National trade printer CMYKhub has launched its Design Desk solution, a subscription prepress and graphic design service exclusively for the print trade of Australia.
The solution allows businesses to create an order by selecting the print product that they wish to design, then brief the Design Desk team by using the supplied form and providing the relevant files required to produce the artwork.
Once the proof is approved, a print-ready PDF will be available for download.
CMYKhub national communications manager Glen Francis told Sprinter that Design Desk provides a sustainable and profitable solution to quality graphic design and prepress.
“When you break it down, the cost is under $10 an hour. Whilst the cost is a huge benefit, the convenience of having an entire creative and prepress team at the click of a mouse is the true value,” he said.
“The user-friendly platform means that anyone in the print business can brief and collaborate with the Design Desk team. The process is quick and easy, which frees up print business owners, estimators, production managers and customer service staff to focus on their clients and win more orders.
“We also see businesses with graphic design staff utilising Design Desk as a resource to cope for overflow work or time consuming tasks like illustration, logo re-drawing or typesetting. This allows graphic designers the freedom to generate ideas and almost act as a creative director for their Design Desk orders.”
According to Francis, CMYKhub launched the solution as over the past decade, the business noticed an increased hindrance for its trade partners in getting ink on stock.
“We have a fairly good overview of industry trends and difficulties our resellers face. We commonly have over 100 orders stuck on ‘Artwork Pending’ at any one time; these all require phone or email follow-up and common responses include “My graphic designer isn’t back in the office until next week”, or “That was the only artwork my client provided me”. So, for both CMYKhub and our trade partners, Design Desk ensures print ready artwork that passes our preflight, hits our press and dispatched quickly and seamlessly,” he said.
The solution is targeted at commercial printers, print managers, sign writers, advertising and marketing agencies, promotional product retailers, mail houses, photographers and graphic designers.
Francis added that while there is a significant cost benefit to subscribing to Design Desk, Australian printers and designers should see this as an opportunity to use the platform to exceed client expectations and do more for less money and less time.
“For many Australian businesses dealing with the fallout of COVID-19, a full time graphic designer or prepress operator would be considered a luxury. Design Desk provides access to qualified designers and prepress staff trained by CMYKhub, five days a week, 11 hours a day. It is a reliable resource that will fill that gap between winning the order and getting it into production,” he mentioned.
The solution is offered in four different subscription tiers – beginner (costing $199 a month), standard ($399 per month), professional ($1199 a month) and print ready ($499 a month) – and all with varying terms.
The beginner subscription is suitable for those occasional printers or those that need redundancy for when their designer is unavailable. The standard would be sufficient for most medium sized businesses who need the basics created and press-readied.
The professional subscription should be considered if print is a core business and businesses need to provide a comprehensive design and prepress solution to exceed client expectations. The Print Ready option is for those who have no problem acquiring artwork, but just require quick assistance with prepress tasks like adding bleed, dielines, re-sizing or imposition.
“Providing four levels of subscription provides affordable options for various business sectors and sizes. Most trade partners subscribe monthly, so adjusting [between the subscription tiers] for scalability to handle fluctuations with work seasonal volume or staff resourcing is easy,” Francis said.
“We have always seen ourselves as a trade manufacturing partner with the objective of enhancing our trade partners print capabilities via a broader product range with fast turnaround Australia wide without requiring equipment investment. We invest for our resellers.
“We have seen other services in the digital product and creative space that will expand our trade support further. We will invest in digital products and service to constantly enhance the capabilities of our reseller network and help them keep putting ink on stock.”
CMYKhub is currently offering the first month free to trial Design Desk with the Beginner or Standard subscription. To find out more visit https://preview.designdesk.com.au/
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