Over the last 10 years, digital printing has transformed the printing industry. Before digital printing, the economics of printing mandated longer print runs, static pieces and longer turnarounds. With digital printing, you can now print high-quality short runs (as few as one piece), with variable data that personalizes each piece, at incredibly fast turnaround times.

The rise of digital printing has created a large market of digital presses – but there is a wide range of quality difference in digital printing. Metro was one of the first companies in the Triangle to go digital with the HP Indigo press. The Indigo is regarded as the highest quality press on the market, delivering “offset-quality” results. What sets the Indigo apart is the ink. Most digital presses use a toner-based ink, causing them to print like a gigantic desktop printer. The Indigo, however, uses a liquid-based ink. Instead of sitting on top of the paper, the ink sinks into it allowing the true texture of the paper to show through. Our HP Indigo allows textured paper to stay textured and uncoated papers to remain uncoated. The liquid-based ink keeps solid colors smooth and prevents reversed type from filling in.

The Variable Data Printing (VDP) capability has created amazing results for our clients. The ability to personalize each individual piece leads to higher response rates on direct mail pieces. Check out this piece from the Jimmy V Classic, where Variable Data was used to create an amazing and personalized invitation.

VDP can also create postage savings. A client printed and mailed a series of newsletters targeted to different segments. Each newsletter was sent to less than 200 people, so it had to be mailed first class. By using VDP, we combined the list into one large bulk mailing, saving hundreds of dollars on postage, and each person still received their personalized piece.

Our experience with digital printing, especially VDP, expands your possibilities in reaching and motivating your customers.