HEIDELBERG Prinect drives automation at 1Vision

1Vision, headquartered in Houston, TX, USA, recently implemented Prinect Production from HEIDELBERG across its four nationwide facilities. The new print production workflow supports the company’s broader automation strategy. 1Vision wants to minimize manual touchpoints and standardize production at all locations.

This investment underscores 1Vision leadership’s commitment to continuous improvement and operational efficiency.

A solution for business model demands

Over the past several years, 1Vision has transformed into a dynamic commercial printer, fueled by strategic acquisitions. Today, it serves direct mail, national brands, food service providers (FSPs), and franchise networks through locations in Houston; Louisville, KY; Jackson, MI; and Denver, CO. The company offers a comprehensive range of services, including offset and digital printing, direct mail, wide-format signage, web storefronts, promotional products and apparel, warehousing, kitting, and distribution to thousands of franchise and retail locations.

With a complex business model, 1Vision relies heavily on its print production workflow to automate and standardize operations. It looks to boost efficiency and maintain a high level of customer satisfaction, as well.

“We are very focused on automation,” says Karl Kluetz, director of operations, 1Vision. “When a customer submits a direct mail job through our API-driven system, we want it to be on-press within two hours, with data ready for the inkjet line in just four.”

For years, 1Vision relied on a prepress workflow from a competitive provider. However, creating any rules-based automation demanded extensive expertise and programming. “We spent a significant amount of money working with a consultant to program the automation we desired,” says Kluetz. “But we got to a point where our capabilities were limited based on how much money we wanted to spend on external services.”

Turning to HEIDELBERG

Recently, 1Vision implemented HEIDELBERG Prinect Production, which provides exactly what its business model demands. HEIDELBERG provides a fully customizable platform that seamlessly integrates with 1Vision’s existing APIs and offset and digital presses. However, none of the presses are from HEIDELBERG. It is also fully compatible with the MIS system 1Vision intends to migrate to, supporting long-term scalability.

“We’re not a typical commercial printer,” remarks Kluetz. “That means we want to be able to select different partners for each of our unique needs. What stands out most is that Prinect works well with all of our current systems and planned MIS upgrades. Not every company designs its products with that level of flexibility in mind.”

With Prinect, 1Vision automatically routes all of its jobs – regardless of location – based on plant capacity and geography. This balances workloads and reduces turnaround times. The system also streamlines the automated ganging of the company’s high-volume direct mail work.

As customers submit jobs, they are directed to the facility closest to the mail drop. There, orders are consolidated and ganged efficiently on press sheets. By accelerating jobs – whether digital or offset – through the press, 1Vision gains valuable flexibility in more labor-intensive finishing to flatten out production cycles and balance its workload.

Reducing human touchpoints

1Vision achieves greater efficiency by eliminating unnecessary human touchpoints through the Prinect Portal. The portal serves as a secure platform that enables customers to upload files directly. Submissions are automatically preflighted, too. This transforms what was once a manual CSR-driven task into a streamlined, touchless process.

“As a Lean manufacturing organization, our goal is to eliminate non-value-added activities so our team can focus on higher-value work,” says Kluetz. “With our previous workflow, CSRs were opening files, renaming them, and routing them back out for proofing – steps that added time but not value. Today, files are submitted, preflighted, and a proof link is sent directly to the client for online approval without CSR intervention. The job then flows seamlessly into our digital workflow – essentially hands-free.”

Currently, 75-80% of all jobs printed digitally in 1Vision’s facilities are completed touchfree – with greater vision to extend this level of automation to other areas of production, including offset and wide format.

“When we talk about continuous improvement and automation, people get concerned that technology will replace human jobs,” comments Kluetz. “We’re growing, and we’re able to produce more work in our plants with the resources we have because of the tools and automation that we utilize today.”