Mike Lincoln, General Manager

Colorado's Integrated Document Solutions (IDS) has taken address cleansing to new heights by implementing an Address Quality Program that has dramatically reduced undeliverable mail and the associated costs. "We have taken the concept of address hygiene and morphed it into a tool to make government better at managing print and mail," explains Mike Lincoln, IDS manager for the Department of Personnel and Administration for the state of Colorado."

"We were able to save $88,000 for a customer..."

Valerie Martinez,  Mail Equipment Operator

"We use Anchor's NCOA-Link Software for address hygiene," Lincoln explains. "It's the way IDS has implemented the program that is unique. Most commercial mailers use these systems to ensure continued USPS discounts. We are using this not only to maintain our USPS discounts, but to drive down upfront print, labor and postage costs. For example, by not printing for addresses that are undeliverable, we were able to save $88,000 for a customer just in the first year."

First State Government Recognized as an NCOA Vendor

The idea for the address hygiene program, which took three years to implement, was conceived at the National Postal Forum four years ago. Thanks to the perseverance and tenacity of this in-plant, which manages more than 30 million pieces of mail annually, Colorado became the first state government to be recognized as an NCOA vendor by the United States Postal Service.

Steve Wilkerson, Print Shop Mgr.; Mike Lincoln, General Mgr.; Mike St. Peter, Asst. General Mgr.

Lincoln is proud of the way his team of 30 print and mail professionals has successfully implemented this program. "We are ahead of the curve, plus we are making government better and more efficient."

Delivering More than $400,000 in Savings for Denver

Leo Franco, Shift Lead & Pete Vigil, Pressman

Address cleansing is just one of many changes IDS has made. In January 2011 the city and county of Denver made the wise move to partner with the state of Colorado to provide print and mail services. "By adding their volume to the state's, we were able to keep state costs down and provide a cost effective resource," he explains.

Originally the city of Denver was going to outsource the work.  While reaching out to the state for help in developing the RFP, Denver soon realized it could save more than $400,000 in the first year by using IDS. "As of today we expect that number to exceed half a million dollars. By forming this partnership both sides have become better and more efficient while saving the taxpayers money in a difficult economy." IDS continues to attract political subdivisions as customers. "We have recently bridged the gap between the Secretary of State's office and counties of Colorado to reduce costs in voter registration print and mail." His shop is currently embarking on offering statewide managed print services.

By streamlining the in-house operation itself, they have reaped additional savings. "By following the industry's trend to merge Print and Mail under one roof, we found an abundance of efficiencies which allow increased through-put without having to add more staff as volumes increase."

Design Services Recognized Regionally and Internationally

Warren Villalovos & Johnna Torres,  Digital Press Operators

Demand for digital print services continues to grow as customers show an increased interest in direct mail, shorter run lengths, and quicker turn times. IDS has recently moved into the realm of variable data printing. "By moving several print jobs from the State's mainframe into a more traditional variable data print process, a new level of efficiency has been uncovered." Another huge drawing card for customers is the shop's award-winning design staff. "They have been recognized both regionally as well as internationally for their design expertise winning awards from PIA, Davey and Communicator just to name a few," he proudly notes.

Increasing Security for Sensitive Data and Mail

For many of the agencies, they have also ventured into secure document storage. "We store documents until an agency has a need to pull hard copy files," Lincoln explains. "With our integration of inter-agency mail, it is very easy for IDS to pull and deliver documents to agencies on-demand. We provide increased security for sensitive data such as warrants for the state that requires both specialized equipment and highly secured print room and server environments." By insourcing this type of service IDS has added a level of control that is not available with an outsourcer.

Security measures have also increased for incoming mail. "We have implemented detection equipment from Smith Detection augmenting our x-ray scanning. We check for a variety of biological and chemical agents increasing security for all the top levels of Colorado state government."

Pete Vigil, Pressman

Recent equipment upgrades include a Xerox color press 1000 to the existing equipment which includes a Nuvera 288, two Nuvera 144s, two Nuvera MICR 120s, and a PressTek 9995. On the mail side they have added a Pitney Bowes Flow Master mail inserter and Olympus sorter.

Lincoln, who for the past 30 years has worked both in the commercial and in-plant arena explains, "The information I learned from the commercial side, coupled with what I knew from years of experience in the school district's in-plant, provided a sound foundation to move the state's in-plant into a promising future."

View Lincoln's Service Philosophy

"We view our role in state government as a full service provider, looking at our customers' requirements on a global scale and making recommendations that will meet the needs of the project, maintain efficiencies and increase value."