PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: Why Direct Group Chose JetStream

Crates now being opened at mega-mail printer Direct Group contain an unprecedented piece of technology: the first U.S. installation of the Océ JetStream 2200 system. CEO Don McKenzie sees JetStream's unique technological applicability to the emerging market for trans-promotional print and highly personalized “trigger mailings.” These mailer runs use dead-on personalization data—drawn from a new wave of data made available by affinity and shoppers club cards and items scanned at retail registers—to spark recipient reaction: a “How'd-you-know-that-about-me?” moment while picking up a phone or Googling to order or ask more about it.

“What we are seeing is a dramatic shift in our marketplace,” says McKenzie. “A lot of clients are more finely targeting promotions, using information from credit bureaus and different modeling analytics to tailor messages.”

There are a host of digital print engines, based on everything from magnetography, to wet and dry xerography, and inkjet. Direct Group runs an HP Indigo and added two Canon CS 7000s just last fall. But the JetStream is different, says McKenzie, because its combination of software and hardware balances speed and quality. The Océ machine uses dual inkjet engines (a single engine 1100 is available) that can produce infinite variable digital personalization. Océ senior VP for hardware Manfried Maier, says the JetStream uses a new DigiDot ceramic-based head built just for Océ. Four arrays are strung together to form JetStream's 20.3´´ wide image on 20.5´´ roll widths.

The inkjet head modulates spot sizes from 7 to 14 picoliters, streaming the 80% water-based droplets tuned to the work at hand, with halftones and density adjusted to reflect differentials in paper stock, minimizing bleed-through on newsprint, for example. Just as it varies data on the fly, it varies image resolution even within the geography of a page: lower resolution, at a faster rate, for text, slowing to just one-fourth its full rated 500 fpm speed for high-quality 600×600 dpi color halftones.

This modulation of the droplet size means the JetStream can print more successfully on a variety of paper surfaces; calibrations are being established for various stocks. Maier says it will print heavy-coverage newsprint with little bleed-through. Direct Group's JetStream begins printing roll-to-roll later this month; live jobs come online in April.

ONLINE: go to www.oceusa.com