Prospecting for Profits

When it comes to a company or individual stamping their ‘personality’ on the world, there is always money to be found for the sharp sign-maker. Just a few quick examples are your local estate agent wanting 500 pens and key rings printed with their logo as giveaways for prospective clients, or a football fan wanting their team’s crest printed on a mobile phone cover.

This quest for brand awareness and individualism is also often expressed by marketers and big sign-buyers when they request something creative and ‘unique’ to create a certain atmosphere for commercial premises or entertainment events.
 
What all these examples have in common is that you can maintain a really healthy project margin on them because they require very specific equipment or skills to produce, and there are still very few relative providers around compared to the size of this market space. The other key factor is that these products are ‘perceived’ as higher value by the client because they are often ‘one offs’ and allow them to either feel unique, or offer something unique to their customers.

“Just as you can help your customers, your suppliers can help you achieve success. Creative suppliers appreciate that so often price is seen to be the defining factor when quoting for a job,” explains Contra Vision’s head of PR, Jo Bentley, who adds: “However, with tight margins, the need to keep expensive machines going, and speed and volume requirements key, the need to come back with a lower price can limit the creativity which can ensure really eye-catching results.



“Of course many jobs require fast turnaround and low costs and it’s not in a sign-maker’s interest to offer alternative solutions, but sometimes, thinking about alternative materials and novel ways forward can result in truly striking outcomes.”


This is why Contra Vision has widened their remit to include direct approaches to end users who would specify its products to achieve specific results when using see-through graphics. It does not see this as conflicting with its relationships with sign-makers, but as part of an on-going, collaborative process where everyone can benefit from using higher value materials, when appropriate.

Bentley continues: “Printers and materials manufacturers alike can create the opportunity to offer advice on different materials which can, not only increase the range of media to which advertising and promotional messages can be applied, but vastly improve the promotional concept.”

This is true of any material, for example you might see an opportunity to use floor graphics, another field where specialist advice is crucial and will be discussed later on. To give a specific Contra Vision example, Pat Henrietta, USA director of sales, was recently in discussion with a client about some signage at a large East Coast airport.

Originally Contra Vision’s material would have been specified for a small scale area facing out onto the runways.

However, the client was then shown images of serial promotion of TV programmes at BBC Media City such as The Voice using Contra Vision. The decision was made to wrap the entire atrium area and Henrietta was able to advise the printer that, using Contra Vision Backlite, 24-hour vision could be achieved.

Although this was a more expensive option than the first, the client was reportedly swayed by the higher profile and visibility this solution offered and the sign-maker who carried out the job was able to legitimately recommend a solution with a significantly higher profit margin—approximately 20 percent.

Pick axes at the ready

Another fascinating technology that has really started to explode in its adoption in the last few years is direct-to-object printers, which do away with a huge amount of skill and processes that were once needed to transfer or screen print promotional merchandise and personalised products.

One of the most recent entrants into this market space is Mutoh with its ValueJet 426UF, which drew a lot of attention at Sign and Digital UK 2016 from the loyal followers of this well-respected brand. I caught up with Jeff Biggs, managing director of key Mutoh distributor Colourgen, to find out more about why the technology developer has moved into this field and what its realistic opportunities are.



“It is very feasible for a print and graphics provider to introduce a high value print products service in to their portfolio. Such companies have the relevant experience in the graphics market, the design experience in-house and the market for the products. The equipment and process is easy to learn and operate and the blank products, if they choose to address that market, are cost effective and easy to obtain,” says Biggs.


He continues: “Typical applications examples that we have seen are packaging, industrial labelling, gadgets, promotional items, and high value acrylic signage. Companies that have entered the high value print product market have all had relevant experience, established the return on investment and have the expertise in-house.

O Factoid: The top printing speed of the Mutoh ValueJet 426UF is 89sq ft/h (8.3sq m/h), at which it can produce graphics at 720 x 720dpi. Its maximum printing resolution is 1440dpi.  O

“The growth potential is more in niche applications now—there are many opportunities outside the promotional gifts market such as industrial labelling and high value acrylic signage for instance.  Printers such as the Mutoh ValueJet 426UF and software make it easier to address these. It’s a matter of market knowledge—exploring and either having or looking for high value applications outside of the established markets.”

Panning for profits

Another very important technology specialist in the direct-to-object printing sector is Roland DG, which really has made great strides in this area by providing their customers with a ‘business in a box’ that focuses on its VersaUV LEF range of the 12, 20, and 300 models.

“These systems enable users to produce bespoke volumes of premium customised products without breaking the bank,” says Joe Wigzell, Academy and Creative Centre manager at Roland DG.

Wigzell can also put facts behind this statement, giving the example of key success story ‘Of a Kind’, which is an innovative personalisation business that is bringing internet-style product customisation to festivals, events, and the high street.

Wigzell continues: “By combining the Roland DG VersaUV LEF-20’s printing capabilities and UV technology’s instant usability, with Of a Kind’s unique tablet-based software, customers are able to create their own personalised designs by uploading their choice of doodles, emoticons and images from their phone, before sending the finished artwork to be processed and printed by the compact Roland DG printer. Of a Kind have tapped into a profitable market opportunity in providing instant personalised products via an experiential design process with emotional appeal due to the capturing of memories and moments. And it is this experiential differentiation that makes Of a Kind’s offering one that customers are willing to pay a premium for.”



Wigzell also points out that it is “no secret” that a key consumer trend is the growth in demand for bespoke and highly personalised items, making the market for business gifts and promotional products huge, and constantly getting bigger.


 
Wigzell concludes: “With advancements in technology creating easier and cheaper routes into this profitable market, you would be crazy to ignore it. With training provided and the easy-to-use nature of the machine, all PSPs need to make a go of it is a positive attitude towards learning new processes and developing profit avenues in a different direction.”

It is interesting to hear just how enthusiastic Wigzell is, as of course most firms will always make a good case for the application of their technology portfolio, but in this instance there seems to be a real passion coming from the industry for technology like direct-to-object printers. This is essentially because it takes them out of the constant battle of ‘being the cheapest’ and allows them instead to engage in creative product briefs that provide a better reward for hard work.
 
Indeed, Stuart Cole, national sales manager for industrial products at Hybrid Services—Mimaki’s exclusive UK and Ireland distributor—shares Wigzell’s optimistic outlook: “Although new hardware investment is required, payback is remarkably fast—primarily down to the potential margins available within this sector. Because a lot of the output tends to be bespoke print, it can command a suitable premium.”

Cole continues: “Where corporate gifts are produced, such as acrylic blocks bearing company brands or promotions, the out-costs are relatively low and perceived (and actual) value is high. The other factor to consider is that the capital equipment costs when compared to other printing equipment is extremely small as well. Residual hardware value remains high in the long-term too, keeping the accountants happy and reducing the risk factor of the investment.”

A case in point when it comes to Hybrid Services’ customers is Excel Promotions, which invested in a Mimaki UJF-3042HG LED UV. Capable of printing up to A3, Excel use it to produce a wide range of bespoke products that include corporate gifts, trophies and awards, sports products, pens, key rings, and collectables.



Cole concludes: “As end consumers become more aware of opportunities to have their own individual products, so the demand increases. With everything from cars to clothes being personalised nowadays and popular consumer websites offering practically any item with a personalised imprint, the opportunity is there for print-service-providers to go after a share of the market. The potential is huge; people will pay for customisation, companies want to communicate to their customers and partners individually and the days of turning short runs of work away are long gone.”

Planning a new spur

Running a business can be compared to running a gold mine, you have your low yield core tunnels and pits that you can count on to produce a steady stream of income, but require a lot of continuous graft to earn a decent income. Every so often though your research tells you that there might just be a much richer seam just around the next corner, and so you marshal your resources and direct key team members to start a brand new spur, hoping that your experience and instinct will pay dividends. And as the sales director of Soyang Europe, Andrew Simmons, explains, there are ways to mitigate the risk: “It’s remarkably simple for a print-service-provider to get into more creative and high value areas if they’ve already got wide-format kit in place.”

Simmons gives me a good example of Earl’s Court book fair, the organisers of which used Soyang’s Alumi Graphics to help provide a ‘wow factor’ for the entrance to the venue. This special floor graphics material was run on a standard solvent printer and installed in a high profile location to deliver a creative and arresting feature. The aim of the project was to create a meandering and inspirational ‘river’ of words, which would entice and lead visitors across the public pedestrian spaces around the exhibition halls and in through the main entrance.



Simmons continues: “There is huge potential for growth in this sector, especially the décor market, as the desire to personalise and decorate now extends to almost every part of our lives. Offering bespoke interiors brings with it the need to think creatively and to be able to deliver not just great prints, but quality designs too. There’s also the need to be able to professionally install the end product, so new skills may be required—or partnerships created with tradespeople who already have them.”

The growth in floor graphics in recent years has been helped by a new generation of materials that have come to the market. And like the other areas discussed, this print product retains a higher value than other types of printed vinyl as it requires specific application skills and the ability to realise difficult creative briefs.

“Floor printable clear PVC brings a real solution to the higher end of the market with impactful, long-lasting and easy to install solutions for public spaces and premium retail clients,” says Simmons, who concludes: “Alumi Graphics offers a solution printable on standard wide-format printers that works indoors and out, lasts well, delivers something different for the client and offers good potential margins for the sign-maker or printer. We’re therefore seeing demand from various areas of the market, but the key thing for print-service-providers is to fit these solutions into a portfolio they can offer clients for every surface.”

So, whether you are using material such as Contra Vision to transform horizontal surfaces into transparent billboards, producing liveried golf balls for the local club, or branding up the floors of your local supermarket aisles with the latest promotions, there is a very rich seam of potential to be tapped into for the UK sign industry. What is very important to consider though is that, with a little prospecting, you could be clocking out early and getting paid more for the privilege.

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