Direct mail: Because it works
Direct mail. This traditional tactic has been a mainstay of business communication for over 150 years—because it works. Direct mail is a real, physical manifestation of your business that your customers can touch, and while the digital mailbox has grown cluttered over the last few decades, the actual mailbox has emptied out. Studies support that print content is seen as having a higher value and generates higher response rates than online marketing. A research review of direct mail by MarketReach and WARC provides a hefty body of evidence to support direct mail’s value in the media mix. If you are looking to add value to your brand, you should consider diversifying your media mix and include direct mail.
Direct mail projects can range from simple postcards to complex multi-piece mailers that leverage our advanced technology to allow for variable data printing and deep personalization. Tailor your next direct mail project to your prospects with more than just a name on a letter; images, text, and graphics can all be printed variably based on your data and your design.
At Ampersand, we have been producing and delivering direct mail campaigns for decades. Our comprehensive experience, combined with our substantial bank of equipment dedicated to direct mail production, can provide your company or organization with the reliable production partner you need to get your mailing out the door and into your prospect’s mailbox.
Cleaning up your data.
All direct mail campaigns start with a list. Our data management team ensures that your mailing lists are accurate, up-to-date, and optimized to reach your target market. We clean your data and run your list against the National Change of Address database, ensuring that we have the correct addresses. We handle data segmentation, cleansing, and customization to ensure that your messages reach the right audience with precision, eliminating wasteful spending on irrelevant recipients. We offer a host of data services to address your needs and save you postage.
Specifying direct mail production
is complex—let us handle that for you.
Our team is deeply experienced, and we can help you develop
a campaign that will be efficient and cost effective.
Mail House Services.
As a trusted Canada Post Partner, we are experts in the ins and outs that surround direct mail campaigns and how to best produce them efficiently. We offer full service, stress-free mailing house services and can manage your campaign from start to finish. With advanced technologies at our disposal, we streamline processes and deliver exceptional results, utilizing a variety of finishing services:
- Advanced Data management
- High-quality printing
- Direct addressing
- Automated labelling and inserting
- Machine folding, paper wrapping, and film wrapping
- Hand work and fulfillment where needed
- Postal sorting, including LPC presort
Delivering the mail.
Because we are a Canada Post Partner, we can prepare and deliver your direct mail campaign to Canada Post on your behalf, including saving you money on postage by presorting the mail for certain types of mailings. We can do the same with the United States Postal Service, delivering mail across the border directly into USPS as domestically addressed US mail, at domestic mail rates.
We build our business on outstanding customer service. Get in touch with us to discuss your next project and get a quote, and experience the Ampersand difference firsthand.
Equipment List
You need a lot of equipment to be able to produce direct mail efficiently. Our experienced team will determine the ideal work flow for your project, with everything completed in-house. Whether you’re mailing 100 boxes or 100,000 letters, we can handle it.
Digital Printing
NEW Xerox Iridesse Digital Printing
- Print up to 40” x 13” to make a big impact and include more content on a single page
- 6 Colour Press Digital Press—eye-popping, cost-effective embellishments on even the shortest runs with ability to print Metallic Gold and Silver as well as Spot Gloss Coating
- Extremely high quality, comparable to litho
- Consistent quality regardless of the length of your run
- Consistency between versions (for example large English jobs printed on a litho press compared to smaller French jobs printed digitally)
- Fast turnaround time without sacrificing quality
- Smaller runs of larger format jobs (up to 6 pages) without the added cost of litho
- Capable of printing on a wide range of substrates from lightweight paper to 18pt board, plastics and magnet
- More accurate spot colour matching to ensure brand integrity
Xerox 4112 Digital Press
- Printable image area of 12.75” x 18.75”
- High speed monochrome printing
- Capable of printing on a wide range of substrates
- JDF compliant
Neopost AS950C Digital Envelope Printer
- Full colour envelope printing for short and medium runs
- Ability to print full colour variable graphics and text
- Ability to print full bleed envelopes up to 6x9"
Litho Printing
Mitsubishi Diamond 3000LX
- 28” x 40” 6 Colour + Aqueous Coater, with a printable image area of 27” x 39”
- Complete air transfer system ensures mark free printing and enables us to print on a wide range of substrates from onion skin to 40pt board and plastics at speeds up to 16,000 sheets per hour
- Fully automated and integrated to Ampersand’s award winning JDF digital workflow
- First in North America to be fully JDF integrated to both Prepress and MIS (Management Information System)
- Fully automated print control system monitors print quality and colour making adjustments automatically as required
Duplo DC-646 Automated Finishing System
- Automated cutting, perforating and creasing
- Helps bring Print on Demand unit pricing closer to that of traditional pick and pack workflows
Stahl B20 Folder
- Equipped with channel scoring device enabling die quality scores inline
Heidelberg ST100 Saddle Stitching Line
- Cover feeder equipped with channel scoring device enabling inline die quality scoring and folding of cover, eliminating the time and cost of folding
- Features automated quality control sensors
- Equipped with both regular stitch and loop stitch heads
- Integrated with our Vision System for processing personalized booklets
Hot Glue Padding Machine
- Wiro & Plasticoil Binding, Drilling, Shrinkwrapping, Kitting and Distribution
Bindery
54” Polar Cutting System
- Automated jogging & counting systems
- Fully automated and integrated into Ampersand’s award winning JDF digital workflow
Morgana Digifold Pro
- Automated creasing & folding machine
- Die score and fold in one step eliminates cracking of digitally printed materials while decreasing turnaround
Stahl TH82 Folder
- Fully automated minimizing operator intervention during make ready, increasing accuracy and efficiency while reducing waste
- Equipped with channel scoring device enabling die quality scores inline
- Fully automated double gate fold attachment increases accuracy and allows for a gap of as little as 1/16” (.0625”)
- Integrated with our vision system for processing of personalized pieces
Morgana Auto Creaser Pro 50
- 35” sheet
- Infinite Scoring
- Perforations
- Die scoring capabilities
Royal Sovereign Laminator
- Hot & Cold Laminates
- Wide format
Mailing
Kirk Rudy Net Jet Addressing System
- High-speed, high-quality addressing on a wide variety of materials and substrates
- Able to run as a standalone machine or inline with our folders and saddle stitching line, reducing costs and turnaround times
- Ability to inkjet on aqueous coated surfaces eliminating the need for knock outs
Netpak 6 Station Inserter
- Up to 11,000 pieces per hour
- High-speed insertion of up to 6 pieces
- Double, missed insert & missed envelope detection for mail integrity
- Integrated with our vision system to ensure set integrity (can match up to 4 inserts and print matching address on outer envelope)
Minipack Mail Bag Semi-Automatic Poly Bagger
- High-speed insertion and sealing of mail pieces into polybags
Kirk Rudy Match Mate Vision System
- 4 Camera matching system capable of reading text & barcodes
- Can match multiple pieces to each other or to the supplied database
- Writes a time stamp back to your database with the exact time the piece was matched and inserted
- Guarantees set integrity (matching of multiple personalized pieces)
- Integrated into machines throughout our facility
Bell & Howell 6 Station Envelope Inserter
- Up to 6,000 pieces per hour
- High-speed insertion of up to 6 pieces
- Double and missed insert detection for mail integrity