Company's growth due to great digital printing

GAITHERSBURG, MD - MCS, Inc. is pleased to announce that dDirect of Atlanta, GA, has acquired one each of the KM 1250 (black/white) and KM 8000 (color) digital presses to add to their significant direct mail marketing capabilities. For those in the business, dDirect was formerly known as Datadirect until they changed their name in 2012 to reflect their successful growth in database development and analytics.

For 25 years dDirect has focused on data management and digital printing in direct mail. Today, they not only build marketing databases for their clients for direct marketing, they use analytics to create the direct marketing campaigns and to provide the response analysis. Their list of clients reads like a 'Who's Who' of direct marketing. We were fortunate to recently catch up with Tom Coggin, President and founder of dDirect.

Tom Coggin, President of dDirect comments on his unique value proposition: "Clients come to us for a better solution for handling their data and direct mail campaigns. That solution starts with experienced account service, data management and production teams that work closely together. We're the database developer, the campaign manager and the direct mail production provider with follow-up analytics," he says proudly.

The company's relationship with MCS began in the 1990's. "MCS was the first company to say in the 1990's 'you can buy laser printers smaller than a big Xerox' and still produce large jobs. We bought four Kinteks from them, which we called 'the breadbox', and networked them together to have the same 120 ppm capability as a large laser printer," explains Coggin.

Following their purchase of a lettershop in the early 1990's, dDirect went through three generations of solvent based Videojets. Coggin notes: "They had complicated software, long set-up and clean-up times, high maintenance cost, only 2" of print and relatively low print quality. Then MCS brought out one of the first HP cartridge-based inkjets, the MCS Array 4600. The Array was easy to set-up and maintain with 4" of high quality print. We still use the two we purchased in 2008!"

Since then, dDirect has had a long history of MCS product acquisitions. "In retrospect," quips Coggin, "it does seem like we have always purchased at least two of everything MCS has to offer. I learned that in the laser printing service bureau business. We started with the Kinteks, then the MCS Array inkjet, and quickly added another. We added the Eagle UV inkjet in 2011, and added a second one within a year. At the same time, we added one of MCS's KM black/white digital presses, and a second one late last year along with the C8000 color digital press," he explains.

The acquisition of the two MCS Eagle Inkjet Systems was an easy choice to make. "We already had the same software on the Arrays so it was a slam dunk for us. And from our experience with MCS, I knew they would always take care of us like they had over the past two decades, Coggin recalls. The Eagle UV capability allowed dDirect to print at high speeds on coated cover and aqueous coated pieces, allowing them to finally retire their last Videojet. They have also been able to run production jobs on synthetic paper with the Eagle UV inkjet, as well as plastic cards which match-affix to laser printed forms.

With the ability to run pieces sideways in portrait mode, they are able get much higher production. Also, the operators find the MCS equipment easy to set-up and run.

dDirect has recently acquired two new products in the MCS KM series of digital printers. "The KM equipment MCS offers is reliable, with consistent quality and good uptime. We don't call for service often, but when we do, they are there within two hours. That's a game-changer for us. Both the B&W and 4C printers have consistent quality and we run a lot of postcards on cover stock on both types, notes Coggin."

When asked why Coggin does business with MCS in general, he replied: "They're great! It starts at the top with Dave Loos. We have been a member of the AMSP (formerly the MFSA) for years now, and it has always been apparent to me that a lot of the smart people in MFSA chose MCS."

Since 2008, dDirect has more than doubled in size.