ION PRINT SOLUTIONS
Our News
May 26, 2010 — ION installs Alberta's first 10 colour offset press.
On May 26, ION Print Solutions began the installation of Alberta's first 10 colour perfecting (one pass, double-sided printing) offset press — the Komori Lithrone S40P Perfector. With its 15,000 sheets per hour print speed it is a truly remarkable piece of technology.
The S40P's capabilities include:
- The S40P's double-sided perfecting print quality rivals that of similar single-sided presses in its class.
- Plate changes, blanket, ink and impression cylinder cleaning is all automated — plate changes are made in less than 4 minutes.
- Improved productivity and reduced waste — job changeover time is 62% faster than other similar presses.
- Built for sustainability and protecting our environment:
- reduced paper waste
- lower energy consumption
- reduced chemical waste — 100% alcohol-free printing
- reduced solid waste
- reduced noise
March 8, 2010 — ION adds two more ACE awards to its collection.
On March 6th, Edmonton's advertising and design community came out to celebrate the best and brightest of Edmonton's creative talent at the 31st annual ACE (Advertising Club of Edmonton) Awards Gala.
ION Print Solutions came away with both this year's ACE Award and Award of Distinction for showcasing its print capability with the "2008 ACE Awards Winners Book" and ION's very own corporate brochure. This brings ION's awards count to an impressive 18 awards to date!
We would like to congratulate all the other winners. It is a testament to the creative talent we have here in Edmonton. To quote Mariko Miyagishima of Calder Bateman, "It is exciting to see companies continue to grow and be recognized with awards each year, but it is also great to see new companies come into the market with amazing work and be recognized for the first time. It really shows the talent we are fostering in Edmonton."
March 3, 2010 — ION receives a 91% satisfaction rate from its customers.
On February 17th, ION released a customer satisfaction survey out to its customer base. We are still distilling the data that we received, but with just over a 25% response rate, ION received a glowing 91% satisfaction rate from its customers.
We also very quickly realized that we needed to put on another Web-to-print webinar and Targeted Communication seminar for our customers. These will be starting this March. You can register for our Targeted Communication event by visiting our events page, please Click here. Registration for our Web-to-print webinar, will begin very soon.
We would like to thank all of you who took the time to fill-in our survey. Without your help we wouldn't be able to improve. Congratulations to Tracy Falcon of MKM for winning the iPod Touch.
December 24, 2009 — ION selected as Sole Source Print Provider to Alberta Financial Services Corporation (AFSC).
On December 24th, ION received a very special Christmas present. ION was selected as the sole print provider to AFSC.
"ION is very excited about this appointment.", said Ross McEwen. "In our strategy to AFSC, we demon started how we could help them communicate better with their customers, their regional offices, lower their operating cost, and use technology more effectively to drive higher value. They embraced ION's vision of "21st century print solutions" and we can't wait to get started. Over the next 3 years, we'll explore many options, both print related and web-based, to help them succeed.
August 4, 2009 — ION selected as Preferred Vendor for ATB Financial.
ION was selected as one of three printers in Alberta to be a Preferred Vendor of print services to ATB Financial. The selection covers the gambit of print solutions that ION offers. Everything from offset print, to static and variable digital print and wide-format. This selection is a clear indication of ION's superior capabilities in the Alberta print marketplace.
"ION is very excited about being selected as a preferred vendor", said Craig McEwen, "There are a lot of similarities between our two organizations. I'm very excited to explore with ATB all the ways we can help them maximize their returns, lower their print expenditures and reduce their carbon footprint. It's a very exciting time for both our organizations. I can't wait to start."
July 15th, 2009 — ION releases its new movie FSC 101.
What is FSC? What is it all about? These are questions that some or our customers, or prospective customers, have been asking us. We thought it was time to create a movie explaining both the above and why FSC is a key player in protecting our global environment. The movie will give you the clarity you've asking us for and explain why this is important to ION.
Click here to be redirected to our Video On-demand section, the movie is called FSC101.
July 6th, 2009 — ION launches its new customer portal — Fusion.
ION is evolving the way customers interact with their jobs. As of now, our new Fusion customer portal is ready for business.
The current Customer Upload site will be discontinued at the end of this week. Customers must now be forwarded to http://wiki.ionprintsolutions.com to use the new service. If you are not registered, you must first register to upload files. You may do so from the Fusion homepage link above.
Beginning Monday, July 13, 2009, this will be the only file transfer service running so please change any bookmarks you might have to the new address.
June 11th, 2009 — ION broadcasts its first webinar on our Web-to-print capabilities.
In answer to our promise of better communication and environmental responsibility, ION broadcasted our very first webinar on June 11th. It couldn't have been a greater success. Our viewers loved this new format for a live event and we will definitely be doing more of them in the future.
For more information on web-to-print, or just to see the webinar again, you can watch it in our "Your ION / Video On-Demand" section , click here.
If you would like more information on web-to-print, have another demo, or to begin the process of setting up your own web-to-print storefront, you can email Bernie Haug, or call him at 780-955-8778.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
April 23, 2009 — ION is powered by 100% green energy with Bullfrog Power.
As one of the most environmentally responsible and sustainable printers in western Canada, Earth Day is obviously important to us. So what are we doing? You may have noticed the new Bullfrog Powered logo on our home page. On April 23rd, to celebrate Earth Day, ION Print Solutions officially switches to 100% green energy with Bullfrog Power. Our employees and customers are entitled to receive their first month free* up to $25 from Bullfrog Power. Just visit www.bullfrogpower.com and use the following promotional code IONPRINT09 when you sign up.
Bullfrog Power™ is a leading Canadian green power provider. Bullfrog Power injects the same amount of power back into the Alberta electricity grid that ION uses for its location. Bullfrog sources power in Alberta exclusively from emissions-free sources such as wind power generators that meet or exceed the federal government’s Environmental Choice Program EcoLogo standard for renewable electricity. Bullfrog provides businesses, organizations and homes with a new way to support renewable power.
Why is being bullfrogpowered important?
Choosing green power is a practical and meaningful way for an organization to reduce its environmental impact. Electricity generation is a leading industrial source of carbon dioxide, a primary greenhouse gas linked to climate change, as well as other emissions that contribute to poor air quality. By choosing clean, renewable power, ION Print Solutions will reduce its carbon footprint, help clean up our air quality, and support the development of renewable energy.
We are putting out a challenge to all of our suppliers and customers to follow our example. If you would like to get a quote to switch your business power click here, for your home usage, sign up here. It really isn't very expensive to do the right thing. On average you will only be spending around 10-20% more on your monthly energy bill. A small price to pay to help save the world.
April 14, 2009 — ION launches its new video-on demand service to its customers.
Ever wondered what we're really talking about when we say Targeted Communication, Web-to-print, or FSC? Or what it means to be true sustainable as a company? Or maybe why it's so important today to be "green." It's because of these questions and many more that we decided to launch this service. No one has time to read anymore. Video on-demand will give you the answers you're looking for in a very short amount of time. Video On-demand will give you what you need to know to understand our new solutions set, teach you how to use some of our services, explain the business benefits to what we do, and give you environmental "the big picture" from experts around North America.
Over the next few months will be launching several other movies to further this service. Click here to learn more.
March 9, 2009 — ION starts its new "green" hardware campaign with the purchase of two new Macs.
Apple is quickly becoming one of the most environmentally conscious computer and peripheral manufacturers on the planet. It only makes sense that ION would partner with such an innovative, environmentally responsible company. As such, ION has started its migration approach to more "green" computing products with the purchase of two new Mac Pro Desktops from Apple Inc.
The new Mac Pro embodies Apple’s continuing environmental commitment. It is designed with the following features to reduce its environmental impact:
- Many harmful toxins eliminated (BFR-free, PVC-free (internal cables))
- Highly recyclable aluminum enclosure
- Meets ENERGY STAR 5.0 requirements
- Rated EPEAT Gold (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) — The highest rating EPEAT provides. EPEAT evaluates the environmental impact of a product based on how recyclable it is, how much energy it uses, and how it’s designed and manufactured.
Click here to view the entire Mac Pro Environmental Report.
March 1, 2009 — ION celebrates its first birthday!
We celebrated our first birthday today.
It takes a lot of effort and commitment from everyone within an organization to adopt a new brand. We couldn't be more proud of everyone at ION. We would like to thank all of you, our customers, for making our first year such a success.
February 28, 2009 — ION won its 13th ACE (Advertising Club of Edmonton) Award!
At the Advertising Club of Edmonton's annual gala Saturday night, ION was awarded the 2008 Craft Award for Printing, for the production of the 2008 ACE Awards Book. As usual, the evening was exciting and fun for all the attendees. ION would like to congratulate all the other winners. Once again, we presented that Edmonton is a creative, design power in western Canada. Way to go Edmonton!
February 11, 2009 — ION helps organize monthly recycling bottle drive to drive funds for Edmonton's Youth Emergency Shelter Society (YESS).
On February 11th, ION helped the Youth Emergency Shelter Society with its fundraising efforts for this year by organizing a massive bottle drive throughout the Nisku Business Park. Once a month, kids from Edmonton's YESS will collect from ION thousands of bottles and cans rescued from local Nisku businesses. We will update you with the specifics, in terms of quantity and dollar value, as soon as they become available.
"Helping to organize an event like this gave us an opportunity to give a little something back to the community with very little effort. It provided an opportunity for ION to communicate the message that all of us needs to be environmentally responsible in every facet of our lives and support the community at large.", said Craig McEwen.
January 20, 2009 — Robyn Stuart is the winner!
Robyn Stuart of niknac {a design company} was the winner of our "Going Green" survey draw. Robyn won a copy of "Cradle to Cradle" by William McDonough and Michael Braungart, in addition to a Starbuck Coffee card. Congratulations Robyn and thank you for helping ION continually improve.
January 15, 2009 — ION receives honourable mention in the Edmonton Journal for its "Going Green" event.
Dave Finlayson from the Edmonton Journal writes "It's easy being green - just be more lean, and you'll find combining the two will increase your profits." This was taken from the presentations of both Anne Vick and Ken Macro, from the day before, at our "Going Green" sustainability seminar.
"I'm seeing it in all industries, where companies such as Wal-Mart, Costco and FedEx are becoming leaner to save money," said Ms. Vick, a polar climate expert and volunteer with Al Gore's Climate Project. "They're reducing packaging, streamlining processes and finding that lean leads to being more profitable. Corporations can play a big part in slowing down the critical climate-change trend, especially through supply-chain efficiencies."
"The presentation was incredibly successful and it was gratifying to everyone at ION because it reinforced both ION's commitment to our global community and our strategic vision for print solutions", said Craig McEwen, Managing Partner.
Download a copy of the presentation (45.92 MB) »
Read more from the Edmonton Journal »
January 14, 2009 — ION reiterates its environmental commitment by inviting 3 of North America's brightest experts on sustainability to speak at "Going Green".
ION invited Anne Vick, a polar climate expert and volunteer with Al Gore's Climate Project and Professor Ken Macro of CalPoly University to speak on how companies can transform their organizations to be more green, lean, and yet still improve their bottom-line.
We spoke about the "big picture," the macro view of sustainability, global warming, carbon footprints, and related topics. We also looked at the micro view focused on graphic communication—printing, publishing, packaging, and non-print digital imaging, including Internet applications, web sites, and related media. We also spoke about forest sustainability and what being FSC certified means.
We've painted the picture and now its time to move forward and put it all into action. At ION, we are in the process of pre-auditing our internal operations with EcoMark Environmental Consulting so that we can be Ecologo Certified — the most stringent environmental certification in North America and we would be the only independent printer in Western Canada with this distinction.
We are introducing a myriad of services that align to this vision of sustainable development. You can download PDFs of our new solutions set by clicking on the links below:Targeted Communication (2.94 MB)
Web-to-print (4.48 MB)
JDF/PDF (2.60 MB)
The Future of Print (3.83 MB)
If you have any other questions or comments you can contact your ION account manager or send an email to info@ionprintsolutions.com. Thanks and have a great "green" day.
June 16, 2008 — ION Print Solutions hits the front page of the business section.
ION Print Solutions received its first media attention this month in the Edmonton Journal and Financial Post. This definitely serves as a nod to the direction ION is taking to print solutions. We're excited that people are taking notice. We're almost finished with our plans for the year and we can't wait to unveil everything that we've been talking about. With the summer being what it is — a time for rest, recharging, a time to spend with family — we're waiting until September to really get things going. Having said that, we will have some news to share in the next day or two.
Read more on the Financial Post »
July 1, 2008 — ION acquires Artisan Press Ltd.
ION completed its first acquisition since its inception a month ago. Part of growing in the 21st century means aligning yourself with companies of a similar mindset, heart, and vision. Artisan was that partner for ION. Artisan's brand exemplified the qualities that ION stood for. They wanted to offer something even better for their customers and ION wanted to extend its unique approach and solutions set to different parts of Canada. It's a great match. We can't wait to show Canada that our vision for print solutions is not limited by geography or technology.
May 18, 2008 — ION gets greener and more efficient with the addition of the Heidelberg 74 Suprasetter, multiple cassette loader, and chemistry-free plates.
Since the advent of thermal computer-to-plate (CTP) technology about 10 years ago, the industry has looked for a plate-making system that is trouble free and more sensitive to the environment. Today, print providers are witnessing the introduction of a variety of new technologies that fulfill the promise of reducing waste during the pre-press process. To this end, ION Print Solutions is pleased to announce chemistry-free plate processing with its addition of the Heidelberg 74 Suprasetter and multiple cassette loader to its digital pre-press arsenal.
Read more… [+]
May 16, 2008 — From desktop to final print production, JDF helps ION to automate, simplify and transfer accurate job information throughout the digital production workflow.
In an industry where cost and time efficiency are paramount, JDF promises to usher in a new era of workflow automation throughout the print process — from design and pre-press to production and finishing. The usage of XML means that the data can then be used for reporting purposes online and offline.
Read more… [+]
May 14, 2008 — ION Print Solutions opens its doors to Edmonton and the world, online and offline.
Today is the day that ION Print Solutions officially launched to the world with a celebration to introduce its new brand and solutions set to its customers. Craig McEwen reiterated his remarks from the March announcement and promised, “Starting today, you will begin to see changes take shape within ION. You will continue to receive the same care that you have received over the years, but it will get even better. At ION, we want you to be more than just a customer; we want you to be a partner. Every month you will see, read and hear about the changes that are taking shape at ION. In the coming months, we will demonstrate our new brand in action by announcing new capabilities, services, solutions and technologies — fulfilling our promise to our customers of providing better information, innovation and communication.
Today, we replaced our announcement website with the first iteration of our corporate site: www.ionprintsolutions.com. With fibre optics driving data to and from its backbone, the framework is set for our future services. Our customers can transfer their data to us at the speed of light through this new network using our ION|Transmission web application. In the coming months, you will see its transformation truly begin with the addition of our ION|Fusion web-to-print portal solution.
“We have positioned ourselves to be the evolution of print solutions in Edmonton, and I look forward to sharing the journey with you,” Mr. McEwen added.
Please click here to view some of the photos from the festivities.
What's Hot at ION?
Celebrate Alberta's 1st 10 Colour Press and support the Alberta Cancer Foundation — You're invited... August 18th.
7:30 - 10:30 am.
Video On-Demand
We know your time is short. This service will help you learn about ION and what we can do for you in a very short amount of time.
You can learn about Targeted Communication, Web-to-print, and why ION is commited to saving the world one press-sheet at a time.
News
- July 19, 2010 — Join us for ION's Summer Celebration - August 18th!
- July 19, 2010 — ION launches its Summer Spectacular Promotion!
- May 26, 2010 — ION installs Alberta's first 10 colour offset press!
- Mar. 8, 2010 — ION wins two more ACE Awards for 2009.
- Mar. 3, 2010 — ION receives a 91% satisfaction rating from its customers.