by Toon Van Rossum, Switch Product Manager
In the brutally competitive Chicago printing market, Blooming Color differentiates itself by working tirelessly to produce the highest quality work, in the most efficient turnaround time possible, for its clients. Ever looking for an edge to stay ahead, the company had researched solutions that could streamline and automate lengthy production processes in order to save time and money, as well as to expand services. As a result, Blooming Color implemented leading solutions by Enfocus to maximize its investment in its HP Indigo 7600 presses, and to continue streamlining and automating its workflow; toward that end, the company adopted the HP Indigo EPM Preflight Solution.
Owner Brian Scott says that Blooming Color beta-tested the HP Indigo EPM Preflight Solution with its Indigo 7600 to make sure it would deliver a competitive advantage to his company, and was able to move into production with it shortly thereafter. The decision on whether to choose EPM for a job, Scott says, was really the only challenge the company had to face.
"Initially, it all came down to personal preference. But now, by adding the HP Indigo EPM Preflight capability to our Switch and PitStop Server, we can set parameters and allow the software to make the decision regarding what is best for each job automatically; so it is no longer a personal choice. We let the software do the scientific work." - Brian Scott, President at Blooming Color
Scott says that EPM printing on the Indigo is “better than four color printing on any other digital device. It is substantially more efficient than the technology we were using. It has given us a reliable, automated workflow that eliminates multiple touch points, thus saving time, reducing costs, and increasing profit.”
Scott notes that, thanks to the HP Indigo EPM Preflight Solution from Enfocus, turnaround time and savings are “very impressive,” with 20-30 jobs a day produced using EPM. “We are working with our web to print clients to move them towards automation so that we won’t need to touch the jobs as much. This allows us to get those jobs onto our presses, and out the door much faster.”
Technology in Action
Pharmaceutical giant Abbott Molecular/Abbott Labs selected Blooming Color to print its very large training manuals -- which consist of lengthy bound manuals and color page prints -- for all the machines and products it manufactures.
“These manuals are produced in multiple languages, across multiple companies,” Scott says, “so they are extremely large runs, up to 40,000 sheets – with 1,000s of those pages displaying color images that depict customers and operators using the machines that Abbott Molecular/Abbott Labs builds. Because of this volume and the process associated with it, we run all of these jobs through EPM.”
The company uses EPM for department store behemoth Sears in a similar manner. Business cards and a vast array of other production materials for Sears’ massive commercial/B2B business are also automated via Enfocus Switch.
On this side of its business, almost all digital print for Sears is done using the HP Indigo EPM Preflight Solution. “Automation is, again, crucial. Large volumes of digitally printed pieces are key to the employment benefit/discount programs Sears sells to large corporations,” Scott says. “We produce sales brochures, flyers, postcard mailings, marketing materials, and more; all in this manner, for over 850 Sears sales personnel across the United States, using the web-to-print system we built. In most cases, the Sears representatives receive the materials directly at their homes or local offices.”
Now, as Blooming Color meets clients more frequently regarding marketing automation, Switch’s omnichannel and growing programmatic support functions insure that Blooming Color will remain a “go-to” supplier for its high-profile clientele.
“We’ve done a couple of versioned jobs (for Sears),” Scott reports. “We’re really excited by Switch’s ability to interface with our – and our customers’ – databases, to potentially move into personalized offerings.”
Adds Scott: “HP is one of the big guns that knows what’s coming, and already figured out that Switch is essential to both wider and especially, deeper, penetration of the market. It is certainly a precious resource in Blooming Color’s treasure box.”
Take maximum advantage of your HP Indigo press now
Get in touch if you would like to receive more information about the HP Indigo EPM Preflight Solution or if you would like to receive a personalized quote. An authorized Enfocus reseller will contact you to identify what your specific needs are, besides automating your HP Indigo EPM print production.
