HUNTINGTON, Indiana — Our Sunday Visitor (OSV), a longstanding provider of Catholic publications and parish resources, has enhanced its envelope production capabilities by integrating two Colordyne 3800 Series WB inkjet retrofits into its operations. The advancement enables OSV to produce single-pass process color inkjet envelopes more efficiently, bolstering both productivity and profitability.
Founded in 1912 by Fr. John Francis Noll, OSV has grown into the largest supplier of church envelopes and one of the world's leading Catholic publishers. The organization continues to focus on its mission to support Catholics in their discipleship and engagement with the church.
From flexo bottleneck to single-pass color
In May 2022, OSV installed its first Colordyne 3800 Series inkjet retrofit and saw significant gains in production speed, cost, and efficiency. The positive outcomes led to acquiring an additional 3800 Series system in April 2023. The 3800 Series features a four-color process, water-based ink, and can produce multiple jobs at a speed of 1,200 envelopes per minute without stopping for changeover.
Both 3800 Series engines are mounted onto a W+D 202 RE — described as the most productive and fastest-changeover analog production system for transactional and direct mail envelopes globally.
“We are very capable of fulfilling these demands using flexo. However, the cost of plates, along with the cost of waste generated while registering colors, can be more than you think. We have over 4,500 make-to-order runs annually, which could potentially generate 90,000 lbs. of scrap using the flexo process. This was a large reason for looking into digital.”
Scrap to near zero, 25 million envelopes of new capacity
Using the Colordyne 3800 Series WB reduced scrap to virtually zero except for minor image placement adjustments on some envelopes. The reduction in waste and downtime increased capacity by 25 million envelopes annually.
“In 2020 and 2021, we bought over 30 million white currency envelopes from an outside vendor. In 2022, no envelopes were purchased from an outside vendor, mainly due to the Colordyne. When it's running and we need a maintenance clean on the heads, the W+D 202 RE can still convert blank envelopes. No shutting down, no scrap, just producing good envelopes.”
“We're excited to see the success OSV experiences with the 3800 Series. Providing businesses with a solution that leverages existing investments in their press room is a game-changer. We're not replacing equipment; we're enhancing it to unlock unimaginable efficiencies and productivity.”
28% less ink, no envelope curl
Although digital consumable costs are high using the Colordyne, other variables offset these costs — less wear and tear on the converting line, plate-making equipment, and plate-mounting equipment. Since installation, there have been several weeks where the W+D 202 RE was never inked up to run flexo.
“Since installation, Colordyne's technicians have been committed to optimizing our production. We've reduced digital ink consumption by 28% without sacrificing print quality or color. This not only reduced our cost to print but eliminated envelope curl, which is one major concern to adjusters on mail lines.”
OSV has the first inkjet engine ever mounted inline on a high-speed narrow web envelope converting machine. After two years of digital production, OSV has had virtually no customer complaints. The transition from flexo to digital, on mainly customer-specific envelopes, was smooth and with no concerns from OSV's customers.
