Page 15 - Print 21 Sep-Oct 2019

Label Printing
“I started off with the Yellow Pages and a set of blank cards. It began with the hard grind of making cold calls, which people don’t do these days.” – Nick Lowe
It’s never that easy
Any illusion Nick Lowe entertained about how easy it is to print digital labels was soon dispelled by the reality of transferring the results to the market. Digital printing, especially inkjet in the early years of the century, was a long way from the advanced process of today. It produced a very different result, especially when
it came to matching PMS colours. Despite advantages in cost and speed, customers had to be convinced.
“There was a horrible period when I spent much of my time educating our customers on colour management. For instance, we never pretended
we could match PMS, so we had to manage their expectations when considering moving from traditional print processes to digital. Digital was good but different. And don’t forget there were no film and no plates, so the cost came down and we could pass that on to the customers.
“Digital took a long time to be commercially acceptable. It was
a learning process, and the world
was changing. McDonald’s stopped advertising its logo in PMS yellow and Telstra did the same with its orange in newspaper ads. Every customer that was being converted needed to be made aware of the change in print process and how that would affect their labels.
“We did a massive amount of reprinting. It was a big learning process not just for us, but also for every printer keeping up with the curve of trying to manage digital work. The technology just wasn’t there.”
A point of difference
The commitment to meeting deadlines, of going the further mile to fulfil customer expectations, is bred into Lowe’s team. It drove expansion to the stage where a new technology leap was required. On moving into
a new office in Tuggerah, he finally confronted the need for more capacity.
Disregarding conventional wisdom and the recommendations of friends and colleagues, Lowe decided not to follow fashion and go with
HP Indigo. Instead he turned towards his first Xeikon press.
“It was a real fork in the road moment. I began with one Xeikon 3300 five years ago. At the time everyone was going for HP Indigo, and to tell the truth, both machines produced sensational work. The safe bet would have been HP. Everyone liked the technology, everyone
gave it a rap, and the costs were understood. But strategically I wanted to go down a path where we didn’t replicate the mob. I wanted a point of difference, and the Xeikon technology was awesome, very robust, and reliable, with great UV stability. It felt good not to have the same as everyone else.
“When our Xeikon was installed
it was a revelation. It was so accommodating, it was able to produce the labels so quickly, so efficiently. The quality and reliability underpinned all the promises we made to our customers. And even though we only had one machine, that machine was singing.”
Years of dealing with printers had given Lowe in-depth experience in what customers required. When he came to creating the Guru Labels online trade portal, he specified ease and speed of response as foundational. The web ordering
system is based on X3 software
from UK-based Sage Group, but customised to the extent that Lowe firmly believes it’s the best system in the industry. Over the years it’s cost him at least half a million dollars. Once a week he sits down with his team to talk about what is needed and how to upgrade and develop.
“Coming from an outsourced company we knew the value of speed of response. When we wanted a quote, we wanted it immediately; we didn’t want to wait a day or two for the print company to send it. We were winning business with speed. When we introduced our trade facility, we recognised trade customers needed the exact same thing. Our trade customers go online and they have a genuine quote in literally 30 seconds. For them, speed of response to their customers is also king.”
Multiple variations
Customers using the trade portal can get a price online for multiple variations through all the different raw material configurations. Unlike traditional quoting it’s not essential to understand the tooling, and all the other bits and pieces that go into an analogue job. Customers just put in size, shape, material, quantity and variations.
“It’s almost like quoting
for dummies, but people have appreciated our simplifying the process and really responded to it. We have several facilities to keep our direct and trade customers happy. Direct customers work to a ten- working-day lead time while trade customers receive seven working days,” claims Lowe.
As the industry shifts, so the market has changed dramatically
Top right
Nick Lowe with the new Xeikon 3300 at the new Guru Labels factory.
Top centre
Working
in the NSW central coast away from the congestion
of the city, Guru Labels dispatches
via Star Track all over the country every day. Its local workforce
is loyal and committed to delivering on the promises the sales and customer service team make.
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