New Prism paper cutter is twice as nice for Adams Direct & Media Services

Business has blossomed for Adams Direct & Media Services and their direct mail side is attracting larger size clients. That growth has triggered various equipment upgrades – including the back-end operation – with the purchase from Colter & Peterson of a 30” Prism® paper cutter in 2012 and a recently added 31.5” Prism, both outfitted with the Microcut® computer control system. What’s different about this transaction was the decision to buy new from C&P in the first place.

“Colter & Peterson was a customer of ours but I didn’t know much about their business other than we did marketing and database work for them,” recalled Jesse James, President of the East Hanover, New Jersey company. “In 2012 we needed another cutter, so I spoke with Bruce Peterson and toured his shop. We talked about our situation and I looked at some used cutters, but we bought a new Prism because I took him on his word. He was right and the one we added in April replaces an older machine that we had for a long time.”

The compact size Prisms are easy to operate and James chose them for several reasons.

“They handle all our paper work such as brochures, letters and postcards. We are a 100% digital operation with nine presses and no sheet size larger than 14” x 26”,” explained James, who began working at Adams in 1986. He has guided the company owned by Lillian and Allan Adams for the last 20 years. Adams serves insurance, healthcare and pharmaceutical clients in the Pennsylvania-New York-New Jersey area, with some national accounts as well.

“Depending on the size of the run, we typically process anywhere from 500 to 100,000 pieces of mail. Ninety five percent of our work is customized variable data printing, of which 95% is mailed. We also utilize an on-site postal office that helps optimize our clients’ postage savings.”

Adams Direct & Media Services also handles cross media marketing and fulfillment and kitting capabilities. James indicated his two Prism cutters are getting a workout every week and he’s been impressed with the many benefits they have to offer.

“Those machines are working 10 hours a day, but in a couple of months they’ll be needed for two shifts, six days a week. So far they have met all our expectations. The Prisms are very reliable, easy to operate and our operators like them. They change out the blades on a regular basis and it doesn’t take long to do. We hooked up the JDF workflow and our guys can store up to 100 pre-set cuts, which is a big thing for us. Our first cutter was a Triumph and it could only store 10 pre-sets. Where you notice the difference is for multiple jobs with multiple cuts; it saves us a tremendous amount of time.”

Time is a hard thing for any shop to replace. It’s another reason why James chose Colter & Peterson, North America’s largest independent paper cutter distributor.

“Our business is very time sensitive and we can’t afford to be down in any department. It’s a tough industry and very competitive, so being late on a deadline because of equipment downtime is not an option. The fact C&P is local and only 30 minutes from us was a huge factor. From a service point of view, they are very responsive and have always had our best interests in mind. Plus, they are a customer of ours.”