Direct Marketing after all, the devil is in the details
Whether you’ve been a loyal customer for years or are new to the game (or even if you’re the competition here to check out our new blog), you probably have the same questions: what’s so great about SSI? How have we managed to build a tiny castle of quality plastic cards supported by loyal customers, how we have aged so gracefully since our start in 1969? Well, let’s see…
The humble beginnings
Ron Goade started SSI Technologies in 1969 with the development of a high-usage card that could withstand Hollerith punch systems for IBM. Since then, other notable clients have been at the doorstep, including: Central State University (now University of Central Oklahoma), AT&T, Blockbuster, and several international countries like Russia, Mexico, and South Africa.
While determination certainly attributed to lasting the last forty-six years, it takes a bit more than that. Industry-changing developments have started here, like the security stripe “black bar” that allows only an infrared scan, or the Teslin based plastic card. Beyond innovation, though, where do we stand?
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Quality over quantity (although we can do quantity, too)
By using Teslin over PVC to make cards, they are guaranteed against breakage for up to ten years, whereas PVC doesn’t. By employing the Heidelberg Speedmaster CD74 Six Color Offset press, cards can be printed up to 15,000 sheets per hour with five colors and aqueous coating because slow and steady may win the proverbial race, but we understand you have a job to do.
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It isn’t all about us.
In addition to top quality and high speed, it’s about being world-conscious. Helping one million Mexicans in Baja, Mexico vote by using our Teslin based ID credentials in 1990 was the kind of good feelings we live by. Since then, we’ve also produced the same credentials for Russia, South Africa, Croatia, Latvia and Australia. To help you breath easier, we also developed Teslin based cards in 1984: while they have the same look of PVC cards, they don’t contain the toxic chemicals that contribute to major health hazards upon waste.
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Keeping it local
Keeping it local has always been important to us. Although our customers come from all over, we’ve been in the Oklahoma City metro area since our beginnings. Aside from boosting the economy and producing jobs by expanding our facilities, we like to stay close to our OKC metro roots (after all, the Thunder plays just down the street).
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Practice makes perfect.
In our forty-sixth year of practicing, we like to think perfection is close. In 1995, Blockbuster enlisted us to help them introduce the first electronic gift cards. Our gift cards can be customized in a varying number of ways and are Teslin based, durable, and won’t lose aesthetics. They’ve also been one of our biggest sellers since we started. Since then, we’ve also introduced the Acclaim laminated postcard: with a high-gloss finish and detachable cards, they have certainly put a pretty new face on direct mail. Who knows what the next forty-six years will look like?
If you’re still curious about high-quality postcards, the gift cards that are changing the game, or just to see about getting some cards printed of your own, schedule a call today!