Kirk-Rudy’s First-Class Mail Equipment

In the Mailing/Fulfillment Pavilion, Kirk-Rudy (Booth 1771) is demonstrating the breadth of its inkjet addressing systems, and debuting a new piezo inkjet unit.

Founded 1967 by Harry Kirk, an engineer formerly with label printing pioneer Cheshire, Kirk-Rudy is now taking its inkjet printing solutions beyond addressing and labeling, thanks to the company’s embrace of UV-curable inks. Kirk-Rudy’s high-end piezo print system is the Phoenix, based on a 4.25-inch printhead. The introduction of UV inks for the Phoenix allows it to print on a variety of substrates beyond envelopes and labels—one application is the plastic stakes used by nurseries to identify plants.

“UV allows users to get into more specialty printing,” said Jim Williams, Director of Marketing for Kirk-Rudy. “When you have a UV Phoenix, you can virtually print on anything. If you can feed it through, you can print on it. It expands the range of substrates you can print on.”

The company is also demonstrating a brand-new piezo inkjet system that is slightly smaller than the Phoenix, with a two-inch printhead. Applications for the new machine include addressing as well as things like bar codes, serial numbers, and expiration dates.

Kirk-Rudy is also showing some old favorites, such as its KolorJet, a super-fast four-color inkjet printer that, said Williams, can print a box of #10 envelopes in about a minute. This device is also finding a niche in some new, specialty applications. “We have several applications with companies like Shutterfly where you get greeting cards online and can have the envelopes addressed. KolorJet is doing well in those operations.”

Then there is Kirk-Rudy’s entry level NetJet thermal inkjet machine. “When printers are getting into mailing, they tend to buy that machine because it’s less expensive and it’s easy to use,” said Williams.

A common upgrade path is for companies to start out with the NetJet and, when volume starts to pick up, transition to a Phoenix.

Beyond printing, Kirk-Rudy also has a tabbing machine that will “wafer” three sides of a mail piece in one pass. (Necessity was the mother invention: when the USPS introduced automated sorting equipment, it required that folded mail pieces be tabbed on all three sides instead of just one. Hence the introduction of a three-headed tabber.)

In addition to the Phoenix, the new two-inch piezo inkjet machine, the KolorJet, the NetKet, and the tabber, Kirk-Rudy is also showing its WaveJet, which lets users print variable text, barcodes, and graphics on a wide variety of coated stocks, including aqueous and most UV coatings.

In addition to the speed and print quality, the company also stresses the construction of its equipment. “We like to focus on the quality of our bases,” said Williams. “We believe that, in order to lay down a quality inkjet image at high

speeds, you need a heavy duty, quality built base to support the high demands of a production environment.” Kirk-Rudy also manufactures virtually all of its equipment stateside in its Woodstock, GA, factory.