In with Old, Out with New: Ways to Create Printing Innovation, Part 2

Innovation in technology is not simply about updating your systems to the latest hardware or interface. Innovation can also be about the value gained when technology is harnessed in such a way that it makes daily activities more efficient. In last week's post, we discussed how a DMV client combined M.I.S. Print's data transformation with QDirect's output management solution to meet their challenge when they changed printers. This week, we share how an insurer uses these same products to control multiple workflows and printer types, load balance between two print centers, and save money by reducing errors and streamlining workflow.

One of the nation's largest insurance companies takes control of multiple print shops 

Imagine how much printing an insurance company does—policies, bills, notices, ID cards… Now imagine what that looks like at a company with two print centers employing 130 people. It looks something like 250 million impressions per year in a multi-vendor environment with two separate types of printers. In 1999, the company needed to print legacy data from their mainframe, but their high volume cut-sheet printers could not accept that language. M.I.S. Print was chosen as the data transformation solution.

Two solutions manage multiple workflows

New roll-fed printers were purchased a few years later but had the same challenge accepting legacy data as the cut-sheet printers. M.I.S. Print again was utilized as the data transform solution, but this time, with QDirect output management on board, the company could control multiple workflows, including printer types and load balancing cohesively between two print centers.

M.I.S. Print not only transforms LCDS, DJDE and Metacode to make printing possible, it also helps automate tray configurations to boost throughput and reduce errors. When a print job begins, M.I.S. Print informs operators exactly which stocks go to which trays for the jobs to be processed. Now, that's valuable. Speaking of innovation, running QDirect to manage their new workflows allowed the insurance company to finally retire an older print-and-mail application that was integral to mail piece tracking, but was not well supported—with QDirect in place, this software was no longer needed. Running QDirect also allows the company to print new test documents without interrupting their regular workflow. When forms are updated, operators can run them through their test QDirect server and output to a separate set of printers. Programmers can control where and when the new documents get printed without disrupting essential jobs.

Silo busting information; that's innovation

QDirect breaks down the silos of information within this major insurance company. Doing so provides the capability to manage multiple workflows, including printer types and load balancing cohesively between two print centers.