A direct mail marketing firm quickly expands from a founder’s home to 60,000 sq. ft. with the help of a trusted technology partner.
Bigeye Direct Inc. is a Sterling, Virginia–based direct mail marketing, data processing, personalization, and printing service company that serves nonprofits, associations, Fortune 500s, financial institutions, insurance agencies, and healthcare companies
Today, the company operates in a 60,000 sq. ft. facility and produces about a million pieces of mail a day with almost 100 employees.
Although the company has invested considerable effort into streamlining their workflow, warehouse, and inventory management system, there is no substitute for having the right equipment to maximize production, says CEO Damon Smith.
“We are working on 20 to 25 different jobs a day, so we need to have the right machines for the right jobs,” says Smith.
A critical factor in sustaining this success is its collaboration with robust technology partners like MCS Inc, a company that designs, manufactures, sells, and supports industrial inkjet imaging, tracking, and inserting systems and solutions for the mail manufacturing industry.
With thousands of systems installed in the mailing and marketing industries across the world, MCS equipment has been used for mission-critical mailings, including vote-by-mail for government agencies.
According to Smith, Bigeye now has seven standalone inkjet lines for postcards and self-mailers, including the MCS Condor, a high-speed, full-color inkjet printer for inline envelope and mail piece personalization.
Bigeye also has 20 inserters, eight of which are FlowMasters with read-and-print capability. FlowMasters are a family of high-speed mail inserting systems created for large-scale direct mail operations. Designed to enhance productivity, accuracy, and flexibility, these systems integrate advanced feeding and control technologies.
“We’ve added extra equipment [onto the FlowMasters] such as inkjets, stampers, and meters to make us more efficient,” says Smith. This includes up to three cameras, which enable various combinations of reading and printing for processing match mailings.
In addition, Bigeye utilizes the MailStream Direct, an ultra-high-speed inserter platform, optimized by MCS, tailored specifically for high-volume direct mail production.
The MailStream Direct is a high-performance mail inserter system manufactured by BlueCrest, formerly known as Pitney Bowes. The equipment is engineered to support demanding direct mail operations that require exceptional speed, precision, and flexibility. Designed to handle complex mailing applications, it is capable of processing up to 22,000 to 26,000 pieces per hour.
The system features advanced material handling technologies, including friction and rotary feeders, which enable it to work effectively with a variety of media types such as glossy inserts, folded documents, and booklets.
To ensure quality and accuracy during operation, the MailStream Direct includes integrated safeguards such as electronic double-feed detection, multiple divert bins, and optional camera-based tracking and matching capabilities. It also incorporates labor-saving features like front-loading envelope hoppers, vertical stacking conveyors, and automated setup processes, which reduce operator workload and enhance overall efficiency.
Optional modules such as inline inkjet envelope printing and real-time envelope matching further support sophisticated personalization needs.
“With the MailStream Direct [with read and print technology], we’re inserting at speeds of 26,000 an hour. This involves a two-way match, stamping, and canceling capability. Tracking is perfect all the way through with accountability on every single piece of mail,” says Smith.
Bigeye continues to invest in technology. Its most recent purchase is the MCS TK500 Web Inkjet Printing System, which is built for high-speed continuous roll-to-roll web printing with inline duplex functionality, high-resolution output, and imaging that costs up to 75% less than toner systems. The system is designed to handle letters, labels, barcodes, and self-mailers on a wide range of substrates. Since that time, Bigeye has already added a second machine.
For a video highlighting Bigeye’s story, visit https://mcspro.com/mcs-video/bigeye-success-story. For more information on Bigeye, visit www.bigeyedirect.com. For more information on MCS, visit https://mcspro.com.