RRD Facility Spotlight: RRD Pittsburgh
3/28/2024
RRD Pittsburgh, established in 1963, is a 155,000-square-foot facility situated on the outskirts of the Steel City. Providing premium-quality offset and digital commercial print solutions, the company boasts a complete offering of prepress, press, bindery, kitting, fulfillment, and distribution services to local clients and Fortune 500 customers.
“We win business because of our quality, because of our exceptional customer service, and because of the type of work that we're able to do,” says Jake Zoller, President of RRD Pittsburgh.
We sat down with Jake to discover how his facility is exceeding expectations when it comes to the work they’re doing for their customers.
What about this facility makes it unique in the marketplace?
Jake Zoller (JZ): We consider ourselves early adopters, and we were among the first facilities to install UV presses. We did this because we wanted to go after higher-end work. As a result, we're way ahead of competitors that are only now adding UV equipment.
UV provides us with better productivity, gives us capabilities like running different types of coatings, allows us to print on uncoated stock — which is a big deal right now — and much more. Our experience with UV printing and using various types of coatings to enhance our clients’ projects really sets us apart.
In addition, our digital presses enable us to personalize and augment products, and really amplify our customers’ marketing campaigns. We're always looking for how we can help the customer — and how we can give our clients and potential clients additional options.
If you had to narrow it down to one, what do you consider your facility’s forte?
JZ: I’d have to say it would be our high-end commercial print products, which we produce on our UV press and high-quality digital press equipment. The digital capabilities complement our sheetfed presses, allowing us to do shorter, personalized runs at a lower cost. This enables us to essentially customize every printed sheet — whether that be with a name, an address, or a car color; whatever the case may be. It adds to the diverse types of printing that we can bring to our clients and potential clients.
Before you can get into anything else that we do — whether that’s quality customer service, fulfillment or distribution, etc. — you have to be able to put ink on paper, and we're very good at doing that.
Can you share a client project where your facility’s technology played a critical role?
JZ: A few years ago, a major paint manufacturing company asked us to help them reproduce their paint chip colors. In response, we developed our own 8-color process system called the Harvey System, named after Harvey Hoechstetter, the founder of this facility. This system, which comprises Hexachrome colors plus two more “Harvey” colors, made it much easier to match paint chips than doing so with a 4-color process. Plus, the client no longer had to utilize paint chips for many of their brochures — which saved them about one-fifth of their total spend.
We still utilize this process today. When we talk to people about the Harvey System, we sometimes get work because of it and don't even need to use it. There are clients that say, “If they have that kind of talent, and offer that kind of service, then they can handle our product.”
As business evolves, what role do you see RRD Pittsburgh playing in your clients' evolution? How do you help clients evolve to keep pace with customers' demands?
JZ: We’re really able to bring digital options to clients. This leads to shorter runs and more personalization options to better fit a particular market. For example, we have the ability to produce personalized brochures for car dealerships that previously were more “bare bones” brochures provided by auto manufacturers.
With our digital capabilities, we’re able to personalize the brochures with the dealership’s name and address, their operating hours, a map with their location — anything they wish to add to it. This enhances a dealership’s specific brand — rather than just being a generic brochure for the car maker — and, hopefully, it helps them put a potential customer behind the wheel of a new car.
To learn more about this facility, visit our RRD Pittsburgh location page.