It is not every day that a printer gets excited about losing a client but Tasmania’s Print Domain expects to boost sales and profits from bigger jobs after its newspaper owner decided to outsource its production.

Circular Head Chronicle – which covers northwest Tasmania – owns the small printer, which has been printing the weekly paper as well as some commercial work. Michael Gates, Print Domain general manager, says the company will now focus on growing its commercial operation, hoping its improved flexibility will pay off and help the bottom line. Gates says, “Printing the Chronicle ties up three or four hours on a Wednesday, plus finishing and booklets, which is a valuable day in our production schedule when we are printing bigger jobs. “Big jobs ordered on a Tuesday usually could not be started until Thursday, and everyone wants their printing done quick these days.” He says losing that big chunk of newspaper printing will ensure Print Domain competes for big jobs and produce small, on-demand work more reliably and flexibly. The main Smithson facility runs on a Shinohara 520 five-colour sheetfed press, two other monochrome Shinohara presses, and a range of finishing kit, with a Konica bizhub 1070 press at a smaller factory in Burnie. The company produces books, flyers, brochures, cards, and other general commercial work. Book runs of less than 400 are printed on the digital machine, Gates says. Print Domain also prints wide format such as photo-quality posters and pull-up banners with an Epson 9900 printer in Burnie and a Heidelberg flatbed in Smithson.

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