RPI Print’s Expansion into Book Printing and Publishing with Andy Cooney
Global print manufacturer RPI Print is scaling up with automation and Canon varioPRINT iX3200 sheetfed inkjet technology. In this video, SVP Andy Cooney shares how the company is expanding its trade paperback and hardcover publishing, investing in finishing, and streamlining one-book-in-a-box fulfillment for faster, more efficient performance.
RPI Print: Pioneering a New Era in Global Publishing with Canon Support
The landscape of professional printing is undergoing a significant transformation. Traditionally, the industry was defined by high-volume runs with long lead times. Today, the demand for personalized, short-run, and on-demand content is skyrocketing. At the forefront of this shift is RPI Print, a global manufacturer that has mastered the art of distributed manufacturing through advanced automation and a strategic partnership with Canon.
In a recent industry interview, Andy Cooney, Senior Vice President of Global Manufacturing at RPI Print, discussed how the company is evolving beyond its roots in photobooks and calendars to become a powerhouse in trade book printing and publishing. Central to this evolution is the integration of high-performance digital printing technology that allows for outstanding speed and efficiency.
The Challenge of Modern Manufacturing
RPI Print operates on a massive scale. With three facilities in the United States and a major hub in Eindhoven, Netherlands, the company serves a diverse client base. The complexity of their operations is staggering—handling thousands of orders daily with a product mix that includes more than 600 different SKUs.
The core challenge for RPI Print has always been managing high order counts with low units per order. For instance, in their photobook division, the average order is just 1.6 units. To maintain a 24-hour to three-day turnaround time across a global network, the company required a manufacturing process that was not only fast but also highly automated and consistently reliable.
As RPI Print looked to expand into the trade publishing market—servicing everything from self-published authors to indie publishers and mid-sized runs—they needed a technology partner that could help deliver the image quality required for high-end books while maintaining the industrial-strength throughput necessary for their "print-to-box" workflow.
Canon’s Role in the Solution
To help meet these growing demands, RPI Print turned to Canon. Over the course of 15 months, the company has undertaken a significant equipment upgrade, installing Canon iX-series inkjet presses across all its facilities.
The introduction of the imagePRESS iX3200 has been a game-changer for RPI’s production environment. By transitioning more of its work to Canon's inkjet technology, RPI Print has been able to bridge the gap between traditional toner-based quality and the high-speed efficiency of inkjet production.
Canon helped RPI Print solve several critical production bottlenecks:
Uniformity Across Locations: By implementing Canon iX-series technology in every facility, RPI Print achieved virtual universality. This means a book printed in Seattle will look identical to one printed in the Netherlands. This consistency is vital for a distributed manufacturing model, allowing RPI to load-balance orders between facilities during peak seasons or equipment maintenance without compromising brand standards.
Expanded Media Versatility: Trade publishing requires a variety of paper stocks and finishes. Canon’s advanced drying and ink technologies help RPI to print on a wide range of media with the look and feel of offset printing, which is essential for the "trade paperback" and "hardcover" markets they are now aggressively pursuing.
Seamless Automation: RPI Print’s workflow is entirely automated. From the moment an order is placed on an e-commerce brand like Blurb.com (which RPI owns), the file must move through the system with minimal human intervention. Canon’s technology integrates seamlessly with RPI’s proprietary "white label" manufacturing software, helping to ensure that high-volume, variable data jobs are processed without delay.
The Benefits of Implementation
The shift toward a Canon-powered production floor has yielded significant benefits for RPI Print and its customers. By leveraging Canon’s production printing technology, RPI has reduced its reliance on high-cost inventory and warehousing. Instead of printing thousands of books and storing them in a warehouse, they can now print exactly what is needed, when it is needed.
This "on-demand" capability helps to drastically reduce waste and transit costs, making the publishing process more sustainable and cost-effective for authors and publishers. Furthermore, the speed of the Canon presses has enabled RPI to maintain its industry-leading 24-hour turnaround, even as the volume of orders continues to grow.
Beyond the print itself, Cooney noted that the reliability of Canon equipment allows RPI to focus on the next frontier: automated finishing. By having a stable and high-quality print engine, the company can now invest more heavily in "end-sheet tippers," "three-knife trimming," and automated packaging solutions that get the final product into a box and onto a carrier pallet in record time.
Driving Success in the Digital Age
RPI Print’s expansion into the global publishing market is a testament to the power of digital innovation. By combining their expertise in distributed manufacturing with the cutting-edge technology provided by Canon, they have created a more agile, efficient, and high-quality solution for the modern publishing world. As the industry continues to move toward personalization and speed, the partnership between RPI Print and Canon stands as a blueprint for success in the digital age.
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