Former print tycoon Bob McMillan has lashed out at printers who invest in new machines, saying they are not thinking of their future or profitability. Speaking with Australian Printer, Bob McMillan says printers are too focused on spending a lot of money on new presses, when their focus should be on profit and acquisitions to grow their company. He says, “Printers get mesmerised by new Heidelberg printers and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on new equipment.
“I don’t get mesmerised by new printers, I get mesmerised by profits.” He says printers should be savvier, like him, and think big. McMillan says, “You can make a lot of money out of the printing industry if you own all your equipment, land and shop. “It is not about spending large amounts of money on buying things that you don’t need.” He says printers need to look for alternatives rather than investing in a new kit. “I have never brought a new machine in my entire life, and I have made more profits on a second hand printer than someone else would on a new machine,” McMillan says. “There are several ways a printer could buy a second hand machine, they could go overseas and look more efficiently.”
McMillan recently sold his Sydney Pennant Hills home Dunrath for a whopping $42m, saying he packed up because the offer was too good and the magic had gone. He lived there for 40 years. In 1996 the land was valued at $206,000. He says, “When we moved in the place was a peaceful countryside, but now they will build a railway right next to it and then units will go up and it won’t be the same. So when magic goes, we go.” “I am an investor and I invest in projects that I feel will benefit my company. Printers these days are too concerned about new toys rather thinking about how they can grow their business. “Selling my home, which is a private matter, is proof that you can be smart and invest in things that will later on lead to big profits.”
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