A Better Way to Print Color Envelopes

Kirk-Rudy’s (Booth N1254) FireJet 4C full-color inkjet printing system has proven itself as the leading production color inkjet system for printing companies throughout the US. With more than 100 installations, printers are realizing exceptional ROI and fast job turnaround times for customers. Taking work from their traditional offset presses, particularly envelopes, and bringing them to the FireJet is resulting in a greater number of jobs produced in a day.

When tabletop color printers surfaced years ago, print shops were introduced to new opportunities of producing short run full color envelopes with low investment. However, due to the very slow speed of these units, along with the high cost of producing jobs, shops that had increased demand were struggling to find a better alternative. Until the introduction of the FireJet, their only option was a high-speed inkjet system from W+D Halm (Booth N1211) that costs more than $300,000. 

Kirk-Rudy teamed up with Memjet in 2019 and engineered the FireJet 4C to be that in between, niche color inkjet printer that was affordable ($80,000 for a typical system) and cost effective to operate. Capable of printing nearly 18,000 #10 envelopes per hour, and with its 12.75"-wide printhead and specially engineered vacuum transport base, the FireJet 4C can print full bleed on #10, 6x9", and 9x12" envelopes.

As traditional offset presses are starting to reach their end of life, and long-time, seasoned pressmen are retiring, digital printing technology makes it easier to bring a new labor force into the print shop. Paul Punnett, president of Printlink, an envelope printer in Battle Creek, MI says, “I can train an operator to run the FireJet in an afternoon.”

As one of the early adopters of the FireJet, Punnett was impressed with Kirk-Rudy and how this digital press has been engineered. “They’re an amazing, unique company, and their quality is definitely top notch,” Punnett says.

Kirk-Rudy, a long-time manufacturer of mail addressing equipment, knows a thing or two about feeding envelopes at high speeds. With their many different feeders designed to feed everything from napkins to coasters and everything in between, the FireJet has proven itself to be a versatile all-in-one color inkjet printing system that adds high value to any printing operation.