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DOME delivers results with VeraCore fulfillment software

October 17, 2014/in Capabilities, DOME Solutions, fulfillment, Technology /by [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Sean O’Connor

VeraCore Software Solutions, Inc.

(860) 721-8929

[email protected]

Rocky Hill, CT, October 7th, 2014

DOME Printing, of Sacramento, California is in the process of implementing The VeraCore Fulfillment Solution to support the dramatic growth of their fulfillment business.

One of northern California’s strongest privately-held commercial printing companies, DOME provides a wide range of services to a diverse client base. In addition to web and sheet-fed printing, DOME’s suite of integrated business solutions includes creative services, digital printing, finishing, mailing and fulfillment.

Order fulfillment, long a component of DOME’s service offering, has grown substantially in recent years. The firm now manages hundreds of their clients’ products and kits in their expansive 60,000 sq. foot climate controlled warehouse. The technology infrastructure that supported DOME’s fulfillment operation was composed of several different systems, some purchased and some developed in-house. Recognizing the increasingly important role that fulfillment played in their business, DOME’s management team set out to assess their fulfillment technology and, where appropriate, make investments in support of three key objectives – growing the business, retaining existing clients and improving process efficiency.

The management team approached the process of assessing their fulfillment technology and evaluating their options the same way they approached other IT decisions. Whether building or buying, technology decisions are predicated on delivering “best in class” solutions for the task at hand. After evaluating several options, the management team unanimously concurred that The VeraCore Fulfillment System was the right choice for DOME, and for their clients. DOME’s CEO, Tim Poole, explains – “Technology decisions can’t be made based strictly on our own business objectives. We strive to truly understand how new technology will impact our clients. This is tricky with fulfillment because each of our clients has their own unique requirements. VeraCore will provide the operational efficiency required to support sustained growth and an extremely robust client-facing offering that will help to ensure growth”.

The VeraCore Warehouse Management System’s extensive support for barcode technology and process automation will ensure Dome’s pick/pack operation and kitting lines run at peak efficiency. VeraCore’s billing capabilities will save Dome’s account managers countless hours each month by eliminating the need to manually compile billing data. Each of Dome’s clients will benefit immediately from The VeraCore Order Management System’s real-time reports and dashboards, which will provide up to the minute information on all aspects of their fulfillment programs. In addition, VeraCore’s support for order restrictions, budgetary controls and order approval chains will provide DOME’s clients with greater control over their fulfillment programs and marketing spend.

A technology company in its own right, one of DOME’s central requirements was that any new fulfillment system be capable interacting with the technologies that DOME developed in-house as well as systems provided by other vendors. The VeraCore Fulfillment Solution will serve as the new foundation of DOME’s fulfillment infrastructure. For truly specialized applications, DOME’s developers and technology partners will be able to create real-time integrations via the VeraCore web-service which supports sophisticated two-way communications between VeraCore and external applications.

Denise Lunden, President of VeraCore Software Solutions, Inc. commented on the DOME implementation under way now. “We are really excited to be working with Tim and his team of professionals. The combination of Dome’s talent and The VeraCore Fulfillment Solution will be hard to beat and will ensure DOME continues delivering results for their clients”.

For more information about DOME Printing and their award winning services, visit: https://www.domeprinting.com

About VeraCore Software Solutions, Inc.

VeraCore Software Solutions, Inc., has been providing software solutions for commercial printers, fulfillment companies, and marketing service providers for over 30 years. Their flagship product, The VeraCore Fulfillment Solution, enables fulfillment service providers to manage all aspects of their clients’ order fulfillment programs.

For additional information on VeraCore, visit their website at http://www.veracore.com

5 Creative Annual Report Designs

September 18, 2014/in Capabilities, Marketing, Printing /by [email protected]

It is that time of year for companies and corporations, Annual Report season. This is not a real season but it is an important time for many companies to share the success of the previous year. At DOME, we have had many opportunities to design annual reports for companies, non-profit organizations and associations. You can say that we love to design annual reports. Its a great opportunity to run with a suggested topic and design a great layout with the theme and company brand in mind.

The purpose of this blog to show some of our favorite design concepts, that kept the company brand in mind and really expressed the theme at hand, from around the internet. Doing a basic Google search will allow you to view all sorts of designs, some creative and unique and some very similar in style. The following design, to me, are fantastic use of color, concept and creativity to really sell the message.

U-HAUL’s 2010 Annual Report created by Jacob Gilbreath

This has to be one of my favorite annual report designs. This design just uses the company branding and theme really well. Using the design of a packing box and layering elements through out the piece, creates a sense of everything U-HAUL has to offer. Check out the link for more detailed look.

https://www.behance.net/gallery/UHAUL-Annual-Report-2010/1064319

Rosneft’s 2011 Annual Report created by VolgaVolga

I love the use of color and the creativity of using hand illustrated elements to convey the message from the companies identity.

https://www.behance.net/gallery/Rosneft-Annual-Report-2011/4669509

Google’s 2014 Annual Report

I love the sharp edges in the design, along with the use of Google’s color palette. Very modern and clean design.

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/e2/1c/7a/e21c7aab6b03fbf22865568b15bba682.jpg

Wates Group 2010 Annual Report Design

I love the use of whitespace, the splash of color with the grayscale images. Very nicely designed.

http://www.theallotmentbranddesign.com/our-work/wates/

Case Study: Responsive Email Design

August 22, 2014/in Capabilities, DOME Solutions, Technology /by [email protected]

The development of smartphone and tablet devices has ushered in a new age of receiving information and content faster. Companies are using email marketing to send upcoming events, information and new product release to their followers and clients. As some of you may know that web content needs to be responsive, adapting to the size and dimension of the display screen, or you are forcing the customer to expand or compress the window with their fingertips. I know, “it is not that difficult to maneuver the screen and adjust to your liking” but from experience, most customers will respond to content that is already adjusted.

Responsive Email design is relatively new to the email design, but it is not new to web design. Responsive email design is gaining in popularity with over 47% of emails opened are on a mobile device. Over 80% of people will delete an email if it doesn’t look good on a mobile device. The foundation that responsive design is built on is CSS3 and the use of fluid design.

80%

of people delete an email if it doesn’t look good on their mobile phone

At DOME, we are always experimenting and trying to implement responsive email designs in our email marketing campaigns. Whether it is weekly email messages or Cross Media Campaigns, we are trying to provide the best, fluid designs as possible. I want to outline our process in designing an email message, and provide our commentary.

STEP 1: Planning email campaign

When DOME receives a request to produce an responsive email design for a clients campaign, we start by outlining the design, determining the hierarchy of the design. It is always key to develop an email with your customer usage in mind. We have had different format of design, from splicing a photoshopped layout and adding links to each section, to providing live content with images next to or on top of the content.

Some of the issues we have come across here are trying to determine what will be live text and what will have to be image based text. Most email clients will not allow the use of background images and will throw them out of your design from the start.

When determining the responsive layout, you will have to determine the way the images and content will stack when the media query is in effect. The content will always stack in order from left to right, top to bottom. We made it a clarification from the start that if they want the image on top, the image needs to be on the left. This allowed us to keep our media query short and not have the email based solely on the query stipulations.

STEP 2: Design and Coding

When you finish with your planned email layout, comes the fun part, design and coding. Now a lot of articles online will tell you that certain email clients do not read responsive email CSS3 and will toss them out from the design. Mobile applications like: Gmail, Yahoo , and some Windows Phone OS do not accept responsive email designs.

Responsive Email Non-Supported Devices

iPhone Gmail app	iPhone Yahoo! Mail app
iPhone Mailbox app	Android Yahoo! Mail app
Android Gmail app	BlackBerry OS5
Windows Mobile 6.1	Windows Phone 7
Windows Phone 8

Now when I design the table, I found that it is always best to set the width of both the table and each column. Use a fluid design method and try not to use pixel widths. This could force weird scaling to the document. Use percent widths will always make the image fill the table section.

The next issue I have experienced is determining the exact size of the image. This is where you can use both pixel size or percent size. But make sure you use the align attribute for each column and table to place the image exactly where you want it.

STEP 3: Testing

Make sure you always use some form of email testing client, Like Litmus, to get an accurate email test for each email client available. The clients I always check, no matter how many times I refine my document, are Outlook 2007, 2010, 2013, Gmail browser client, and Yahoo browser client.

Outlook will always be an issue. Outlook adds a 25 pixel buffer for each table. If you have tables next to each other, you will see an added space that is not in the code. It can create a lot of issues with your design and can cause your tables to stack. Some web clients will ignore you CSS and I always recommend using inline CSS together with a CSS in your head section.

Conclusion:

If you are planning a design for a responsive email, remember to test, test, test and test until you are completely satisfied. Not every email client will accept your design how you want it, but it will help you refine to have something acceptable in all clients.

If you are interested in building responsive email designs for your campaigns, Litmus provides a great way to test your design and has a great amount of resources and inspiration for your design.

Comment below, anything I have missed or if you have your own stories about email design.

DOME Printing Brings Wide Format Printing In-House

August 11, 2014/in Capabilities, Marketing /by [email protected]

FREMONT, CA—August 11, 2014—EFI, a world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation, today announced that Sacramento, CA-based Dome Printing has purchased and installed a pair of 3.2-meter wide EFI VUTEk printing systems—an EFI VUTEk HS100 Pro UV inkjet press and an EFI VUTEk GS3250LX Pro LED inkjet printer. The presses are the centerpieces of Dome Printing’s new, superwide-format graphics business.

Dome Printing, one of Northern California’s leading independent commercial offset print businesses, is attracting new customers with its equipment investment—clients that did not purchase offset before but had specialized superwide-format signage and graphics needs. Many of the company’s existing customers are also taking advantage of Dome Printing’s new inkjet capabilities, expanding their current print marketing efforts to include superwide-format graphics applications. In those scenarios, the high-quality imaging available with EFI VUTEk equipment and the EFI Fiery proServers Dome Printing also installed with its new inkjet devices ensure accurate color matching between offset and inkjet print jobs.

The company, a long-time user of EFI’s MIS workflow software products, is effectively and efficiently expanding its business offerings with its new VUTEk purchases. Both machines are hybrid format devices that can print work on rigid substrates as well as banners, billboards and other graphics printed on flexible roll media.

“The white ink printing capabilities on our new VUTEk equipment was important, but the real deciding factors were the hybrid flatbed/roll-to-roll capabilities and the fast throughput,” said Bob Poole, Dome Printing’s co-owner. “The quality is exceptional, especially with the EFI Fiery proServer and its superior color management capabilities.”

Inkjet graphics growing ‘by leaps and bounds’

Founded by Ray Poole in 1969, Dome Printing offers everything from creative services and digital printing to fulfillment and integrated business solutions, including custom client storefront solutions. Ray’s sons Tim and Bob Poole have now restructured and built a next-generation business since purchasing the company from their parents in 2004.

“We grew 20 percent last year and expect that same level of growth this year,” said Tim Poole, who is Dome Printing’s CEO. “Part of that is attributable to the technology solutions we offer customers, but we are seeing the VUTEk business growing by leaps and bounds as well.”

Installation of the new printers and their color calibration went quickly. “We were already running a huge retail package on our VUTEk GS3250LX Pro the first week it was in our shop,” Bob Poole said, “and it went off without a hitch. We could hardly wait to get our hands on the HS100 Pro the following week. We already needed the capacity!”

Prior to the installation, many of the company’s local clients had to go to Southern California or out of the state to get the type of large-format printing they were seeking. “By adding that service to our mix,” Bob Poole stated, “we are able to bring that business into the Northern California economy.”

“We are very pleased that Dome Printing chose EFI as the partner it can rely on to get this exciting new business launched,” said Frank Mallozzi, senior vice president, worldwide sales and marketing, EFI. “Dome Printing’s clients will benefit from the superior versatility, quality and productivity these two EFI VUTEk products offer.”

Powerful print solutions for roll and flatbed graphics

Both of Dome Printing’s new VUTEk investments feature true, variable-drop grayscale imaging for higher image quality and accurate spot-color matching. They also offer opaque white ink and a unique, multilayer printing capability for high-end visual appeal on backlit displays and other applications.

Operating at speeds up to 100 boards per hour, the EFI VUTEk HS100 Pro press gives Dome Printing a more-cost effective option to produce a wide variety of medium-run graphics jobs. The digital UV inkjet press represents a true alternative to analog equipment, offering throughput comparable to screen printing with print quality that approaches offset. The press features EFI’s Pin & Cure imaging technology, which offers precise ink lay-down, gloss control and greater imaging accuracy.

The EFI VUTEk GS3250LX Pro is a production-level LED inkjet hybrid printer. Its “cool cure” LED curing technology lowers operating costs and provides a greener alternative for graphics printing, with significantly less energy consumption and virtually no VOCs. LED also gives the VUTEk GS3250LX Pro the ability to print on heat-sensitive and less-expensive lightweight media that cannot withstand the heat of other drying or curing methods.

Complementing its installation of new EFI VUTEk printing equipment, Dome Printing also acquired an Esko cutting table for finishing flatbed-printed graphics jobs.

About EFI
EFI is a worldwide provider of products, technology and services leading the transformation of analog to digital imaging. Based in Silicon Valley, CA, with offices around the globe, the company’s powerful integrated product portfolio includes digital front-end servers; superwide, wide-format, label and ceramic inkjet presses and inks; production workflow, Web-to-print, and business automation software; and office, enterprise and mobile cloud solutions. These products allow users to produce, communicate and share information in an easy and effective way, and enable businesses to increase their profits, productivity, and efficiency.

Source: http://www.piworld.com/article/dome-printing-sacramento-ca-installed-two-efi-vutek-printing-systems/[email protected]#utm_source=today-on-piworld&utm_medium=enewsletter_headline_story11&utm_campaign=2014-08-11 and EFI.

The Seamless Acceptance Way

June 3, 2014/in DOME Solutions, Mailing /by [email protected]

DOME is cutting through the postal red tape and introducing a system called, Seamless Acceptance. Seamless Acceptance is a new streamline and automated acceptance, verification, payment and induction into the United States Postal Service® (USPS®) system. What does this mean? We have the knowledge and expertise to help move your mail pieces into the system faster; efficiently getting your pieces into the consumers’ mailbox. DOME is proud to be the first on the west coast to adopt Seamless Acceptance from the United States Postal Service®.

Here’s a little background on what it means to become a Seamless Acceptance mail provider. In order to be accepted, a company must do two things.

1. Use an Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb)

2. Be a certified full service mailer.

3. Submit documentation electronically.

DOME has been using Intelligent Mail Full-Service since 2009. Full-service requires us to use a unique IMb on mail pieces, handling units, and containers. It also requires us to submit our documents electronically to PostalOne!® before the mail enters the mail stream. Seamless Acceptance was put in place to speed along the process.

90% of DOME’s current mail production require us to submit eDocs to PostalOne!®. With our expertise and knowledge of Direct Mail and other mail services, we no longer need a mail clerk to authorize our pieces before they enter the mail stream. Some common issues with the old regular acceptance method include: an inconsistent experience, acceptance delays the mail induction, and a manual, time-consuming mail verification. With Seamless Acceptance, the United States Postal Service® certifies that DOME’s well training staff is allowed automate the verification process by comparing our system data to the electronic documentation, as the mail pieces move through the mail stream.

In short, with DOME’s new implementation of Seamless Acceptance, you’re projects will get submitted into the mail stream faster and with fewer hiccups. Not only do we have the training, knowledge and expertise to automate the verification process, but we have the support confidence of the USPS backing us up.

DOME has given a whole new meaning to the “One-Stop-Shop”. What other printer do you know is allowed to become their own USPS postal clerk?