Shawmut noted the 7600 offers capabilities such as white ink, raised print and textured effects and said it will augment an HP 5000 and a 5500 already on the company’s production floor.

In addition, Shawmut also provides offset production with a four-color Heidelberg and five and six color 28x40inch Komori presses with in-line aqueous coating.

In an interview with PrintWeek, Shawmut executive VP Michael Peluso said the company’s client base was increasingly comfortable with digital for their direct mail runs.

"When we got into HP presses five years ago, it was a definite challenge," he said. "We had to create a complimentary piece that folded over that was digital to show customers there wasn’t much of a difference. But nowadays, we don’t even feel the need to explain to people that your job is running offset or digital."

Peluso added that 60-70% of Shawmut’s business is direct mail, but it does have some clients looking for folders or brochures and presentations materials. "The 7600 will be used for those materials — and because one of the new features it has is embossing, it will enable us to also do invitation type projects," he said.

Though Shawmut has relied on HP in the past, Peluso said they did look at other manufacturers before deciding on the Indigo 7600, adding: "Since we moved over to the HP side, we’ve been very happy with the presses and the support."

Shawmut’s client based is centered in the Northeast, ranging from Maine to New York City and the company was one of the earlier printers in the region to leverage variable data. "We bought a mail house 15 years ago and so we’ve been dealing with databases for a long time now," Peluso said.

"When we got our first HP it was a natural progression for us to merge the data people with the desktop people and undertake the trials and tribulations of working with a file and getting the things you need such as PURLs and QR codes. Our business has grown in the variable data and we’ve expanded it to storefronts and on-demand products and then we started getting into marketing services."

Peluso added: "With the economy the way it is a lot of companies have lost a lot of the labor force that used to help them deploy these campaigns. So we set up microsites regularly, we take responsibility for lead generation with direct mail and we include email blasts and lead nurturing programs."

Peluso suggested Shawmut’s business seems to be steadying after a period of uncertainty. "Last year we saw a lot of peaks and valleys, having a fantastic month and two month later having a bad month," he noted. "But this year we had a lot more consistency, so if we can stay there and have some growth, I’ll be happy."