Inkjet & Digital Printing
Océ Helps DiggyPOD Reduce Downtime and Increase Book Business 35 Percent
Wednesday 10. December 2008 - Océ, an international leader in document management and delivery, announced today that on-demand book printer DiggyPOD of Saline, Michigan has increased productivity and reduced expenses since it installed an Océ VarioPrint 6160 cut-sheet digital duplex system in 2007.
Founded in the mid-1980s as a quick print operation, DiggyPOD didnt initially see books in its future. According to owner and President Tim Simpson, “We didnt plan to do books, just quick printing. Then, about four years ago, a large book manufacturer approached us to do all of its short-run books. We found we were good at it and it represented an excellent business opportunity.”
Today, short-run digital book printing generates 40 percent of the firms business, and Simpson expects it to keep growing. “We have seen a 35 percent increase in our book business in the past year,” he said.
DiggyPOD began specializing in book printing with the launch of its website (www.DiggyPOD.com) in 2005. In addition to a client list that includes one major book manufacturer and several publishing companies, a growing part of DiggyPODs evolving book business is printing for self-publishers needing small quantities of books, usually from 25 to 1,500 copies. Many aspiring authors find DiggyPOD through online search.
Simpson found that the companys equipment couldnt keep up with the growing demand, and the constant downtime they experienced negatively impacted their business. “We needed all kinds of overtime and service people to get the job done, and then we were always trying to get caught up to recover from the downtime,” Simpson said.
To solve these issues and deliver high quality output, DiggyPod acquired an Océ VarioPrint 6160 duplex system in 2007. Simpson quickly saw a dramatic improvement in his business. “The Océ equipment runs and runs and runs. In fact, jobs are often delivered ahead of schedule. People are shocked to have a printer who delivers early instead of late,” Simpson said. “The Océ output rivals offset. You want the output to match the originals if you are doing a short run of a previous offset run.”
Enjoying 35 percent year-over-year growth in 2008, DiggyPOD plans to continue to develop its book printing business with Océ solutions. The Océ VarioPrint 6160 system positions DiggyPOD to quickly respond to growing demand. “An important capability of the Océ equipment is that we can upgrade speed with just a software change,” said Simpson. “We like that because with other companies, if you want your equipment to go faster, you need to purchase a whole new machine. We are very pleased with Oces unique approach to protecting our investment.”
About the Océ VarioPrint 6000 Family
The Océ VarioPrint 6000 Family is the world’s most productive family of digital, duplex, cutsheet printing systems. In 2006, Océ introduced the flagship Océ VarioPrint 6250, which produces 250 letter-sized duplex prints per minute, up to 70 percent faster than any other device in its class. Shortly after its debut, the system received the 2006 ON DEMAND conference “Best of Show” award.
This award was followed by the prestigious PIA/GATF InterTech Technology Award, and the BERTL rare “Beyond Five-Star” rating. To meet customer requirements for digital duplex cutsheet printing in multiple speed bands, Océ recently offers the Océ VarioPrint 6160 at 160 duplex prints per minute and the Océ VarioPrint 6200, delivering 200 digital duplex prints per minute. All three systems are engineered from the ground up as duplex printers and powered by Océ Gemini Instant Duplex technology, which presses images onto both sides of the page in a single passsimultaneously.