Tobe Direct Brings Outsourced Work In-house

HP today announced that Tobe Direct, a direct marketing firm specializing in direct mail programs and one-to-one marketing solutions, is expanding its in-house capabilities, attracting new business and offering its customers more options with the HP Indigo 10000 digital press.

Since installing the HP Indigo 10000 digital press in October 2013 at its Bolingbrook, IL, location, Tobe Direct has brought 25 percent of its outsourced business in-house, reclaiming revenues and increasing efficiency. In addition, the company has secured 30 new customers as a result of new capabilities offered with the press, accounting for 15 percent of its business in the last six months.

“Before installing the HP Indigo 10000, we outsourced 80 percent of our business because we didn’t have certain capabilities in-house, and we weren’t able to keep up with the new programs we were selling. We really struggled with turnaround times,” said Mike Romer, vice president of national accounts, Tobe Direct. “Adding the HP Indigo 10000 put us in the right place from a production standpoint. We’ve reallocated all previously outsourced pre-printed shell work to the HP Indigo 10000 and are able to take on new jobs because of the 29" format.”

Tobe Direct entered the high-end digital production environment in 2012 with its investment in an HP Indigo 7600 Digital Press. In less than six months, the company was running the HP Indigo 7600 at full utilization for at least two shifts. It made the decision to invest in the HP Indigo 10000 to increase capacity and capabilities. Tobe Direct now runs three printing shifts with all of its HP digital printing equipment, including the HP Indigo 10000 Digital Press.

“Print service providers must address demand for quicker turnaround times while providing a range of innovative applications with greater efficiency,” noted Yishai Amir, vice president and general manager, Americas Graphics Solutions Business, HP. “With the HP Indigo 10000 digital press, Tobe Direct can meet its customers’ demands while continuing to grow its business and increase profitability with unique, competitively-priced products that exceed customers’ expectations.”

Capitalizing on new capabilities
The HP Indigo 10000 Digital Press gives Tobe Direct more options for highly-personalized products in wider formats, as well as higher imposition efficiency, adding value for new and existing direct mail customers. The company uses the press to produce postcards, self-mailers, tri-folded pieces and personalized coupons with faster turnaround times and the same high quality its customers expect. In addition, larger-sized specialty papers and vinyl sheets compatible with the press have enabled Tobe Direct to take on new jobs with confidence, including shelf strips, decoration and window clings.

“In a recent project on the HP Indigo 10000, we produced 200,000 6x28” finished pieces with variable data, running three up on a sheet,” relayed Romer. “There is no other press that can hit that size with better quality and efficiency.”

Leveraging new efficiencies and capabilities with the press, Tobe Direct is exploring additional product offerings, including a retargeting strategy that uses location-based technology to match Internet users with physical mailing addresses and a Web-to-print program using new data processes to offer customers timely leads. The program used to be limited to high-volume customers, but the HP Indigo 10000 has streamlined the program’s workflow, making it cost-effective for any-sized organization to produce highly-personalized, direct-mail pieces with no minimum run length.

About HP
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Source: HP.