Sydney printer Carbon8 has opened a strong new market in direct mail and invitations – only three months after installing its first laser printer.
The innovative digital company says it has grown this part of the business five times over since plugging in the Intec ColorSplash CS5000, supplied by Onyx, as it is better able to handle short-run work in a smaller size.
Director Kenneth Beck says Carbon8 clients have been asking for smaller invitation and mail companion pieces for some time and while a small amount has been outsourced it was not a market they have focused on until recently
“When somebody requested work requiring a laser printer we always said no, we do not print laser, we print with ink, and we were not particularly confident outsourcing it, in case it was not delivered to us in time,” he says.
“Now we are finding that we have enough of this work to bring a machine inhouse, work that the Indigo is probably over-engineered for. Clients kept asking for it, so finally we decided to plunge into the market.”
[Related: More digital news]
Beck says the company has resisted buying a laser printer because the machines on the market were not fast enough or had issues with quality, but when distributor Onyx Solutions offered a one month trial they decided it was worth a look.
“It is hard to assess quality and reliability before you own a machine. We have been reluctant in the past to commit to one,” he says.
"Onyx was willing to offer it to us on a try before you buy basis, which gave us an opportunity to confirm that it was what they promised for a month.
“I don’t think we would have taken a risk on a smaller machine like this on just the promise of a salesperson.”
Three months on from its November installation Beck says the ColorSplash is taking on ‘trickier’ work involving heavy papers and envelopes on a smaller scale than an Indigo can handle.
“We are really happy with it. I think we are easily producing five times as much in a couple of months than we were outsourcing,” he says.
“Previously we would not have even suggested this kind of work to our customers, I don’t think we really thought of it as a revenue stream, we were focused on our core business.
“We are pretty diverse already in the kinds of work we do, but this is an example of the right way to diversify. It adds to our existing offering and has been an immediate success.”
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter