In the Wisconsin heartland of America’s dairy country, there is a creative group of print professionals setting new standards for integrated marketing campaigns and corporate brand communications at a firm called Color Ink. Thanks to a partnership with MGI Global Partner, Konica Minolta, they will be scooping up the cream of the crop in decorative print embellishment applications with a new JETvarnish 3D digital enhancement press.
A Productive Print Pasture
In 1984, veteran advertising executive and professional artist Jim Meissner started Color Ink as a small, local print shop outside Milwaukee. In 1994, the firm launched an award-winning promotional campaign called “A Cow of a Different Color” that vaulted them into the national spotlight and secured a new level of Fortune 500 brand name accounts.
Since then, they have grown exponentially by continually investing in both the best of new print industry technology and talented human resources. The result has been the creation of a full-service marketing agency with expert solutions extending from retail display signage, packaging design, merchandising fulfillment and video production, to classic color output like brochures, book covers and business cards.
Currently, this classic family business is being led President Todd Meissner and Sales & Sourcing Manager, Austin Meissner. Together, the second and third generations of Color Ink management are guiding the firm into a flourishing future of innovative print and packaging solutions that build customer relationships and brand identities in the marketplace. The new MGI JETvarnish 3D press will be the anchor and catalyst for energizing their printed products with luxurious, sensory special effects and foil.
The Digital Data Difference
The decision to invest in an MGI JETvarnish 3D solution was based upon the growing proliferation of retail consumer brand business models that diversify product lines via multiple “Stock Keeping Units” (SKUs) with in-store distribution & delivery support like “Point of Purchase” (POP) signage and displays.
The digital short run production power, job customization strengths and personalization capabilities for Variable Data Finishing (VDF) of the MGI solution was a perfect match to strengthen Color Ink’s market leadership in these sectors.
MGI JETvarnish 3D presses produce dramatic and dynamic 2D/3D dimensional textures and subtle graphical highlights for print applications on hundreds of substrate surfaces, including paper, plastic and synthetic stocks.
Additionally, the ability to create individual embossed foil impressions for all alpha-numeric text data (such as names on E-commerce gift packages or direct mailpieces) translates into a brand relationship-building advantage that traditional print finishing methods cannot achieve.
Each system also possesses an intelligent and adaptive registration system called the AIS SmartScanner that treats each printed piece as a separate unique job, thus insuring optimum quality and accuracy for the even the most intricately detailed of designs.
Color Ink President Todd Meissner stated, “The MGI JETvarnish 3D fulfills our challenge to add value to the products we produce. This revolutionary technology will transform the buying habits of our clients by offering them affordable embellishment options that were not available to them in the past.”
Kevin Abergel, MGI Vice President of Marketing & Sales, commented, “Color Ink is a wonderful example of a marketing company that understands the critical role of print in developing brand identity with imagination and communication in an omni-channel marketplace. Their creativity and expertise in cultivating long term client relationships is an ideal partner profile for maximizing the impact of our JETvarnish 3D technology.”
“Color Up” Campaign
To celebrate the acquisition of its’ new JETvarnish 3D system and educate the marketplace about the possibilities it offers, Color Ink has created and launched a new program called “Color Up” with retailers, print buyers and Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) firms around the country. A free 21 page booklet of print enhancement samples and graphic communication design ideas is available from their website,www.colorink.com.
For more information, please visit www.mgiusa.com. Follow MGI activities on Facebook@MGIonline & Twitter @MGI_USA for the latest MGI printing technology news.