GLS Transforms its Digital Print Offerings with HP Indigo 10000 Digital Presses

Few companies exemplify the digital transformation of communications better than GLS Companies, of Brooklyn Park, MN. Founded 30 years ago as a six-man commercial printing company with a two-color offset press, GLS has gone beyond being a print service provider and become an integrated print and online services company.

“We call ourselves a full marketing services provider,” says Gary Garner, Chairman and CEO, GLS. “We offer high-value solutions to smaller, more targeted audiences, whatever the message, whatever the format.”

The company has conventional web and sheet-fed presses and has been an HP (Booth 1913) Indigo digital press customer since first moving into digital print in 2004. GLS’ product portfolio includes HP Indigo 5000 and 7500 Digital Presses, HP SmartStream Production Center as well as two B2-format HP Indigo 10000 Digital Presses.

Print quality, accurate color matching, reliability and substrate versatility led the company to invest in HP technology, but the decision to install the HP Indigo 10000 Digital Presses came down to one thing.

“The B2 format,” said Jim Benedict, marketing director, GLS. “We knew what HP presses could do, but the B2 format was what we wanted in a digital press. GLS Companies was one of the first in the U.S. to install an HP Indigo 10000 to support our direct mail business with highly targeted one-to-one personalization. We have seen steady growth in our digital variable product offering since installing the first press one year ago, leading us to install a second HP Indigo 10000 to meet client demand.”

GLS has taken full advantage of the presses’ wider format and variable data capabilities, both for its own marketing and recently for HP’s pre-Graph Expo mailer.

To introduce customers and prospects to its new capabilities, GLS developed a highly personalized direct mail piece for more than 6,500 recipients. The comic book-style mailer featured a client in need of a marketing solution to increase sales and wow customers. After calling their GLS digital diva or digital dude superhero, the client received a highly effective piece printed using variable data on the HP Indigo 10000. The GLS digital superhero book included image variables that cross matched male and female GLS representatives with male and female clients. The mailer also used 20 variable text fields with seven unique fonts.

GLS also used its HP Indigo 10000 Digital Presses to print HP’s personalized pre-show mailer for Graph Expo. Showing off the press’ high-quality printing, the mailer and sleeve featured bold colors and variable text and image fields for the recipients’ name, HP sales representative and products they may be interested in seeing at the show.

Stop by HP booth 1913 on Monday, Sept. 29 from 1:00 – 4:00 pm or on Tuesday, Sept. 30 from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm to speak with GLS and learn more about their work with the HP Indigo 10000 Digital Presses.