Pride and glory for Platypus Graphics: Print21 magazine article

After winning some of this year’s biggest print awards, Platypus Graphics is now preparing for further growth. Mitchell Jordan dived in to find out what is coming up for the company.

Webbed platypus feet guide me up the stairs on my way to meet Aaron Lusch. It doesn’t end there.

Inside the Stafford-based company, there are numerous platypi: some are wooden, some are stone, some are stuffed toys; if that isn’t enough, there is even a giant platypus statue rising from the outside roof. There’s certainly no way of forgetting where I am.

Stuffed animals aside, Platypus Graphics is a company that is hard to ignore; especially after its epic win at this year’s National Print Awards. With a venerable reputation and a growing accolade of gongs, it is arguably one of Brisbane’s best-known printing companies.

Once a side project of then print estimator, Tom Lusch (now director of the company) it has flourished and is currently undertaking further growth through numerous investments in new equipment.

Platypus Graphics’ story is a long and interesting one: in 1985, Tom realised that he was making more money from the part-time embellishing work that kept him busy in the evening than in his day-job and decided to take the plunge by starting the company. Beginning as a trade supplier for print finishing and embossing, Tom went on to buy a 1-colour Heidelberg press and from there the business flourished.

A family affair
The eldest of Tom’s six children, Aaron, (pictured, above) sales manager, has continued on the family tradition of printing. Like most printer’s children, Aaron was reluctant to enter the industry at first. “I never really wanted to get involved in printing,” he recounts. “I’m from the fourth year of printing generations in my family, maybe it’s in my blood; I can’t get it out of me.”

Though he was never a print operator, Aaron started off driving the Platypus trucks, before moving on to working in accounts, estimating and now sales; the varying roles meant that he gained a thorough understanding of all aspects of the business.

Eight years on and he remains at Platypus. “You do come to like it [printing],” Aaron admits. “One of the challenges this industry has is attracting young people. Once people overcome the perception of it being an ‘old’ trade and gain more exposure to what printing involves they soon see that it can actually be quite exciting and dynamic.”

Dynamic is certainly one way of describing the atmosphere at Platypus. When I visit, a Bobst Expert Cut die cutter has just been installed with a KBA Rapida 106 press due for installation by the end of June.

Aaron says that the die cutter was chosen in order to fulfil the company’s capacity for the packaging market. “It’s a resilient machine and means that we have a back-up,” he says. Platypus purchased its first Bobst die cutter in 2006.

The Rapida will complement the die cutter. “We bought this press largely to facilitate the packaging side of the business and to increase our capacity there,” Aaron says.

It is the first KBA press for Platypus, who currently run Man Roland and Komori and have a history with Heidelberg. Aaron believes the Rapida will be a welcome addition to the mix. “Every time we look at equipment we assess all the options available,” he says. “This press has a lot of great technical features, such as the ability to print on a thicker substrate; we saw it as being a good fit for our packaging business.”

Platypus moved into packaging ten years ago and has since been on a path to grow that arm of the business. Purchasing both the Bobst and Rapida were the next step in developing the company’s packaging facilities. “Over the last 10 years we’ve been working hard at building our credibility in that market,” Aaron says. “We can now supply large-run packaging work to our customers.”

It pays to be different
2010 has been an unfortunate year for many print businesses that have hit the wall, but in the new decade Platypus Graphics continues to swim ahead strongly. Obvious evidence of this was demonstrated at the National Print Awards.

“This company has done very well at the printing awards and to do so well at national level is pretty special,” Aaron says. “It’s not just a family pride – all of our staff and customers can be proud too.”

Before I leave, I cannot help but ask Aaron the story behind the company’s collection of platypi.

Legend has it that when a young Tom was fishing with mates, they pulled in a dead platypus. The memory stayed with Tom, who tried to repay the debt by ensuring that the Platypus business always kept a strong environmental focus. It's a melancholy story, but Aaron also points out that another reason behind the name is that the platypus is uniquely Australian and quite special in its own right. "We try to be like that, too," he adds.

No doubt the platypi not just in Queensland, but throughout Australia, would all agree.