Profile: Analysis – DSTI Output

DSTi is turning heads with its high-quality, technologically advanced bespoke mail, writes Philip Chadwick.

Bristol may not have a reputation for being a revolutionary hotspot but one firm on the outskirts of the city believes it has hit on something that is changing the face of transactional mail.

DSTi Output has started to shout about its full-colour capabilities and the market is now beginning to respond. The combining of statements with full-colour marketing messages is something that DSTi believes has caught on, although it is still early days.

'The challenge for us is to see this as a start, not an end,' explains DSTi Output chief executive Tim Delahay. 'The industry has woken up to us. We believe we have a revolutionary product and lead the market but for a while we have kept our powder dry.'

DSTi in Bristol was previously GE Mailing Services – part of the GE Capital and Finance Group. In 2002, it was bought by US transactional mail production firm DST International.

'It was a good match for GE as it wanted to outsource and DST wanted an output base in the UK,' adds DSTi Output head of marketing Malcolm Webb.

The company continued to exclusively produce mailings for GE until 18 months ago. Now DSTi believes it can change the way customers approach their marketing and transactional mail. The combination of the two, with full colour, is the direction the mailing market is heading, according to Delahay. It will not only save brands money, but also mean that the response rates will rise significantly.

'If you speak to customers they will say colour is not top of their list,' adds Delahay. 'They would say we can offer very sensible cost saving initiatives and give a good quality of service.

'We apply colour to the document but also use the white space more effectively and make economic use of the paper,' explains Webb. 'They incorporate tailor-made messages, in some cases pointing customers to something of local interest. It can be a nearby branch of a bank or a store.'

But technological developments are helping to drive DSTi forward. In August, the company installed its first 4/4 Kodak Versamark press to run alongside its two other Versamarks. What made the 4/4 different from others in the market is its ability to offer full colour on both sides of the web. 'There is no pre-print involved – it is all done in a single print run,' explains Webb.

It has also developed a direct access web portal, which allows its clients to see how each job progresses and manage the campaign 'Customers can reconcile what we said we would do and how we did at the end,' says Webb. 'There's lots of transparency and the customer has more control.'

It's not all Kodak and web as the firm also has two Xerox DocuColor 6060 cut-sheet colour and four IBM monochrome machines. On the finishing side DSTi has four Pitney Bowes APS machines.

The company has two sites, in Bristol and Surbiton, with a third in Droitwich only a year away from being built. The main plant in Bristol is spotless and the management encourage an open culture – a work environment that involves everyone.

'It really is important to get the working culture right,' says Delahay.

The company is on the rise and Delahay believes that others in the industry are starting to sit up and take notice. An example is ex-Olwen partners Andy Ruddle and Peter Rivett's pounds 20m Reall Digital International venture (PrintWeek, 27 October). DSTi has already appointed ex-Astron man Tony Hall as its consultant director, and Delahay reckons that rivals muscling in on the market is good – it helps more customers to understand what can be done with the technology and the possibilities of merging transactional mail with direct marketing.

'In terms of volume, we represent one-tenth of what we believe the market is ready for,' says Delahay.

What DSTi is doing is attracting attention but also scepticism. Delahay reckons that the accusation that full colour costs too much can be dealt with easily – the entire process, he says, and not just the implementation of colour results in a lower cost for customers. This is thanks, in part, to avoiding the need to print monochrome onto pre-printed stock.

The other charge is that people may not appreciate a marketing message on a statement that isn't necessarily good news. Webb acknowledges this and says that DSTi does have certain responsibilities on the data front. 'The communication should be relevant, timely and non-intrusive,' he says. 'We have to be responsible.'

DSTi's strategy has been described as a mailing revolution but as Delahay points out, it is the start, not the end. If full colour, personalised transactional mail catches on, then DSTi is likely to be in the right place at the right time.

FACTFILE

– Previously GE Mailing Services until bought by US-based DST International in 2002

– Has a total workforce of around 200 and a turnover of pounds 15m

– DSTi specialises in financial services, telecoms, utilities and Government sectors

– Kit includes three Kodak Versamark digital presses. The most recent installation was a 4/4 machine

– Main site in Bristol with another plant in Surbiton. Set to open a further site in Droitwich this year.