CPC Colorado Streamlines Workflow with printIQ

Mandy Arellano, operations manager, CPC, notes that since installing printIQ MIS systems, the company has seen productivity savings across multiple departments.

One of the more comprehensive printIQ (Booth 11652) builds undertaken recently was for CPC Colorado, which recently expanded through the acquisition of a new company specializing in wide-format and flexo. CPC had been using its current MIS for more than 25 years. With the acquisition of the new company — along with its two internal systems — CPC wanted to bring everything into its existing MIS system.

To do this the company spent $25,000 up front to have two locations, however they were still required to VPN to the original site. “Once we started working with this amended system, we quickly learned that due to the amount of work-arounds that we needed to do to make it fit our needs, it wasn’t going to suffice,” says Mandy Arellano, operations manager, CPC. CPC began working with its MIS company with the intention of addressing the problems, and helping refine the software to more effectively suit the label market.

After receiving a rather large quote for their MIS to amend the software, CPC decided to investigate other available options. At an industry trade show, Arellano crossed paths with Linda Pollard from printIQ. Pollard has worked for many years in the print MIS field before she made the change to printIQ and its MWS (management workflow system). CPC demoed multiple different sites but found there were less than a handful of companies that dealt with all the areas they specialized in. After running into Pollard and meeting some of the IQ team, CPC staff had the printIQ MWS demoed and were blown away.

Arellano says, “We were pleased to see the system gave us 95% of what we were looking for, and some unexpected additional bonuses. Our group walked away from that conference having printIQ as our number one choice. However, we were certain we wouldn’t be able to afford it.”

CPC had a comprehensive list of requirements they were looking for:

• Ability to encompass all areas of the business: offset, folding cartons, direct mail, digital, digital flexo, flexo, and wide-format printing.
• Pricing of both set up costs, as well as annual fees
• A company that didn’t treat the customers as nothing more than dollar signs
• Ease of use
• Built in accounting

After more demos and discussions, Pollard and the team worked closely with the CPC team to get the modules they needed, and CPC realized that printIQ was well within their budget. Arellano was impressed, saying, “printIQ really did treat us as actual partners to make the flexo components more than we could have asked for. I honestly feel like they value my input about changes in the system, or different aspects that I need. They looked at the big picture of my suggestions and have added many of the things I had requested. They treated the suggestions as a win/win for both CPC and printIQ.”

CPC has now been working with the printIQ MIS for over a year, and loves the relationship they’ve built with the IQ team. Arellano is loving the customer service from IQ saying, “I have worked closely with multiple staff and they are all amazing. They make me feel like I am printIQ’s only customer, taking the time to work through the training and issues to help me understand the system completely. I am a control freak, and they have tailored my training to ensure I have the knowledge I need.”

In addition to being impressed by the support team, CPC says they have also experienced many productivity savings with printIQ. From time savings during estimating, job entry, and billing, to fewer questions requiring clarification from the production staff, they are very happy with their move to printIQ.