Resilience and holistic business improvement is the force behind Catalyst Graphics' success. A company that thirsts for strong client rapports, bigger and better machines and systems with optimal convenience is bound to be a competitive player.
Catalyst Graphics, a mid-sized printer based at Ku-ring-gai in Sydney’s north has all the trappings of a printer build to last.
Catalyst’s latest development is its recent installation of Agfa’s Jeti Tauro, a six-colour inkjet wide format UV printer which was the first in Australia.
The Sydney print business installed the Jeti after careful consultation with global manufacturer Agfa. According to Catalyst, it has had long relationship with Afga and purchased the printer to add muscle to its turnover capacity.
The Jeti Tauro is a wide-format, six-colour flatbed printer which comes with print speed of 275sqm per hour.
Founder and owner Sean Andersen says the machine has boosted production to almost twice its previous level since its installation in December. “What we were printing at around 50 to 60sqm per hour is now printed at 100 to 120 an hour,” says Andersen. “It has helped business enormously as everything seems to be coming in with shorter and shorter deadlines.”
Together with the Jeti Tauro, Catalyst installed the new Xanté Excelagraphix 4200 inkjet (MemJet) print system in another Australia first, a machine bolstering production capacity in the retail print market. Andersen says the Xanté prints short runs with short life cycle jobs which bolstered production speed up to 1,000 printed posters per hour. The same day turnaround the Xanté offers is now in the repertoire.
Launched in 2004 by owner and managing director Sean Andersen, Catalyst began with a heavy leaning in the exhibition and event market. Andersen was able to secure clients and multiple jobs from his background in the industry; now established he is looking to break into new sectors of the industry.
It was crystal clear the market heading the industry was retail signage. Andersen was fixed on maintaining its roots as a smaller business, but saw opportunity for expansion in Brisbane to supplement its Sydney headquarters.
“We are not a huge company, and we try and keep it like that, so it is still personable between us and our clients,” says Andersen.
“We have more than 30 staff across two branches, one in Sydney and one in Brisbane, and we opened the one in Queensland just over a year ago due to the closure of SCEC at Darling Harbour, seeing a shift in business up to The Gold Coast and Brisbane venues.
The company’s saving grace was not through relentless expansion like many of its print counterparts. Catalyst preferred to invest in the newest printing technology, often striving to be the first in the country for installations.
“We are always on the lookout for new technology and a new way of doing things, and we are more in the volume market so it’s likely we will be looking at getting some new finishing machines soon and another cutting,” says Andersen.
Mark Wilton, Catalyst’s marketing and business development manager shared a similar sentiment on Catalyst’s drive to build rapport through technological investment.
“Sean and I attract people to the business through our client services team, and that flows through to the next part, and all those touch points along the way allow people to think: ‘these guys really know what they are doing’,” says Wilton.
“That’s one of our key differentiators, and we take that care all the way through and that’s what sets us apart – that customer connection. That experience is what is associated mentally with Catalyst Graphics.”
Print is a trade bursting with companies both collapsing and rising from the ashes, and Andersen and Wilton have a firm belief staying ahead of rivals can be achieved by investing in machinery and offering what others cannot.
Owning a mid-sized printer in today’s print climate begs for constant innovation and providing clients with an unmatched service or skill to gain that winning edge, and Catalyst embodies this culture. A dynamite team and a raft of the latest technology is what Andersen says pushes Catalyst over the line between average and successful.
“A lot of the time, success comes from innovation, education to your clients, and bringing new ideas and new products to the market place,” says Andersen.
“You have to have a strong point of difference to your competitors, such as having two Australian first machines, and we always try to be the first or second in the market to install the best new machines.”
“It looks good and you need to keep up with technology. It’s not just speed, it’s the quality that comes from it so you need to keep moving with the times, otherwise you just get left behind.”
Andersen also says the point of difference for Catalyst is the construction of a brand name that echoes quality and reliability.
The graphics printer maintains its relevancy and is memorable to clients by providing not just a service, but what Andersen and Wilton describe as an ‘experience’.
“We say to the clients who work with us that they get a full experience, and that’s what we offer. You will see there are not many places that can offer everything that we can under one roof, a company that does everything is very hard to find,” says Wilton.
“We are what the industry calls a full turnkey solution, which allows a client to get every piece of the puzzle from us.”
“So if a customer comes to us with five different pieces of print, they know they’re all going to look the same, so it’s not just print, it’s Catalyst,” adds Andersen.
While expansion doesn’t top the priority list, Andersen sticks to a mantra of never say never.
“We expand and keep the growth quite steady each year, and if we were to ever expend in any more cities we would probably partner with another business, it’s always good to have qualified printers to partner with.”
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