Allied Printing Services Invests in Key Equipment, Including New Inkjet Press, to Enhance Offerings for Retail Clients

To expand its offerings to retail clients, Allied Printing Services will install a Komori Impremia IS29 sheetfed UV inkjet press during Q4 of this year.

Allied Printing Services, Inc. announced exciting enhancements for their customers in the retail space. Allied has produced in-store signage, including point-of-purchase and point-of-sale, for more than 70 years, and has recently augmented their unique offering to “brick-and-mortar" retail clients with a combination of key investments in equipment, software, process, and experience.

Equipment: In Q4 2020, Allied is installing a Komori Impremia IS29 digital press. John Sommers, president and CEO, commented, “This sheetfed UV inkjet digital press will be key for our customers in the retail sector. We will be able to simultaneously reduce makeready waste, while offering cost-effective and scalable versioning and personalization for targeted marketing.”

Early this year, Allied added its fourth and fifth Xeikon digital web presses to add capacity to its personalized direct mail services, which have supported major retailers around-the-clock throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. In Q2 2020, Allied also added its fifth Koenig & Bauer sheetfed offset press in eight years. Known for being the fastest sheetfed printing press in the world and the  “Makeready Champion,” Allied has been able to show its customers savings based on faster run speeds, more up-time, and quicker makereadies for versioned point-of-sale kits.

Proofing: Many top advertising agencies have jumped on board with Allied’s color-calibrated proofing system. They offer soft proofing in a secure Web portal, which allows clients across the country to approve, edit, and annotate their retail signage quickly and easily. Other clients have opted to have Allied install remote inkjet proofers onsite within their internal agency and/or marketing department. From an output standpoint, Allied can seamlessly produce components for signage campaigns across multiple platforms due to color balancing and consistency for web and sheetfed offset, digital cut-sheet and digital web.

Process: Allied’s efficient process, referred to by nationally-known customers as “marketing automation,” utilizes their proprietary software, “A.S.A.P.” (Allied Secure Access Portal), as a platform that combines digital asset management; user-friendly, Web-based versioning/customization; template-driven content creation; and fulfillment services, including warehousing/distribution.

Experience: Allied Printing Services provides its customers with all the keys to producing fast, color-matched customer communications in one location. “We’re excited to introduce our client’s signage or direct mail programs to our powerful suite of proofing, equipment, and A.S.A.P. capabilities,” Sommers pointed out. “This has been a real win-win for fast-turnaround industries — like retail — looking for solutions during an unusual and difficult year.”

Source: Allied Printing Services