(June 25, 2008) Cox Target Media Inc. has won the 2008 CIPPI Award together with Muller Martini in three categories, including first prize for the best process automation with CIP4.

In 2007, Cox Target Media (producers of the well-known blue Valpak direct marketing coupon envelopes) opened a new 470,000 square-foot manufacturing center in St. Petersburg, Florida.  The company sends out approximately 45 million coupon envelopes annually.  With the implementation of a continuous JDF/JMF workflow system created in collaboration with Muller Martini, Cox has been able to reduce processing times at the new facility from four days to less than a day.

A Muller Martini press delivery system receives the coupons directly from two Goss printing presses. The coupons are rolled up with twelve PrintRoll stations via Floorveyor and Topveyor conveyors and then finished.  The entire press delivery system is controlled with MACOS (Master Control System) and communicates via JDF/JMF directly with the printing press. Among other productivity-enhancing benefits, the high level of automation means that no manual processing whatsoever is necessary to process the Valpak coupons. 

"In my opinion, this is the most highly automated printing plant in existence," said CIPPI jury member Bill Lamparter from Printcom Consulting.  "The production philosophy is, for me, a model for how a printing plant of the 21st century should be."  In addition to first place for best process automation with CIP4, Cox Target Media received two second places in the categories of "Improvement of product quality and customer reactions" and "Best cost/benefit analysis and increase in efficiency."

Each year the CIP4 organization (Cooperation for the Integration of Processes in Prepress, Press and Postpress) confers the CIPPI award to printing houses, publishers and prepress providers for outstanding integration based on JDF/JMF.  The CIPPI Award is distributed over three categories and four regions.