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On-Demand Ink Takes Shipman To Next Level
12/3/2008
Upstate New York printer improves performance with GFI Innovation’s Ink Formulation Dispenser
Gurnee, IL, (Press Release), December 3, 2008 — U.S. airline companies could learn a lesson or two about on-time performance from Shipman Print Solutions. Inbound-outbound traffic is heavy every day at the multi-tasking Niagara Falls, New York shop, which keeps a highly diverse range of jobs moving for a bevy of printer, broker and distributor customers from Maine to South Carolina and to Ohio and beyond. One key equipment item that helps them stay on schedule is GFI Innovation’s Mx6 Ink Formulation Dispenser.
Six Shipman sales people keep the work flowing in. The task of making it flow smoothly falls on the dedicated 40-some employee team led by its Vice President of Production, Randy Duncan.
“We do just about any kind of commercial printing. From brochures and mailers, booklets, catalogs and annual reports, to publications, menus and labels, plus web cut sheets, note pads and padded forms,” Duncan said. “The bulk of our business is imprinted envelopes, standard as well as custom. Any size, any type, and any color, whatever a customer needs.”
According to Duncan, 2008 represents Shipman’s eighth consecutive year of steady growth despite the current economy. “We are close to filling our second shift, and looking to add a third,” said Duncan, indicating they may expand their contingent of 9 presses with another sheetfed, as well as another web.
“We provide a high quality product at low cost, very fast,” continued Duncan. “Our on-time record speaks for itself; nearly half of our work is delivered early. Two or three days is standard for us, versus seven or eight at most shops. When they say ‘we do more work before 9 o’clock than most people do all day’, that’s us. In the process, we have to keep a very close eye on costs.”
Half the ink inventory and far less cost since adding the Mx6™ ink formulation dispenser.
The Mx6 has played a key role in fast turnaround as well as cost control. Needing a pound of special-mix ink exemplifies the issue that prompted Shipman to buy the Mx6 ink formulation dispenser in 2006.
“For example, one afternoon at 4:30,” Duncan said, “a customer told me he wanted 26,000 envelopes to go out the next morning and it was a special mix ink. But with the Mx6, it’s so easy to mix that pound of ink and there is no wondering ‘did I get the color right, or not’? The job was printed by mid-morning and out the door.”
“When buying ink from an outside source,” Duncan explains, “I would get 5 pounds, even if I only needed a pound, because one pound would cost $40 — and you could get 5 pounds for about $28. So we had all this ink on our shelves, and the ink costs were out of this world.”
In the Mx6, Duncan saw a way to reduce ink inventory and save money. “In the past two years, we have eliminated 50 percent of the ink on our shelves and cut our ink costs dramatically because we are only mixing what we need. If a job calls for 10 pounds of ink, we can do it. If it’s only a half pound, we can do that, too. Of course, we buy standard colors in bulk, like, 500 pounds of black. But when it comes to the PMS line, the Mx6 kicks in and really helps out about 25-30 times a week, on average. We have no problems color-matching with the Mx6.”
Exclusive, patented features help the Mx6 deliver for any shop.
The combination of a patented Mx6 dispense process, its ink control system, quick-change AccureX™ cylinders, and innovative EvolvePro™ software, not only saves prep time, but also improves color consistency and eliminates ink mixing clean-up time. Mixing in-house with the Mx6 virtually eliminates lost press time waiting for ink and helps reduce substrate waste. The Mx6 has proven to be a vital tool for keeping up the pace and handling the diversity of work at Shipman.
“Anyone can run it, with about 3 minutes of training. “It’s that easy,” Duncan said. “Everyone in our shop knows how to do it. The Mx6 has made life a lot easier for me and the guys on the floor. It helps us stay more closely in touch with customers, and in many ways it has changed how we do business.”
About GFI Innovations
GFI Innovations leads the industry in Ink Formulation Dispensing, including its patented Mx Series technologies. The company offers a range of dispensing systems and accessories for paste inks, along with advanced software for ink formulation and inventory management.
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