1Vision Advances Automation with HEIDELBERG Prinect

1Vision, headquartered in Houston, Texas, recently implemented Prinect Production from HEIDELBERG across its four nationwide facilities. The new print production workflow supports the company’s broader automation strategy – minimizing manual touchpoints and standardizing production at all locations. This investment underscores 1Vision leadership’s commitment to continuous improvement and operational efficiency.

A Solution Built for Business Model Demands

Over the past several years, 1Vision has transformed into a dynamic commercial printer, fueled by strategic acquisitions. Today, it serves direct mail, national brands, food service providers (FSPs), and franchise networks through locations in Houston, Texas; Louisville, Kentucky; Jackson, Mississippi; and Denver, Colorado. The company offers a comprehensive range of services including offset and digital printing, direct mail, wide-format signage, web storefronts, promotional products and apparel, warehousing, kitting, and distribution to thousands of franchise and retail locations. With a complex business model, 1Vision relies heavily on its print production workflow to automate and standardize operations – looking to boost efficiency and maintain a high level of customer satisfaction.

Karl Kluetz

“We are very focused on automation,” said Karl Kluetz, Director of Operations for 1Vision. “When a customer submits a direct mail job through our API-driven system, we want it to be on press within two hours, with data ready for the inkjet line in just four.”

For years, 1Vision relied on a prepress workflow from a competitive provider, but creating any rules-based automation demanded extensive expertise and programming. “We spent a significant amount of money working with a consultant to program the automation we desired,” said Kluetz, “but we got to a point where our capabilities were limited based on how much money we wanted to spend on external services.”

Recently, 1Vision implemented HEIDELBERG Prinect Production, which provides exactly what its business model demands: a fully customizable platform that seamlessly integrates with its existing APIs and offset and digital presses (even though none are HEIDELBERG machines). It is also fully compatible with the MIS system 1Vision intends to migrate to, supporting long-term scalability.

“We’re not a typical commercial printer,” said Kluetz. “That means we want to be able to select different partners for each of our unique needs. What stands out most is that Prinect works well with all of our current systems and planned MIS upgrades. Not every company designs its products with that level of flexibility in mind.”

With Prinect, all of 1Vision’s jobs are automatically routed – regardless of location – based on plant capacity and geography, balancing workloads and reducing turnaround times. The system also streamlines the automated ganging of the company’s high-volume direct mail work. As customer jobs are submitted, they are directed to the facility closest to the mail drop, where orders are consolidated and ganged efficiently on press sheets. By accelerating jobs – whether digital or offset – through the press, 1Vision gains valuable flexibility in more labor-intensive finishing to flatten out production cycles and balance its workload.

Reducing Human Touchpoints

Greater efficiency is achieved by eliminating unnecessary human touchpoints through Prinect Portal, a secure platform that enables customers to upload files directly. Submissions are automatically preflighted – transforming what was once a manual CSR-driven task into a streamlined, touchless process.

“As a lean manufacturing organization, our goal is to eliminate non-value-added activities so our team can focus on higher-value work,” said Kluetz. “With our previous workflow, CSRs were opening files, renaming them, and routing them back out for proofing – steps that added time but not value. Today, files are submitted, preflighted, and a proof link is sent directly to the client for online approval without CSR intervention. The job then flows seamlessly into our digital workflow – essentially hands-free.”

Currently, 75-80% of all jobs printed digitally in 1Vision’s facilities are completed touchfree – with greater vision to extend this level of automation to other areas of production including offset and wide format.

“When we talk about continuous improvement and automation, people get concerned that technology will replace human jobs,” said Kluetz. “We’re growing, and we’re able to produce more work in our plants with the resources we have because of the tools and automation that we utilize today.”

Committed to Growth

1Vision’s success is rooted in strong, forward-thinking leadership, led by Owner Allen Taheri.

“Having leadership with vision, who continue to invest in the latest technology to improve the company is a big part of our success,” said Kluetz. “The investments that we make are critical to the success of the service that we deliver.”

He notes that the effectiveness of 1Vision’s automation strategy – and its decision to transition to a new workflow provider – ultimately came down to selecting a partner, not just a vendor. Following initial implementation and training, HEIDELBERG has continued to provide ongoing support as 1Vision discovers new ways to expand and refine its automation capabilities within Prinect.

“They’re there for us,” Kluetz added. “That level of support wasn’t provided in our previous experience. We’re a relationship-driven company, and we want a partner that’s committed to growing alongside us.”

Source: Heidelberg