Today’s print environment is competitive. As a print shop owner or manager, everywhere you turn there are print competitors trying to wrestle your market share away from you. They can be other shops with combinations of offset, digital and wide format printing. Perhaps even shops trying to add-value by offering specialty offline finishing like foil, embossing, crystals or dimensional additions to the final print piece. The name of the game being to offer something that stands out and grabs the attention of the average consumer.
To stay competitive—no—to blow the doors off your goals, you need a recipe for success. The challenge with coming up with a recipe is finding the right ingredients. In a print shop, offering specialty printing in a traditional method can add significant cost and also increase the time it takes to complete a job. In fact, in our experience the general idea is to create improved efficiency, reduce job turnaround times and lower the overall cost to print each project.
Presentation Folder, Inc. found their recipe and a secret ingredient with Scodix. Recently, they discussed their experience trying to boost market dominance using a Scodix Ultra Pro Digital Enhancement Press. A press they purchased two years ago, which has now been upgraded in 2017 with the purchase of a Scodix Foil Station add-on.
Why did they purchase the Scodix originally and what has made them choose to upgrade it? A digital alternative to traditional print methods and an increase in efficiency.
Originally, Presentation Folder purchased the Ultra Pro as a digital alternative to conventional spot UV. Aaron Tardie, Marketing Director, Presentation Folder describes how they use the Scodix to create a more efficient offering that helps them win over the competition:
“We use it two ways,” he said. “First, we use it as a lower cost alternative to add to the core product we produce and sell — presentation folders — to replace spot UV. We upgraded customers to raised/3D spot UV from conventional/flat spot gloss, sometimes as an up-sell and sometimes as a special offer, hoping they would love it and demand it in the future, which has worked out well.”
“Second, we use it for trade finishing for local printers, which helped us get experience with trying a variety of products, stocks, and substrates, many of which we may produce and sell in the future. We also accumulate many designers and printers with what we can do with the Scodix enhancement, and we believe this will ultimately drive even more demand.”
This was just part of the recipe though. As Presentation Folder started to use their Scodix Ultra Pro, they discovered that it created operational efficiencies that were significant. By utilizing the Scodix, they were able to reduce their hard setup costs from $150-$200 per job to nothing. Tardie put it this way:
“The Scodix press eliminated our setup time and cost, allowing us to offer small quantities for a lower cost, as well as doing them more efficiently. It also gave us the ability to try samples and 1-offs to show customers what they could do with Scodix enhancements if they added it to their job. And the many capabilities of the system often plants seeds for customers to consider for future projects.”
As you look at your goals and plans for the future; consider the impact this kind of efficiency and competitive edge would have on your market share. Whether you are looking to grow in modest ways or are trying to create a banner year, Scodix print technology can be your secret ingredient to a recipe for success. And like Presentation Folder, you too can find innovative ways to answer your customer requirements while cutting cost in major ways.
Tardie also makes a good point about the future of print during our recent case study conversation:
“The tangible qualities of print are going to be increasingly important, and Scodix is on the same page with us in that regard, as we put a stronger emphasis on what print feels like, and how it makes people feel.”
We couldn’t agree more. Get started creating your recipe for success. Experiencing the power of a Scodix is truly believing, request your sample today.
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