What the Heidelberg and Unisource Partnership Means for Printers

DUNN: One of the most interesting opportunities came down to two types of individuals within our respective organizations. Unisource's drivers and our press instructors spend the most amount of time at customers' plants. We heard stories how over the top Unisource's drivers are to accommodate their customers. They're typically the same drivers delivering to the same accounts. It was similar on our side with our press instructors along with our other support staff. So, it made sense to bring those two types of people together and let them call the shots to take care of our customers.

PI: Are you doing any testing or have plans to provide printers with statistical data that shows the longer life, quality and costs benefits of using Saphira-branded consumables in conjunction with various Unisource grades of paper?

DRAGONE: That's a great question because that's exactly what we are doing now. Heidelberg has a tremendous amount of data that is being made available to us, showing consumables consumption in conjunction with some of our Unisource brands, as well as our mill-branded products. We're also looking at the runnability and the efficiencies on-press. This has really been a huge benefit to us. Given how demanding the print environment is today and the pressure our printer customers are under, it's valuable information we can then provide—with Heidelberg's help—that will help customers save money and create more efficiencies.

PI: So, are you saying that your offerings won't be based around price alone because, when they factor in the savings in different areas, customers may actually be saving more money?

DUNN: One of the cultural aspects that we found through our mutual discussions is that neither of our organizations are afraid of accountability. That's what we want to drive for, because that's where we deliver the most value. If you're looking at just consumables or paper, then the only evaluation is how they perform in the pressroom. Will it be the least per pound, gallon, skid or whatever else, perhaps not. More important: will it be the best value?