THIS IS A PROMOTIONAL ARTICLE PAID FOR BY HERO PRINT

As the print industry evolves trade printing is becoming an increasingly significant weapon in the armoury of all print business. In fact a recent ProPrint poll showed that more printers would use trade printers rather than buy a new or used press to handle their growth.

The reason for the upsurge in the use of trade printing is partly down to the shifting fundamentals of print businesses – money is harder to come by, margins are tighter, customer loyalty is diminishing – and partly down to the emergence of a new generation of trade printers who can provide the service and quality for today’s market demands, and none exemplify this new generation better than Hero Print.

Hero origins

Hero Print began life as an offshoot of Printforce, a print company with dedicated expertise in the real estate industry. Originating in Perth 25 years ago, Printforce was the first company in Australia to really embrace ganged up printing. The company says 1989 was a watershed year because it seemed everyone in business bought a fax machine virtually overnight.

“For us it all started with the fax,” says Greg Coulson, co-founder of Printforce. “Before then the only economical way to communicate visually from one city to another was by mail or courier. We could now typeset and proofread artwork, print and back-freight by air out of Perth overnight. At the apex of printing out of Perth, we sent by air 22 tonnes in a night.”

Hero Print started in 1996 on the back of the success of Printforce, and in 2000 a new factory was opened in Mascot, NSW which was to become the Hero offset production hub for the east coast. As Sydney is located centrally to Melbourne and Brisbane the idea was that heavier print could be despatched by road overnight. The idea has worked like a charm and now 75 per cent of the national production is out of Sydney.

Outgrowing that site after just five years Hero moved to its present location in Alexandria in 2005. Greg’s son, Alex, is based in Sydney and has been running Hero Print for the past eight years. The Perth hub is mainly used for business card production and local digital print. A further digital plant is in Melbourne and an alliance is held with a Brisbane digital printer.

Hero Print claims to have the biggest trade print plant in the harbour city. A feature of both the old Mascot site and the new Alexandria plant is that both sites were chosen for their proximity to the airport with both being less than 4km away.

Alex Coulson says, “We are a major user of air freight and it was originally air freight that made our business. With the increase in digital work and short run offset, good communication with major freight companies is essential for next day or same day delivery. Funnily enough they are all based around the airport. It’s a win/ win. The systems we have in place with courier and freight companies allow late daily despatch deadlines.”

Hero Print’s reputation is based on the quality of work it produces. Coulson says, “As a trade printer we are always printing for keen-eyed designers and printers. When it comes to quality we must be fussy. No print leaves the factory that we would not be happy with ourselves. We are quick, but speed has not been achieved at the expense of quality. Our customers – printers and designers from the length and breadth of the country – depend on us for quality work, and we are at pains not to disappoint them. Stuff up in this game and you soon hear about it.”

An area that Hero Print is passionate about is the coating of stocks. In fact all coated stocks are re-coated or varnished during printing – it is a point of difference. “Our clients expect aqueous or varnish which give our jobs an extra level of quality and has been a major winner for us”.

So who are Hero Print clients?

Hero Print’s customer base is drawn from design studios and the nation’s smaller printers. Hero’s account managers have strong interaction with most of their clients, with emphasis placed on establishing verbal relationships. Even though their website is very easy to use,

each client is assigned an account manager to take care of their jobs. They like to think their strengths are quality, fast turnaround times and relationships. Most of the account managers have been with Hero for many years, so are well versed with total print production.

All printing presses and proofers are calibrated monthly so as to provide consistent colour reproduction. In the last few years printing press technology has improved immensely, with make readies taking just a few minutes, saving time and money.

Production power

Press power at Hero Print is substantial, and comes from a ten-colour Komori Lithrone S40P perfector, a new five-colour Komori Lithrone G40a+C, a five colour Lithrone G29+C, and a four-colour Komori Lithrone S29.

Coulson says the Komoris are ‘terrific’ and produce to the level required as a standard. He says, “Hero Print is focused on meeting demand, wherever and whenever it comes, at the quality level that the most demanding of customers expect. Our investment in new press technology is enabling us to deliver on our promise.”

The finishing department has a Wohlenberg perfect binder, an Osako saddle stitcher, a battery of Stahl folders and a JetPress envelope press.

Prepress equipment is mostly Screen (five stars says Coulson) using Fuji plates in both Sydney and Perth.

Trade digital

Hero has also entered the digital world, again in trade printing, with a Kodak NexPress in Sydney replicating the one in Perth. It was installed last year as the company recognised the need for a digital trade service. Coulson says, “The Kodak NexPress 3900 has a long sheet feeder, which means we can print a six page A4 sheet, and this has gone down really well. The long sheet feeder gives tremendous flexibility, and has been massive for us.” Coulson describes the NexPress as ‘bulletproof’ and says it does not go down, however just in case the company has a duplicate NexPress installed in its Perth hub.

Innovation

Innovation and looking outside the box is part of the Hero Print strategy, and this is seen in several ways, for instance as part of its trade package for magazine printing the company will put each magazine online with its i-magazine structure.

Coulson says, “The i-magazine comes with the printed version, which means our printer customers can onsell the online magazine to their customers. Our aim is to ensure our clients have the means to create a good margin, whether through producing high quality print, or by offering upselling opportunities such as the i-magazine. We are here to take the headache out of production, but more than that to offer real business growth to our customers”.

Coulson encourages all clients to come into the Hero Print plant, so they ‘can see our setup for themselves’. The company runs a simple organisation, with half a dozen managers from sales, prepress, production, bindery, quality control, and despatch.

Longevity of staff is a clue to the family values at Hero, with the managers having worked for an average of more than ten years in the business. Coulson says, “Our staff are absolutely key, we value them, we encourage two way communication, and strong relationships. We want people to want to work here and help drive the business forwards, and that is the culture we have.”

Hero Print is continuing its growth trend, so far this year every month has broken the record year/year for sales and production, an impressive achievement in an industry struggling to grow overall.

Print is an industry in transformation, where the role of the trade printer will assume greater importance, because it is a low risk low cost way for general printers to grow their business. That is of course all on the proviso that the trade printer can deliver a quality product at a price and within an agreed time. This way is the Hero Print way.

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