationship with the end client. In this older business model, the facility was typically brought in to handle the back-end mailing processes, with approximately 60 percent of their customer base working directly for these offset printers rather than the actual end-user.
Over a decade ago, company leadership formulated a strong strategic vision to enter the printing game directly, recognizing that offering in-house color print services could rapidly increase market demand. However, shifting to a targeted, in-home delivery model with a highly attractive two-to-three-day service turnaround required significant technological upgrades. Furthermore, the company faced substantial financial and spatial burdens associated with legacy printing methods, specifically the requirement to carry hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of pre-printed shell inventory.
To overcome these logistical barriers and successfully transition into a fully autonomous print provider, the facility partnered with Canon to implement advanced digital inkjet technology. Canon provided a comprehensive suite of high-volume production equipment that helped to fundamentally alter the trajectory of the business. The integration of a Canon VarioPrint i300 served as the crucial gateway that allowed the facility to finally become a primary printer rather than a secondary letter shop.
This specific technology helped to eliminate the need for costly pre-printed shells, enabling the company to stock only plain white paper and digitally print any required solution entirely on demand. To further enhance their capabilities and offer a complete front-to-back-end marketing solution, the organization subsequently evaluated the market and determined that the Canon ProStream checked every necessary box for their operational needs. This robust hardware ecosystem is seamlessly managed by Canon PRISMA workflow software, which makes complex pre-press operations significantly more operator-friendly and highly efficient.
The implementation of Canon production printing technology helped to completely revolutionize nearly every aspect of the facility's business workflow. With the new digital continuous feed and sheetfed presses, alongside the streamlined software, daily operations are noticeably faster and easier to manage from a pre-press perspective. The overarching workflow is now so efficient that the production floor can output a significantly higher volume of work while requiring fewer operators to run the machinery. Because of this massive increase in operational capacity, company leadership estimates they could easily grow their current print volume by 20 to 30 percent without needing to invest in any additional production devices.
Operationally, the two Canon presses work in perfect harmony to help handle distinct production needs across the facility. Most standard weekly workloads are approved by clients on Fridays, scheduled by management, and then run with exceptional speed and pristine quality on the ProStream. Meanwhile, the i300 is strategically utilized throughout the week to seamlessly process rush jobs, last-minute customer add-ons, and highly specific variable data reprints. If a data file requires immediate adjustments, the i300 easily handles full-color variable data printing, allowing operators to instantly modify individual names, dates, geographical locations, customized artwork, and distinct sequence numbers without slowing down the primary production lines.
Ultimately, the strategic integration of Canon technology has empowered the facility to service both boutique clients mailing a thousand pieces and massive enterprise clients mailing a hundred thousand pieces with the exact same level of premium customer service.
The digital presses are incredibly reliable, rarely requiring a service technician and consistently running at peak performance to meet strict deadlines. By transforming from a dependent letter shop into an independent, full-service direct mail marketing provider, the company passes significant operational cost savings directly to their customers. Canon's comprehensive day-to-day support has far exceeded expectations, proving that the right technological partner is essential for maintaining a strong organization and driving sustainable industry growth.
Interested in learning how Canon production printing technology can help your business grow? Contact us today.