Overview

As a leader in the print and mail business since 1982, employee-owned Renkim prides itself on staying ahead of its customers’ requirements. Renkim recognized that using color would maximize the impact of critical and time-sensitive mailed communications by increasing visibility and improving read and response rates. To deliver this benefit, Renkim needed a high-performance color inkjet solution that would integrate with existing workflows. With technology and support from BlueCrest, they met and exceeded this need, reducing costs and optimizing their print and mail operations.

Business challenge

Renkim’s legacy environment used several types of toner-based printers to support custom print jobs—high-speed black and white, highlight color and full color cut-sheet machines. Setting up different jobs on these printers was complex and time-consuming, not to mention staging and running each completed print job separately through the mail insertion process.

Lease costs were high for these printers, as were maintenance and per page or “click” charges. These machines were also prone to breaking down, creating challenges in Renkim’s high-volume operation with strict service-level agreements (SLAs).

Renkim used over 30 specialized forms for its clients, each stocked, inventoried and ordered separately. Changing client documents and incorporating those changes into the overall workflow was often a costly and lengthy endeavor. Certain compliance mailings also required full-color to promote maximum readership.

As Renkim looked to take on new customers and larger, more complex color projects, the current solution simply would not scale.

Solution

The BlueCrest team recommended the AcceleJet® printing and finishing system, a flexible duplex color inkjet engine that would integrate easily into Renkim’s existing workflows.

Able to print high-speed black and white, highlight color and full color all from the same printer, the AcceleJet also provides built-in custom finishing including dynamic perforation in support of self-mailer job requirements. This flexibility allowed Renkim to remove several cut-sheet toner printers, reducing lease and maintenance costs.

The AcceleJet also gave Renkim the ability to convert many jobs from custom forms to white paper, reducing set-up times and inventory quantities of pre-printed forms.

Renkim also ran a number of nonstandard mailing applications on an older inserter nearing end-of-life. As a replacement, BlueCrest customized a new Rival™ high-speed inserter that proved easy to use and operator friendly, with simple setup and quick changeover between jobs.

To ensure the success of the new systems, the BlueCrest team provided a support plan for Renkim and cross-trained their BlueCrest onsite technician to support all components of the production environment.

“Service and support played a huge part in our decision,” says Henry Lenden, Renkim’s Director of Operations. “BlueCrest really stepped up to the plate with their ability to support us 7x24.”

Benefits

"Migrating to the AcceleJet printers resulted in an immediate reduction of Renkim’s lease, maintenance and click charges compared to its previous printing solution. Renkim was also able to convert more than 65 percent of print jobs requiring special forms to white paper, dramatically lowering the cost and labor associated with managing the custom form inventory.

The Rival high-speed inserter also yielded immediate benefits, eliminating the risk of the legacy end-of-life solution while increasing processing speeds by 2,000 letters per hour. The Renkim team is also leveraging the flexibility of the Rival to compete for and win new custom mailing business.

The speed and reliability of the BlueCrest solution, complemented by around-the-clock and onsite support, have been a game-changer for Renkim. By lowering costs, increasing capacity, and providing a full range of customized printing and mailing solutions, Renkim is staying ahead of the competition and delighting its customers.

"Our sales team loves being able to offer the new capabilities made possible by BlueCrest, and our customers are excited about the flexibility we’re able to provide," says Lenden. "In BlueCrest, I have one vendor that I trust to support our entire print and mail operation."