Sydney printer Marsh Media expects to increase turnover by at least $500,000 after setting up a web-to-print portal for a major salon supplier chain.
The company won a contract to provide print services for Goldwell Australia, which has more than 1400 outlets around the country and will order via a MyPrintCloud-based corporate print store.
The portal has more than 175 editable templates and allows individual Goldwell outlets to order and pay for printing online. Marsh Media also pocketed $25,000 for setting it up.
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Marsh Media owner Glen Marsh says about 100 outlets that have signed on since it went live two weeks ago and he expects at least 300 will sign up by the end of the year.
He says even if those salons only order once every two to three months it would add $500,000 to his turnover, which currently sits at $1.8m.
Marsh says a previous web-to-print setup for Toni & Guy netted $400,000 a year in orders from only 32 salons, so the potential for this new deal is ‘huge’.
He says his company switched to MyPrintCloud, after seven years of using another web-to-print platform, when it needed business-to-customer functionality and other features its old system lacked when setting up the Goldwell portal.
Marsh Media is now offering its design savvy to other printers that want to set up similar MyPrintCloud-based web-to-print systems, and has hired an extra designer to grow that aspect of the business.
“It took us about 350 hours to make the Goldwell site and about 200 hours for our own. We think we can get it down to 100 hours with that experience behind us,” Marsh says.
“Spending 200 hours making a web-to-print system is a big ask for a small printer because time is money.”
Marsh says his company charges about $40 an hour to build a customised platform based on its own that will integrate with MIS systems to streamline print operations. Some 10 printers have signed up so far.
“It would be great for any printer from small signage to medium offset to any digital operation,” he says.
Marsh Media has also partnered with MyPrintCloud to provide level one support and training for new users, to complement MyPrintCloud's own direct support services.
Mash acknowledges that setting up systems for other printers could make them better competitors, but says offering a diverse range of services is necessary in today’s industry.
“If you don’t diversify you’re dead. Trade printers are moving into digital so the only point of difference you have left is fast turnaround,” he says.
“That means it’s essential that we have a broad range of offerings, not just printing.”
Marsh says the printers he is installing the portals for are not his main competition anyway and that the established relationship could lead to trade partnerships as he has full-service offerings in offset, digital and wide format not everyone has.
“We mainly quote against franchises print shops and we don’t ever try to compete with the big trade printers,” he says.
Marsh hopes the infusion of new revenue will allow for new investment in the company. He bought a new Digifold Pro late last year and now does about 100 jobs a week.
He is also looking at buying a new booklet maker and flatbed printer, with a new Nextpress and extra shift not too far off being financially justified.
“The best thing about the web-to-print system, besides the efficiencies from streamlining, is that because most of our customers will eventually pay up front we don’t have to chase the money anymore. Makes life easier,” he says.
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