Dashing Print has boosted sales 30 per cent in the past three months after installing five new HP digital printers following last year’s acquisition of On Demand.

The Sydney wide format firm in January installed two HP Indigos, supplied by Currie Group, two HP Latex 3000s, and a HP Scitex FB10000 flatbed printer, and moved to a new production house in Sydney’s lower North Shore.

Chief executive Mike Palmer says the On Demand acquisition prompted the relocation and opened an opportunity to expand its wide format capabilities.

“We believe this investment is paying off as we have increased our revenue by 30 per cent since January,” he says. Dashing’s staff numbers grew from 40 to 85 when it bought On Demand and now stand at almost 100.

“Our margins are very strong. There are a lot of printers who have failed in the last two or three years but this business is very strong financially and we want to keep it that way. At the end of the day that is what we are in business for, to make money.”

[Related: More printers installing new kit]

Palmer says while some growth can be attributed to new clients from On Demand and elsewhere, most of the revenue rise is from supplying existing clients with new products.

He The company says the new suite of printers has more than quadrupled Dashing’s output, allowing it to take on a variety of wide format jobs that had previously been outsourced.

Palmer says the business can now offer clients retail point-of-sale items, such as posters and floor graphics, as well as exhibition and display items including pull-up banners and window displays.

He says while Dashing is enjoying the growth in revenue, the company is already looking to further expand the business and venture into outdoor and packaging, which the new equipment lends itself to.

“We have just moved in here, so for the moment we will concentrate on what we have and develop the business, but we have already got some ideas in the pipeline to expand the business by 50 per cent in the next 18 months,” he says.

“Print is a big industry and that will always be so. Retail is installing some digital screens instead of posters, that is certainly happening, but print still remains an enormous industry.

“For us it is about developing the relationships that will last long term, which will ensure we maintain our healthy growth.

“A lot of the small printing companies are dying and the bigger ones are taking over and providing the whole end-to-end service, which clients appreciate.”

Palmer says Dashing does not rely on one sector, because if that sector goes down then the printer will go with it.

“We have thousands of clients, but our top 100 provide us with most of our work. Having said that, only one client gives us six per cent of our work, so if they do go down we have several others that will ensure we maintain our strength,” he says.

[Related: More mergers and acquisitions]

While Palmer says the new investments make it a stronger printer with rare capabilities, it will only work directly with clients and will not become a trade printer.

“That would mean that we don’t get the full price, as printers take a cut and the broker takes his cut. We want to deal with clients directly and develop partnerships for long term,” he says.

“Sure we are not cheap, but we provide customised services that allow us to ask for higher rates as we offer high quality end-to-end services.

“Our clients are multisided businesses such as retail-chains and fashion businesses, and our speciality is the range of products we can produce, others can do a specific element of what we can do here, but I don’t think there is anyone else in Sydney that can provide the range that we offer.

“This allows us to control the market; also there is a definite trend with the larger clients, who only want a limited number of suppliers because it simplifies things, which has been a big selling point for us as well,” he says.

The Sydney On Demand is in no way related to the Melbourne On Demand, which collapsed in October and was bought by Ability Press.

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