I'm thinking it was 2006 when I first met Dave.
Dave had this really cool setup for printing color envelopes on one of the first Oki color A3 laser print engines. At that time, Dave definitely had one printer running and, if I remember correctly, had a few more ready as backups.
Back in 2006, it was quite uncommon to see a color laser printer that could feed envelopes without wrinkling them. This could also have been because I only carried the Ricoh brand, and they were not so good at feeding envelopes back then.
I'm a hardware junkie—show me a print device that prints something new, and my mind starts to spin out of control. I knew I needed to learn more about the process and thought that, at some point in the future, I might have a print device I could sell to Dave.
Each year thereafter, for the next thirteen years, I would visit Dave at least once or twice a year. I was really thankful when he moved his business closer to where I lived.
Over that time frame, I gleaned a lot of information from Dave about ink-based printers that could run envelopes. In recent years, the print engines Dave used leaned more towards ink printers with the Memjet Waterfall print head. Occasionally, he would also have a few HP ink-based printers with PageWide Technology. To me, Dave was the guru of envelope printing; he had so much knowledge that manufacturers actually sent him print devices to evaluate.
From time to time, Dave allowed me to demonstrate a couple of ink print devices. Alas, I never had a product that could meet all his needs with low ink cost, quality, and speed. I usually had one or the other but never the complete package. Since I knew many print shops in my territory, I was more than happy to tell him about those DMs. From time to time, I was able to throw some leads his way.
Over those thirteen years, Dave and I never did any business. To tell you the truth, that was probably a good thing since you never know how some print devices will perform. Usually, when they don't perform, the relationship can sour. But I enjoyed stopping and talking shop with Dave. I would comment on new technology, and he would give me the lowdown on some of the really neat print devices he had. His knowledge helped me with other clients who were in the market for color envelope presses.
I think it was about 18 months ago that Dave told me he was going to sell the business and move out of state. He had his reasons, and they were legit, but I'm not going to mention them here. Still, I stopped in from time to time to see how he was and where he was at with his plans.
Dave emailed me over the weekend and said he would like to take me to lunch sometime this week. I agreed, and we had lunch today. We had a great chat about my newly found brother, and Dave told me that he has two adopted children (that's awesome). I then asked how he was doing with the sale of the business. Dave stated that these were the last few days, he had sold all of his equipment, and would be moving in the next few weeks.
We had a great time at lunch, and it was probably one of the first times we didn’t talk shop. We developed a great relationship and respect for each other over the years. On the way out, Dave handed me an envelope. Inside was an awesome thank you card for all the time we spent together.
I know that Dave reads my blogs, and I’m hoping he reads this one. I will miss our technology chats, our talks about our families, and the time we spent together.
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