Derbyshire printers see colour of money following top award

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A Heanor based design print and production firm, whose branded point of sale and promotional work can be found across financial services, major retailers and supermarkets, is now equipped to boost its market share by a further £1m within the next two years, thanks to help from the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS).
When Easibind International invested over £1m in cutting edge print technology last year, as well as recouping the outlay, it was keen to distinguish itself from the competition to secure more lucrative contracts where proven print quality is essential for securing orders.
Chief Executive Harry Skidmore MBE expects this equipment alone to generate £6m in additional revenue for his company over the next 5 years. He explained: “The major retailers are looking for outstanding print and colour consistency and accuracy in all their promotional items and buying this new equipment has afforded us a real technical advantage over many of our previous competitors that we’re keen to exploit.

Industry experts

“We contacted MAS because we needed help to obtain the certification we required to officially prove that we operate to a higher level and really have that edge the major brands are looking for.“
“MAS were excellent because they allowed us to work with the colour experts we wanted to use, and because support under the MAS programme is subsidised, we were able to receive 10 days worth of assistance while only paying for five.
“Without this support, we wouldn’t have been able to afford this external help and our plans to exploit the potential of this technology would have been put on hold which isn’t ideal when you’ve just invested heavily in the long-term future of your business.”
To get accredited with the colour management standard (ISO12647), companies need to comply with a rigorous set of measurable procedures, the results of which include fast set-up times, less material waste and downtime for the presses and improved productivity.

Strong position

Harry said: “Our experts provided the technical know-how and tools to introduce the robust system of procedures demanded by the standard and they were also able to audit and validate our compliance with the exacting methodologies before we were independently assessed. Staff were also trained to manage compliance in-house going forward.”
Only a handful of firms across the industry have been awarded this standard, so the accreditation puts Easibind in a very strong position for securing high value contracts both nationally and internationally.
The new equipment is also capable of lenticular printing, giving images the ability to move or change when viewed from different angles - another key selling point for the market the £6m-a-year firm is targeting.
“The major retailers use colour management houses to contract print services on their behalf and will look more favourably on those firms which can offer a recognised level of quality assurance as this understandably reduces the risks associated with using a new supplier and makes better long-term financial sense,” added Harry.
MAS in the East Midlands is funded by East Midlands Development Agency (emda).