A new HP Indigo 12000 from Currie Group at PacPrint is the catalyst for Melbourne-based printer, Press Print, to upscale into larger premises this month.
According to partner, Allain Pool, the move is the culmination of a steady development since he came back into the industry six years ago. The company began with six people, now there are 18 and the growth shows no sign of slowing.
Press Print is a complete digital printing house run by educated and experienced professionals. Founder and partner Kevin Stevens ran prepress at Bambra Press for many years before striking out on his own in2010. Allain Poole, whose family had previously operated Bambra Press, before selling to John Wanless, quickly joined him. Another seminal employee is Spencer Hast, general manger, who comes with a long track record in advertising graphics.
Now the all-digital Press Print is moving up and moving out but not too far. It’s remaining in Port Melbourne while transferring its other two SRA3 HP Indigo engines, a 7600 and a 7800, as well as its extensive range of finishing and embellishing machines to new and quite a deal larger premises just around the corner. According to Hast this makes it five moves in just six years for the rapidly growing Press Print, each shift delivering a doubling in size.
A supremely confident Pool is convinced the move into the new factory will see the presses installed and the company up and running by the first week of July. Self described as “an overnight success after 20 years of hard work,” Poole has faith that doing good work for your clients is the basis of ongoing success. He identifies Press Print’s clientele as 80 percent designers, ten percent agency and the rest direct.
“We’re not a trade printing house and we don’t have any sales people. We’ll print anything and have a go at most jobs. Our clients depend on us to do the right thing, to get the work done,” he said. “I believe if you do your craft well, it’ll work for you.”
The attraction of the larger HP Indigo for Press Print rests, to a great extent, on its format size. Pool maintains that the decision came after talking with clients about their requirements. “We had a chat with clients about their run lengths and run sizes. We do a lot of work in the property and fashion industries where they’re looking for folded sections,” he said.
He also sees a market in short run tabloid publishing. And besides there is a better click rate when it applies to the larger size, as opposed to the SRA3 market of the older HP Indigos.
“There are also fewer companies in the [digital] B2 market. It’s new technology and a new size. It allows us to address more than 50 percent of the market,” he said. “HP Indigo’s ElectroInk offers a higher quality result than toner-based solutions. With so many of our customers in fashion and design, quality is paramount, making HP Indigo the clear choice.”