Successful print company

Our client is a successful commercial printing company with both litho and digital facilities. They have been in the business for nearly 30 years and employ 50 staff, 60% of whom have been with the company for over 10 years.

The company
A reputation for quality and a commitment to excellence has allowed them to grow to become a leading player in their sector. The business runs 24 hours a day, five days a week, and all workflow processes are designed to ensure quality and accountability at all stages of the print project. Loyal clients and regular repeat business has allowed them to grow their turnover to over £5 million.  Their press manager explains how Balreed are a key partner.

The problem
“About four years ago, because of increasing customer demand, we realised that we couldn’t afford to ignore the digital short run market. We started researching our options and after about six months purchased a digital copier which, in hindsight, fitted our budget better than our business requirement. As digital virgins, we lacked confidence that we could make the equipment pay for itself. So, we went for the cheapest option – as a way to dip our toe in the water - instead of the one best suited to our needs.”

“Not long after the digital copier was supplied, we realised that it wasn’t quite the production machine we needed. There were two main problems: the sales team saw the device as a photocopier and didn’t trust the output quality; and the clients weren’t totally happy with the quality of the short runs being produced. There was one plus point, however. We began to gain insight into how short run work could be priced. Not only did it seem to give greater flexibility, but it became clear that digital profit margins exceed that of offset work. “We were faced with a problem. We had entered into a three year lease agreement and were suffering the inadequacies of the equipment.”

The solution
“Half way through the lease agreement, I attended an exhibition hosted by Balreed and was very impressed with the Konica Minolta equipment. The print quality was superb and, even more remarkable, was that the quality was maintained across a wide range of substrates. It was clear that major advancements had been made in digital printing technology and that short run devices were becoming much better propositions. I had to put my enthusiasm on the back burner though, because I was locked into an agreement and had to see it through.

“However, shortly after the exhibition, the sales consultant put together a proposal taking our existing contract into consideration and showed that he could provide us with a significantly improved product at the same price.”

“I was now very interested, but I had to convince the Managing Director and the Sales Director that this was the right way forward. It wasn’t an easy task because they have both been in the industry for a long time and are very litho-orientated, added to which our first purchase had been far from successful.

“One evening, a prestigious opportunity placed a short run digital job with our company and the press failed to output an acceptable level of quality. This was the final straw and the Managing Director acted swiftly. We called Balreed and they agreed to supply the equipment immediately.“

The installation
“The installation went very smoothly and we were up and running within a few hours. The directors were among the first to praise the quality and level of output and, the growth of our short run work is testament to the dexterity and performance levels of the device.

“Our sales consultant was insistent that we always calibrate before each sizeable job. This practice has paid off in spades as it means that when clients want reruns of the same jobs some months later, we have complete confidence that the quality and colour replication are a perfect match. The Konica Minolta has been with us over a year now and it continues to add value to our business. Balreed and I have a very close working relationship. I call my account manager whenever I need something and he always jumps on it immediately. One example of how Balreed put their customers first was clearly indicated when the volumes we were doing increased so rapidly that we were diminishing our toner stock too quickly. We got close to running out on a few occasions. A quick call to Balreed and the next thing we knew we had been approved to take double the normal stocking quantities.“