SG360° Delivers Direct Marketing Solutions with the Océ ColorStream 3700
MELVILLE, NY—May 16, 2013—Canon Solutions America (CSA), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canon U.S.A., announced that SG360°, a recognized national leader in the printing and producing of direct mail marketing, has installed an Océ ColorStream 3700 digital color printing system, part of the Océ ColorStream 3000 Twin Series.
From humble beginnings as Segerdahl Halford, a two-person start-up in 1956, the Chicago-based business literally grew up alongside the advertising industry. Like many top printing companies of the day, Segerdahl focused on sheetfed offset and web offset, primarily delivering its services to the direct mail industry. Over time, Segerdahl came to be recognized as the go-to printer for many of the nation’s top retail, financial, healthcare and automotive marketers.
Not satisfied to rest on its laurels, Segerdahl evolved with the times, adding mail services during a period of expansive growth in the ‘80s and ‘90s and expanding its operations to eight web presses with inline capabilities.
Entering the Digital Realm
As Segerdahl entered its second half-century of providing customers with innovative direct mail solutions, it not only renamed itself SG360°, it embarked on an ambitious rebranding initiative designed to help it boldly move into the digital age of direct marketing. Shortly before the rebranding, Segerdahl added a digital print dimension with the acquisition of RT Associates Inc., an Arlington Heights, IL based marketing services provider boasting a full suite of marketing campaign management tools, along with digital and offset printing and fulfillment services.
“Traditional printing companies have two options—either adapt to change with the times or get left behind,” said Bob Radzis, chief customer officer, SG360°. “We made a conscious decision to position ourselves for the future with a strategic acquisition, a new name, a new business proposition, and a new digital printing facility.”
Small Stature, Mighty Output
Built from the ground up using Six Sigma lean manufacturing principles, SG360°’s new digital facility is located just a block north of its corporate headquarters in Wheeling, IL. A long-standing relationship with Canon Solutions America, Production Printing Solutions, led Radzis to consider one of Canon’s digital printing systems for the new facility. While he was impressed with the entire Océ ColorStream 3000 Twin Series, Radzis was particularly drawn to the Océ ColorStream 3700 digital color printing system due to its near-offset quality, compact size, outstanding reliability, and low cost of use.
“I’d been following the inkjet for quite a while and watched as the quality continued to improve and more media became available,” noted Radzis. “The ColorStream 3700 runs faster and at a lower cost than our previous digital offset presses.”
Radzis was also pleased to learn that the Océ ColorStream 3700 gave the operator the ability to park the heads in between jobs. That was a key selling point for SG360°, as it didn’t expect to be running the machine 24/7—at least not initially while it built up volume for it. The 3700 may not sit idle too long, however, as SG360° has already gained a number of new customers whose jobs will be run on the ColorStream.
“For a job shop like SG360°, the Océ ColorStream 3700 digital color printing system was the ideal choice because of its size, speed, cost, and flexibility,” said Francis McMahon, vice president, PPS Marketing, Canon Solutions America. “It’s just the right kind of versatile, high-speed solution for responding to the multitude of demands today’s businesses present to them.”
Streamlined Solution, Powerful Partnership
Canon Solutions America’s commitment to SG360° didn’t end with the sale—or even with the installation of its new digital color printing system. A true partner from start to finish, CSA representatives helped SG360° plan its new digital facility and workflow. Within just five days of installation, the ColorStream 3700 was running actual customer print jobs. SG360° was far from alone, however, as CSA representatives stayed onsite, helping execute those first jobs and ensuring that staff had a full understanding of the new equipment.
“At SG360°, we are proud of our heritage and proud of how we have positioned ourselves for future success,” relayed Radzis. “Thanks to our ongoing partnership with Canon, we are confident our legacy will carry us into the next century and beyond.”
About the Océ ColorStream 3000 Twin Series
The Océ ColorStream 3000 Twin series is the series of high speed, high quality full color inkjet printers with a speed of 157 or 417 fpm for 344 up to 1818 letter images per minute. Through its unique combination of productivity, efficiency and quality it simplifies and accelerates the transition from monochrome to full-color or even five or six colors. The DigiDot multilevel dot modulation produces crisp details and smooth halftones with a perceived quality of 1200 dpi at full rated speed. It offers productivity and flexibility for high-speed color and monochrome production of transaction, TransPromo, direct mail, book and manual applications with the reliability, print quality and media range associated with the DigiDot technology.
The Océ ColorStream 3000 Twin series provides a modular offering in various single and twin configurations. The flexible Océ ColorStream 3000 Twin series system allows you to adapt the printing mode to match your pace of the transition to color. A full-color Océ ColorStream 3000 Twin series can be set up as monochrome-only system when needed. The production and media flexibility contributes to a system that simplifies the transition of applications and business models to more sophisticated documents with variable personalization and smarter communication in color.
The series consists of four printer models ranging from 157 up to 417 fpm, which translates to 344 up to 1818 letter impressions per minute. The configurations support monthly volumes of up to 56 million letter impressions. The Océ ColorStream series starts with the Océ ColorStream 3200 system printing at 157 fpm with a maximum print width of 17" (432mm). The remaining three models feature a print width of up to 21.25" (540 mm). The Océ ColorStream 3500 system prints at 246 fpm, the Océ ColorStream 3700 prints at 328 fpm, and the Océ ColorStream 3900 prints at 417 fpm.
About SG360°
SG360°, a Segerdahl company, provides empirical direct marketing solutions to many of the world’s largest and savviest retail, financial, healthcare and automotive marketers. The company's innovative tools and expert guidance turn what could be just a service into a solution. The SG360º purpose is to create deep connections with those that matter most—its customers, its customers' customers, and every one of its 400+ team members.
About Canon Solutions America
Combining the strengths of the former Canon Business Solutions and Océ North America, Canon Solutions America provides industry leading enterprise services, advanced production print technology and large-format solutions supported by exceptional professional service offerings. Canon Solutions America helps companies of all sizes to improve their business by increasing efficiency, controlling costs and becoming more environmentally conscious. A wholly owned subsidiary of Canon U.S.A. Canon Solutions America is headquartered in Melville, NY and has nearly 7,000 employees in 130 offices across the country.
Source: Canon Solutions America.
