Canon Solutions America, Inc. (CSA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Canon U.S.A., announced that SG360°, a recognized national leader in the printing and producing of direct mail marketing, has installed an Océ ColorStream 3700 digital color printing system, part of the Océ ColorStream 3000 Twin Series.
From humble beginnings as Segerdahl Halford, a two-person start-up in 1956, the Chicago-based business literally grew up alongside the advertising industry. Like many top printing companies of the day, Segerdahl focused on sheet-fed offset and web offset, primarily delivering its services to the direct mail industry. Over time, Segerdahl came to be recognized as the go-to printer for many of the nation’s top retail, financial, healthcare and automotive marketers.
Not satisfied to rest on its laurels, Segerdahl evolved with the times, adding mail services during a period of expansive growth in the ‘80s and ‘90s and expanding its operations to eight web presses with inline capabilities.
Entering the Digital Realm
As Segerdahl entered its second half-century of providing customers with innovative direct mail solutions, it not only renamed itself SG360°, it embarked on an ambitious rebranding initiative designed to help it boldly move into the digital age of direct marketing. Shortly before the rebranding, Segerdahl added a digital print dimension with the acquisition of RT Associates Inc., an Arlington Heights, IL based marketing services provider boasting a full suite of marketing campaign management tools, along with digital and offset printing and fulfillment services.
“Traditional printing companies have two options – either adapt to change with the times or get left behind,” said Bob Radzis, Chief Customer Officer, SG360°. “We made a conscious decision to position ourselves for the future with a strategic acquisition, a new name, a new business proposition, and a new digital printing facility.”
Small Stature, Mighty Output
Built from the ground up using Six Sigma lean manufacturing principles, SG360°’s new digital facility is located just a block north of its corporate headquarters in Wheeling, IL. A long-standing relationship with Canon Solutions America, Production Printing Solutions, led Radzis to consider one of Canon’s digital printing systems for the new facility. While he was impressed with the entire Océ ColorStream 3000 Twin Series, Radzis was particularly drawn to the Océ ColorStream 3700 digital color printing system due to its near-offset quality, compact size, outstanding reliability, and low cost of use.
“I’d been following the inkjet for quite a while and watched as the quality continued to improve and more media became available,” said Radzis. “The ColorStream 3700 runs faster and at a lower cost than our previous digital offset presses.”
Radzis was also pleased to learn that the Océ ColorStream 3700 gave the operator the ability to park the heads in between jobs. That was a key selling point for SG360°, as it didn’t expect to be running the machine 24/7 – at least not initially while it built up volume for it. The 3700 may not sit idle too long, however, as SG360° has already gained a number of new customers whose jobs will be run on the ColorStream.
“For a job shop like SG360°, the Océ ColorStream 3700 digital color printing system was the ideal choice because of its size, speed, cost, and flexibility,” said Francis McMahon, Vice President, PPS Marketing, Canon Solutions America. “It’s just the right kind of versatile, high-speed solution for responding to the multitude of demands today’s businesses present to them.”