Longbottom rides digital wave into new premises

Longbottom Papers is now located in the Sydney suburb of Padstow, and at approximately 1,000 square metres the new premises are more than double the size of its old site. The company expects to grow to take up all the extra space within two years, at which point a factory adjoining will allow it to increase its capacity by a further 420 square metres.

Colin Longbottom, managing director of Longbottom Digital Papers, says the move was inspired by growth related to digital colour production finally breaking through into the mainstream, a trend he expects to continue for at least the next several years.

“The digital market is growing, and we need to grow with it,” says Longbottom. “We expect digital to continue growing until it hits a peak in 2008, and we want to be well positioned to take a good share of that.”

The company estimates its turnover will double within 18 months, and points to the solvent wide-format market as a niche that is growing substantially. Longbottom Papers aims to meet this demand with a new range of mediums, in addition to a fresh supply of substrates for the HP Indigo.


“We’re engaged in a lot of niche markets that few of the major suppliers are interested in, but work fantastically for us,” said Longbottom.

The company entered the market for digital papers a decade ago, in response to changes in the offset paper market that inspired Longbottom to undergo a search for niche areas that were economically sustainable.

“I could see the offset market losing margins and pulling in lower profits,” says Longbottom. “I think the larger suppliers are their own worst enemies in many cases. They offer rock-bottom prices to try and snag customers and are then locked into a deal in which they’re not making any profit.”

While the shift to digital media proved to be a struggle for the company initially, it was a move that eventually paid off, with the market for digital colour production particularly strong in the past four years. “We make more money selling a palate of digital than a truckload of offset,” says Longbottom.

Longbottom says one of the great challenges for those supplying digital media is staying abreast of technologies that are changing so rapidly.

“Offset has been around for yonks and has seen few fundamental changes in that time, but half the battle with digital is getting your head around the new technologies and ways of doing things that are being developed.”

The company's new address details are:

Longbottom Digital Papers

26 Gow Street

Padstow NSW 2011

Ph: (02) 9709 3299