Page 28 - Print21 Magazine Jan-Feb 21

Profile
Industrial operation
Based in the NSW Blue Mountains, trade printer Industrial Print Co has found its niche as one of the country’s biggest business forms printers. Clients come from far and wide and include the biggest and smallest players in print. Print21 editor Wayne Robinson talks to general manager Steve Scott.
Many printers will tell you they grew up around print, but not many can claim to have grown up in
print. Steve Scott, general manager at Industrial Print Co grew up with an expanding print factory attached to the house he and his family lived in.
The house and the factory are joined together. There is even a doorway from one to the other. Scott says, “I didn’t have to wonder what Dad did that’s for sure. The sound of the presses, the smell of the ink, that was part of my childhood.”
Industrial Print Co began life in 1966 in the garden shed of Scott’s parents, David and Joy Scott. His father was not a printer by trade, although his grandfather was. David Scott tried his hand at many careers
– including medicine, pharmacy, and teaching – before the garden-shed printer took off. It began life as a commercial printer, but by the time it moved to its current site nestled in the picturesque Blue Mountains town of Lithgow in 1979, it had morphed into
its current iteration as a trade printer, focusing on business forms. Current general manager Steve Scott is one of three siblings, the middle child. He says, “My younger brother and myself were keen to work in the business, but our father said that we needed to have something to offer before he would take us on, so we took apprenticeships as fitters and turners. I joined after that, while my brother set himself up as a printers’ mechanic.”
Steve Scott started as a press operator, then spent time in sales, before becoming general manager 18 years ago as his father eased back from day-to-day involvement. David Scott
is still a part of the business, although focusing on developing systems, rather than the day-to-day operations, and now lives on the other side of town.
With its beginnings as a general commercial printer, the company does have a few legacy direct clients, but is predominantly a trade printer. Its 500-strong customer list includes the big players like IVE, Stream,
and Finsbury Green, and printers of every shape and size.
Main
Steve Scott, general manager, Industrial Print Co
Opposite
Celebrating (l-r): Peter Harper, Visual Connections; Savas Mystakidis, Heidelberg ANZ; Terry Nolan, TAFE NSW; Graduate of the Year Heiko Riecken; Steve Scott, Industrial Print; Angus Scott, LIA;
and Mitch Mulligan, Visual Connections
The core of the business is small format continuous web printing for business forms, with half a dozen Edelmann and Morgana narrow
web presses humming along in the factory. Scott says he often sees raised eyebrows at industry events when he says he is a business forms printer, as many think business forms have gone the way of printed directories and airline tickets. He says, “While the pie has certainly reduced in size, so have the number of players in the market. Industrial Print Co has remained at the front of the market thanks to our innovative approach, our belief in
our ability to give the market what it wants, and our customer service.”
That innovative approach is evident on a walk around the press hall, which has the presses configured in various hybrid formats, all self- developed by the company, giving it an edge in the market. The hybrid systems include combining inkjet with offset, running two webs together, and various other creations that the company keeps close to its chest. Scott says, “Dad was always
28 Print21 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021