Vision Direct, founded by Doug Switzer in 1992, operates out of a 70,000 square foot facility in Indianapolis with 60 employees, running three shifts. The company considers itself a data-driven direct mail and fulfillment company with a commitment to constant evolution. Switzer says, “We produce marketing mail, statements, and operate unique fulfillment lines. It’s a lot of technology, and we are really proud of what we have done to enhance our business over the years.”
Transitioning from toner-based digital printing to production inkjet was one of those enhancements. Switzer explains, “We had been watching the maturation of inkjet technology, especially as it would apply to direct mail as opposed to transactional mail, which typically requires lower quality. Once it got to the point it could print on more materials, including card stock for postcards as an example, we were quite interested. In 2019, we decided to go for it and acquired our first Ricoh production inkjet printer. We even built out a completely new space to house the new press and the nearline finishing technology that went along with it.”
As part of the decision process, Switzer and his team visited Ricoh’s facility in Boulder, CO, as well as Standard Finishing’s demonstration center in Andover, MA, to evaluate the equipment in person. Impressed by what they saw, Vision Direct soon installed a Ricoh Pro VC60000 press in-line with a Hunkeler unwinder and rewinder along with a near-line Hunkeler Roll-to-Cut/Stack-to-Fold solution to finish the printed rolls. The finishing system includes the Horizon AFV-566F Folder at the end which can be used in-line when needed for folded mailers or moved offline to finish stacked output such as postcards or forms.
Switzer notes that with the help of Ricoh and Standard, their team conquered the learning curve for the new equipment in time for the 2020 political mail season which helped them build volume on the press right out of the gate.
The success of that first configuration led to a more recent purchase of a second Ricoh press with Hunkeler unwinding and rewinding technology and a second near-line Hunkeler Roll-to-Cut/Stack system to keep up with the growing volume of their variable data print business. The company included a Hunkeler DP8 Dynamic Perforator in-line with the second press to add perforation capabilities during the print process for a variety of applications.
“These configurations give us significant flexibility,” says Bryan Sherman, Manager of Data and Print Services. “Many of our mail pieces have a zip opening on the side or across the top for easy tear-off. And we are also able to do engaging direct mail pieces that qualify for additional postal discounts. These are champion direct mail pieces that get opened. The perfing capability also comes in handy for statement work and tax documents like 1099s.”
Switzer points out that both Ricoh and Standard Finishing were by their side to facilitate this new operation, getting everything buttoned down and dialed in, adding, “For ongoing maintenance and technical support, we rely on Ricoh. But when we need second level support, Standard Finishing is right there, sending someone out to assist when we need it. It’s been a journey, but our partnerships with Ricoh and Standard have been integral to our success as we deployed the new lines and learned about some of the new applications we could produce.”
Switzer concludes, “Marketing mail is our core strength. That could be self-mailers, postcards, or letter packages. We are not shell printing. It’s all variable data printed in one pass and then finished, sorted, inserted if necessary, and ready for mailing. We can do short runs or runs as long as more than a million pieces. And we haven’t had to say no to any customer request! We’re blessed with a charmed life here at Vision Direct!”
