Tidewater Direct Adds Truepress Jet520HD Press, First User of SCREEN’s Breakthrough SC Ink

April 21, 2017

Already a sterling presence in the industry, Tidewater Direct added more luster to its reputation with the recent installation of a Truepress Jet520HD high-definition inkjet press featuring SCREEN’s new Truepress Ink SC wide gamut inks.

“We purchased the 520HD after researching for over a year” explained Executive Vice President Geoff Eisenberg from company headquarters in Centreville, Maryland where the press was installed. “The demonstrated quality and versatility of the new SC ink on the 520HD tipped the scale that encouraged us to make the most substantial single investment I have overseen,” he said.

“The Truepress 520 HD and SC ink technology allows us to print on commodity stocks we already use, bypassing the need for pretreated inkjet stocks. That’s a tremendous advantage in paper savings, making it cost effective for us,” Eisenberg said. “This is the first time we were able to achieve a cost effective analysis on an inkjet press that fit into our workflow.”

Tidewater Direct is one of the most efficient direct mail component part suppliers in the United States. Supplying direct mail contractors, newspapers, and print brokers with printed components such as static forms, envelopes, inserts, and more, Tidewater’s ability to turn projects on time and within budget is unparalleled in the industry. The company is known for its reliability in meeting the tightest deadlines and highest quality expectations.

“We’re direct mail parts suppliers. In the direct mail industry, there are vertically integrated suppliers that do all their own printing, insert everything and sell to clients. Then, there are direct mail contractors who buy from outside sources. Those contractors make up our primary clientele,” he explained.

“Because we are not direct to the consumer, we are a vital supplier to the industry that seeks to buy needed products without having to make substantial capital investments. It’s a market advantage that we are no threat to any of our clients. We are set up to service them. And have been since our inception,” said Eisenberg.

Staying true to its business strategy, Tidewater Direct became the first direct mail component part supplier to offer inkjet web printing as a trade service. The company has added exceptionally high quality digital inkjet web printing to its list of offerings that it can provide direct mail contractors.

“We work to be rapid, responsive, accurate, and efficient,” he said. “We turn projects on time and within budget while maintaining a consistent growth strategy. We’re applying our same business model to inkjet. Everything that we know is selling to end-users. We’re selling our purchase of the Truepress Jet520HD as a commodity so that direct mail contractors can take advantage of the technology without having to invest in a press themselves,” he said.

The SCREEN Truepress Jet520HD features new wide-gamut SC inks which print on offset coated paper without the need for preprocessing or additional primer coatings. Printing directly to the paper saves time and cost and preserves the paper surface texture to open up a range of new possibilities. The new inks figured prominently in Tidewater’s choice for their latest capital improvement.

Eisenberg noted another factor that helped the Tidewater team make their decision: “What stood out for us with SCREEN, too, is that their maintenance model is fee based rather than incurring click charges.”

The Truepress Jet520HD provides the 1,200 x 1200 dpi true resolution and precise droplet size control needed to achieve the colors, textures, details, and solid ink areas Tidewater Direct expects for high-end publication and commercial work, including personalized high colored digital output.

Supporting its straightforward yet high-energy business model. SCREEN’s flagship high-speed inkjet press features a duplex white paper solution perfect for personalized and generic direct mail component parts and low to mid-range quantities. With limitless versioning and personalization, Tidewater can print and deliver these as coated or uncoated rolls (up to 9 pt.), or can unwind and finish names in zip string sequence delivered ready to insert. This product is tailor made for direct mail contractors that seek to provide their own data services, but require access to high quality inkjet web printing at pricing designed for the trade. It’s also an ideal solution for short and medium run commercial print, including highly segmented self-mailers and post cards.

Sister companies, Tidewater Direct and American Direct, with roots dating back to 1959, comprise three commercial web offset printing facilities across the United States, one at the Centreville location, one in Baltimore, Maryland, and the third in West Branch, Iowa. With common ownership by Ken Boone, together they service national print markets with niches in direct mail printing, continuous forms printing, pharmaceutical printing and print management. With a footprint of 200,000 square feet, Tidewater competes nationally on high volume print projects and employs approximately 135 people. In the past ten years alone Tidewater Direct has grown 33 percent.

“Our industry reputation is very good. We’re a high quality, reliable supplier and that will continue as we move forward with the Truepress Jet520HD. Our reputation will be enhanced because we’re willing to take a well-considered risk,” Eisenberg said.

“We believe firmly that quality is remembered long after price is forgotten,” Eisenberg said. “As a wholesale printer, we accept the price competitive nature of our business. Notwithstanding, we are committed to delighting our clients with the business they place with us. The bottom line is – if we print it, we stand behind it.”