OutputLinks recently spoke with Pitney Bowes DMTi’s Simon Illingworth, product line manager, and Rein van den Bulk, product marketing manager, to get a flavor of the announcements and demonstrations that can be expected from Pitney Bowes presence at next week’s IPEX Conference.
Illingworth resides in the U.K. and is responsible for direct mail and graphic arts. He joined Pitney Bowes in October 2000.
Van den Bulk operates from The Netherlands with responsibility for transactional products. He has been with Pitney Bowes since April 2009.
Question:
Please share some insights about your stand at IPEX?
Rein van den Bulk:
Our stand is 65 percent larger than the last Ipex. It is our largest stand ever and represents the exciting times we are having at Pitney Bowes.
Simon Illingworth:
The sheer scale and breadth of our stand will leave no doubt as to our ambitions for the coming years.
Question:
What messages will your IPEX presence communicate to the transpromo and production printer visitors?
Van den Bulk:
They will be able to see that Pitney Bowes has evolved to take a significant foothold in the production print market by merging our new IntelliJet Printing System with our Production Intelligence Software, mail creation, full color envelope printing, insertion and finishing portfolio.
Question:
What will you be showing in the finishing portfolio for transaction printers?
Van den Bulk:
Of particular interest to transpromo and production printers is the MPS 26. This ultra high speed inserter is designed to seamlessly process the IntelliJet’s 3-up output with connectivity to the Pitney Bowes Envelope Finishing System (EFS) for on-envelope variable data, color printing.
Also to be displayed is the Mailstream Evolution Inserting System, with Enhanced production flexibility with the No Changeover Module built into the system, reducing the time required to change from letter processing to flats processing.
Question:
What messages will your IPEX presence communicate to those in direct mail and graphic arts?
Illingworth:
We are offering new solutions around direct mail, print finishing and the graphic arts industry. We are very keen to help these industry segments understand that our machines have capabilities way beyond just simple inserting and that they can produce more sophisticated promotional and direct mail projects with our solutions.
Question:
How will your products fit into the Pitney Bowes “Integrate” theme?
Van den Bulk:
PB has no real competition for their full Integrate solution. We will be the one vendor at IPEX able to demonstrate a truly integrated end-to-print and mail offering with white paper and white envelope entering the system and emerging as a full color variable data document and envelope. Pitney Bowes Integrate enables 1-to-1 variable Transpromo messaging – further enhancing the ‘openability’ of customer communications.
Question:
Will the IntelliJet Printer be in the booth?
Van den Bulk:
Outputs from the printer will be available at our stand and the IntelliJet Printer will be presented on a giant screen video. We will also have demonstrations of the other components of our “Integrate” suite including the full range of Pitney Bowes Production Intelligence software solutions.
Question:
Tell us about the key Pitney Bowes’ products at IPEX that will be of interest to our direct mail audience.
Illingworth:
Of great benefit to direct mailers in Europe will be the introductions of the DPS 100, the Flexible Inkjet Transport and the Speedo cutter. The DPS 250 will be used to demonstrate the flexibility of these versatile inserters.
Question:
What value do the Pitney Bowes Integrate products bring to the industry?
Van den Bulk:
The “Integrate” products that I referenced in the first question will add new capability and flexibility for those in transaction print. They will also improve operational performance, help to build stronger customer relationships and provide the ability to produce more timely, personalized and relevant customer communications.
Another good example of our focus on productivity is the Companion Inserter which we will be demonstrating in the stand. It is a desktop solution for small jobs and reprints that keeps the high volume inserters available for high volume work rather than tying them up for small jobs and reprints.
Question:
How will Pitney Bowes’ presence at IPEX enhance its standing in direct mail?
Illingworth:
When we went into the direct mail space we wanted to make sure we did it with a capability that was in keeping with people’s expectations of a company like Pitney Bowes. Our fast growing DPS line well as the Pitney Bowes Direct Mail Solutions products now being introduced in Europe and our 3rd party product offerings will give visitors to our stand an indication of our aggressive posture in this market segment.
Question:
Can you tell us more about your 3rd party offerings?
Van den Bulk:
Products like the Speedo Cutter and those from MCS Inkjets represent the beginning of an approach where our DPS direct mail products will be supplemented with 3rd party products to meet our customers’ full range of needs. We can sell these 3rd party products with or without Pitney Bowes equipment. So you can see how quickly we can react to the needs of the marketplace.
Question:
What can you tell us about the Speedo Cutter and the DPS 250 on show at IPEX?
Illingworth:
The Speedo Cutter bridges the transactional, direct mail and the graphic arts markets. It allows anyone producing continuous digital print to end up with flat or folded / single sheets or nested cut sheet documents that can be taken off and used in another application. It was launched in UK a few months ago and is now being launched throughout Europe.
The DPS 250 inserter brings together solutions from a number of manufacturers into a packaged solution set. The system attaches plastic cards to a carrier document, matches them to a personalized letter and inserts them into an envelope all in one process. This automated process provides mailers substantial labor and cost savings.
Question: Any ending comments?
Van den Bulk:
There will be no other stand at Ipex that delivers the end-to-end processing story in such a convincing and demonstrable fashion, or that offers dedicated solutions for the particular transactional and direct marketing markets as well as the fast-moving world of transpromo.”
Illingworth:
We also have some exciting news about paper wrapping technology and the impending launch of a two new systems. It is a little early to give too many details but the systems are ideally matched to the IntelliJet and its 3-up printing capability.
What we will be demonstrating in our stand is just the tip of the iceberg and just a flavor what is to come in the future.
These are just some of the highlights of Pitney Bowes' IPEX 2010 showcase. Further details will be released as Showtime approaches. The IPEX stand represents Pitney Bowes' biggest ever exhibition space - an impressive space dedicated to a powerful message: '1integrate'.
Visit Pitney Bowes at Ipex Hall 19 Stand 19C790.
To learn more about Pitney Bowes’ IPEX presence >>>.