INGRAM EXPRESS SERVICES INTRODUCES HIGH-SPEED, DIGITAL, DIRECT-TO-CORRUGATED PRINTING

Adam Ingram founded Nashville-based Ingram Express Services (IES) in 1995 as a fulfilment company. Early in the new century, Ingram added printing services to the business. Over the past few years, IES has seen tremendous growth in the packaging side of the business. The company now produces corrugated and solid-bleached sulfate (SBS) packaging and display graphics for retail, food and beverage, department stores and personal care companies. This is in addition to the printing and fulfilment work it was already doing. Today, the company has upwards of 60 employees and display graphics and corrugated boxes represent about 50% of its business.

The company has six digital presses in addition to an EFI Nozomi 14000 SD single-pass printer for producing packaging, corrugated and display graphics, and operates the only Nozomi in the state of Tennessee. Josh Winters, the company’s President, comments, “Adam, our owner, saw an opportunity to significantly grow the business if we could increase our throughput even more, delivering faster time to market, and that’s why we chose the EFI Nozomi 14000 SD to add to the mix.”

“The company has six digital presses in addition to an EFI Nozomi 14000 SD”

The EFI Nozomi 14000 SD single-pass, LED-printing platform is tuned for the sign and display graphics market. With a maximum printing width of 140cms and a production speed of up to 1,100 boards – or 196 linear feet per hour – the Nozomi 14000 SD printer is designed to print on a wide range of substrates, from polystyrene, foam board and corrugated plastic sheet, to folding cartons, card stock and more. It delivers exceptional print quality with an effective resolution of 720dpi and meets demanding colour standards. The IES installation is configured with CMYK plus orange inks, enabling the company to easily hit precise brand colours.

Adam Ingram, Owner, adds, “The new printer not only decreases our time to market, but it increases efficiency because it is making our workflow more streamlined. And, with our expertise in distribution and fulfilment, added to the Nozomi capabilities, this is a win-win for us and for our clients.”

To make the most of this new equipment, the company is training as many as six operators in order to prepare for the expected growth it will drive and to make sure all shifts are covered. “We have a strong belief in cross-training,” Ingram explains. “It makes the most efficient use of our employees and our equipment, and ensures that we have the right skills on the floor at any given time. 
In today’s fast-paced environment, you can’t afford downtime, whether it is equipment or staff-related.”

“The Nozomi 14000 SD printer is designed to print on a wide range of substrates”

In addition to speed and throughput, this new digital equipment also has reduced waste and delivers impressive colour quality. Additionally, it enables production run lengths as small as one and easily produces multiple versions based on seasonal or regional promotions and other criteria.

Another advantage is the ability to produce longer run lengths – with quality that is often better than offset – and without the waste associated with analogue printing. This includes the need to make plates, create wasted substrate with the run-up to colour required with offset and, of course, the ease of producing variable content.

“There’s no minimum order quantity,” Winters explains. “You could print one sheet or 10,000 sheets and it really doesn’t make much difference in the cost per sheet to the customer. So taking away the minimum order quantity and allowing them to version, is an important value for our customers.” He continues, “You can think about the retail environment, for example, and the ability to customise signage and promotional materials for each store. With our expertise in fulfilment, we can also make sure the right materials get to the right store, on time, including sales kits and other sales materials, to ensure their event goes off without a hitch.”

Winters points out that an additional value for customers is the ability to minimise or even eliminate inventory risk. He explains, “In the past, with high minimum order quantities, when something changed, inventory either had to be disposed of or continue to be used. He goes on to say, “Now, while we often keep a very limited inventory on hand for certain customer applications, they have much more flexibility in changing messaging, graphics, logos and other content in order to get the most out of their marketing and sales efforts. And without all that excess inventory, that adds cost to their bottom line.”

“The EFI Nozomi is a huge differentiator”

Ingram comments, “Over the years, we have kept a close eye on technology as it advances and, where it makes sense, we want the latest technology in our plant so we can provide the best, unique, services to our customers. Acquiring the EFI Nozomi was a big step in that direction. He adds, “As we talk to more customers and make them aware of the new things we can do for them, and the incomparable speed at which we can do it, we expect to see our business grow, both with existing and new customers. The EFI Nozomi is a huge differentiator for us in our chosen geography and industries. And we’ll be looking for even more new opportunities along the way as well.” He concludes by saying, “We feel this investment has positioned IES well for an even more successful future.”