Increase direct mail productivity and quality with inkjet

Direct mail has the potential to cut through the noise and provide a return on investment (ROI).

While it’s never been easier to directly contact customers, standing out from the crowd has become all the harder for businesses in the digital age. Many have realised the value of combining the physical with the digital in their overall marketing strategy.

A research collaboration between the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General and the Center for Neural Decision Making at Temple University’s Fox School of Business proved that physical advertisements had more influence than digital ads. “Not only did participants spend more time with physical ads, but they also remembered them more quickly and confidently. Physical ads also elicited a stronger emotional response than their digital counterparts and, overall, had a longer-lasting impact,” they concluded.

In direct mail, however, many businesses still opt for mass marketing with little innovation. Quantity still trumps quality. But what if there was a way to find the sweet spot between personalised marketing and mass distribution? With inkjet production printers like Kyocera’s TASKalfa Pro 15000C, there is!

The following are just some of the factors to consider when looking towards inkjet to increase both direct mail productivity and the quality of output.

Flexible workflows: Consumer habits continue to evolve and print providers must be adaptable. Being saddled with single-function devices often forces companies to outsource jobs – thus reducing profit margins – or risk losing business. With outstanding versatility across paper between 52-360 grams without any speed loss, the TASKalfa Pro 15000C gives direct mail providers game-changing flexibility. The ability to jump seamlessly between job types as well as being able to deliver personalisation on a large scale is priceless. Moreover, attractive variable data packages such as the option to quickly add signatures in varying colours onto a letter or invitation can make all the difference when it comes to winning new business. The TASKalfa Pro’s flexibility, therefore, makes it a great fit for both the transactional and trans-promotional markets.

Consistent quality: It’s one thing to be able to quickly move between job types, it’s another to do so without compromising on quality. With high resolution, sharp fine lines and text, and smooth gradients, Kyocera’s debut inkjet device delivers consistently vibrant and attractive brochures, posters, booklets, financial statements, and letters for both short runs and heavy volumes. In these uncertain times, that peace of mind is priceless. A drop in quality leads to second or third versions of a job – productivity and profitability suffer as a result. With the TASKalfa Pro 15000C you get the desired outcome the first time.

Efficient finishing: Direct mail print jobs do not end when the stack of sheets arrives at the tray. There is little point in being able to produce top-quality output in a flash if you’re unable to get a professional product to the customer quickly and efficiently – this is where Kyocera’s inkjet device comes into its own. With a dual paper path for instant air drying (as opposed to heat), output is ready to go straight to finishing. Here print providers and in-house users have a high-capacity stacker and removable cart at their disposal, as well as features such as hole punching, booklet maker, and staple functions. Complementing the core functionalities of the TASKalfa Pro 15000C, these finishing options enable businesses to drive productivity while also adding new service offerings to their portfolio.

A reliable inkjet printer: The impact of printer downtime extends way beyond productivity: it disrupts workflows, deadlines are missed, and business is lost. Turnaround times in direct mail printing are tight and reliable machines are the foundation upon which business growth is built upon. With a reduced number of moving parts, the TASKalfa Pro 15000C has been designed with minimal downtime and maintenance at its heart. With vacuum-fed (rather than friction feed) paper trays, the scope for paper jams is drastically reduced. Furthermore, service visits are quick with only ink cartridges, cleaning liquid, and waste ink tanks needing to be replaced. With maximum uptime, Kyocera’s inkjet printer allows print professionals to focus on exceeding customer expectations.

Sustainability helps productivity: Sustainable organisations are more productive and resourceful because they force themselves to do more with less. Kyocera’s affordable sheet-fed inkjet device prints at much lower temperatures than its toner counterparts, and this low energy consumption reduces overheads and company carbon footprint for more sustainable operations. Cost savings free up finances that can be put towards creating value in other areas of the business.

TASKalfa Pro 15000C users can enjoy all the benefits of inkjet technology at a much lower monthly volume than toner. It truly is the cut-sheet platform fit for all sizes. And with seamless integration into workflows, even those with existing continuous feed systems already in place, cutsheet inkjet production printers like Kyocera’s TASKalfa Pro 15000C are ready to hit the ground running and represent a real opportunity to drive productivity by getting the right pieces into the right machines.

Despite the digitalisation of our lives, direct mail continues to be a potent marketing tool. With deteriorating consumer attention spans, the importance of getting engaging material in front of eyeballs has never been greater because we don’t get a second chance to make a strong first impression.