Boos says, “The Adelaide marketplace is very localised with a small number of suppliers in the top end of the market and a large number of suppliers in the copy shop end. Where there is room for growth is in the medium to large area between quick print and full service.

“Our research shows that the future of printing is not necessarily in the top-end of the market. Providing quick turnover with quality in the A3 market is definitely an area of future growth.”

Established 35 years ago, Boos purchased Adelaide Image Printing a decade ago. Today, the company employs 12 permanent staff, including a design and sales team and a finishing department, and produces general commercial printing and short-run work for government, along with local and interstate corporate clients.

Recognising that an equipment upgrade was necessary to enable it to not only remain competitive, but gain greater market share, the company installed the pre-owned Heidelberg SM52-2 to replace earlier model Heidelberg equipment.

According to Boos, the gains in productivity have been immediate allowing the company “to achieve budget in less time, which in turn enables us to take on additional work”.

One of the main contributors to time saving has been the make-ready speed of the SM52-2.

“Make-ready times can break a lot of printers in the A3 market, particularly with four colour short runs,” says Boos. “Heidelberg’s SM52-2 is unbelievably quick in make-ready times. Our make-readys are now seven minutes as opposed to thirty.”

Boos also comments on the flexibility of the SM52-2, producing both short-run work very quickly and longer passes of 10,000 pieces in less than an hour.

“Previously we were working very long hours to achieve the same result,” he says. “Market leading plant and equipment such as the Heidelberg SM52-2 means short-run work becomes a lot more cost-effective.”

As a long-term Heidelberg house, Boos was pleased with the Heidelberg approach to business, commenting that Heidelberg worked with him to show him how his desired business improvements could be achieved with Heidelberg equipment.

“I believe in that personal touch for success in business, and that means legwork and a face-to-face approach with customers,” Boos concludes. “You still have to adopt a hands-on approach, as Heidelberg has, to achieve the best results. That’s business.”

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