It is 7am and blearily I walk out to my much-loved and long-suffering car. Double espresso in hand, I search for a radio station that will get me through the three hour journey from Bristol, across to the lovely little town of St Albans and Robert Horne Group’s much-publicised Discover Digital day.

Why I am going? Well, I’m on the trail of finding out just what makes micro-exhibitions, or open houses, such a profitable platform for suppliers to the sign-industry. And on the other end of the chain, why more sign-makers and print service providers seem to buzzing to them like bees around the honey pot.

Three hours later, I walk stiffly in through the doors of Zund UK’s headquarters, the site of Discover Digital. Instantly my brain is switched from dormant to wide awake, as I am met by a host of smiling faces and warm greetings. Registered in about 30 seconds, I am whisked upstairs by Phil Tomlinson, hardware sales manager at PaperlinX Digital Solutions—Robert Horne’s parent company—who reinvigorates me with another strong dose of caffeine.

Looking out across the show room, I recognise the familiar smell of solvent inks, and notice that at only 10am the room is starting to fill up, each little group being herded by their very own company representative. The room is set out before me in proper work flow order, and each customer is taken around the production process from start to finish, allowing them to visualise how it could be adapted to their business.

Wide eyed

Tomlinson starts by assessing what my business needs are as a ‘sign-maker’ or ‘print service provider’ and establishes what kind of products and services I am interested in building or expanding.
He then moves on to ‘question’ me about the set up of my phantom business and do an analysis on how its efficiency, output and product range could be improved.

With the majority of the industry either aspiring to this bracket or emerging from it, I pose as a medium-sized sign-maker of around three to five production staff, with an entry-level wide-format printer/cutter and finishing solution.

We start at the very top and head over to the gargantuan hybrid EFI VUTEk GS2000, one of the flagship models in Robert Horne’s distribution arsenal. Tomlinson explains that the possibilities with this type of machine are pretty incredible, allowing those with the capability to invest around £150,000 the ability to print anything from standard banners, through doors in retail spaces, to glass panels for speciality displays.

Tomlinson turns to me at this point and emphasises that the market is in flux, with sign-makers up scaling on one side and commercial print houses entering the market from the top. This means that the middle ground of the sign and display industry is more competitive than ever before.

“It’s about business need, not how much a visitor can invest, that influences where we focus a visitors’ attention when they come to Discover Digital. We show the potential of today’s technology and then allow representatives from our partner brands to argue the strengths of their systems,” Tomlinson tell me.

He then guides me over to the Canon area, where its enthusiastic sales development executive, Josh Singer, explains there is not much to choose, ‘in all honesty’ between the Canon 8300 and the HP 26200 across the aisle in terms of capabilities. He does point out very interestingly though that the Canon has lower running costs and is more user-friendly, before explaining the full plethora of product opportunities associated with the machine. An interesting discussion also sparks up about disreputable third party ink manufacturers. Singer highlights what damage poor quality options can do to printers—for example, if the pigments are not fine enough—this causes an ink mist inside the carriage area which clogs air intakes, moving parts and nozzles.

Tomlinson gets involved, arguing that not all third-party inks are bad and that these supply companies damage the reputation of the third party ink sector unnecessarily, as there are many who create great low-cost products that are backed up by solid guarantees.

We then stroll over to the HP area, where Claire Barker from its central distributor Art Systems guides me through the key advantages of its systems. She starts by explaining HP provides access to environmentally-friendly technologies, such as the latex ink carrying HP 26500, and then outlines how this translates into capturing more customers. Another very important point of argument is that HP allows customers to trade-in old machines—including non HP models—and trade-up to a newer models to stay competitive with a maximum reduction of £2,200. Describing the HP 5500 as, ‘bomb proof’, Barker says that nevertheless, a key point she makes visitors aware of is, for instance, that upgrading to the 26200 will give you a 30 percent ink saving and improved colour gamut, such as chromatic red.

Half time oranges

Glancing at my watch I realise we have been going for around two hours now and my stomach is decidedly starting to grumble. Sensing my hunger, Tomlinson takes me through to a fully laid out buffet where I am fed, watered and introduced to the heads of some key manufacturers.

Suitably refreshed, we get back on the production trail and Tomlinson hits his stride by taking me through to highlight the wide-format options from Epson and Mimaki. At Epson, its Pro Graphics account manager, Dominic Fowler, gives me a firm handshake and immediately launches into a description of how its product range is split into five levels, moving from the 3600 to the 7600. He highlights that, as Epson has very large production capabilities, economies of scale gives it the ability to produce very high quality machines at low price points.

Turning around and skipping over to Mimaki, John De La Roche, sales manager for its exclusive UK and Ireland distributor Hybrid Services, takes a different tack altogether. He explains that when it comes to choosing between machines to invest in, the sign-maker’s best bet is to actually invest in a supplier or distributor. As the company’s popular CJV30-130 whirs away in front of me,  De la Roche argues that this is why Hybrid has been so successful. He explains that not only does it have a very large range of wide-format solutions, but its customer service and after sales care are of paramount importance to the company.

Finishing straight

The workflow hall is now heaving with potential buyers, and as we are at the home of Zund, Tomlinson now personally takes me through their finishing options. This ranges from Seal’s roll-to-roll laminators, through the middle of the pack Zund S3 flatbed router, to the goliath Zund G3.

Now nearing the end of our production journey, Tomlinson remarks: “We seek to explain the whole process end-to-end and get the right fit. More than training and education, an ongoing dialogue is also important. I really would rather walk away from a sale than not do it right. I always want to make sure the customer is going to be able to get exactly what they need to achieve a decent return on investment.”

Pressing him as to why someone would invest in a finishing option such as the S3 and above, he counsels that it is all about control over production. This leads to greater efficiencies, better profit margins and the ability to meet a customer’s requirements each and every time.

Material world

Our final stop for the day is to meet Kevin Wheeler and Jo Smeeton from PaperlinX’ Digital Solutions division. I am given another cup of strong coffee to make it down the home straight and learn about all the material options that can be put through these machines to start actually making money.

Their core message is, ten years ago, there were a small set of products which did very specific things. Today, however, Robert Horne’s product range spans hundreds of different vinyls, rigid substrates and a growing range of environmentally-friendly options to suit every imaginable application. This means they now focus on asking questions and customer education rather than just selling to them. Wheeler explains that their team use a product map for customers, finding out the specifications for a job and then narrowing down the best options for the application.

Smeeton turns to me and emphasises: “It is our customers that our driving our product innovation and development, as they come up against demanding requirements and come to us to fulfil them. If we can’t then we get straight on the track of developing or sourcing one that can.”

Wheeler then chimes in: “Getting caught in the pack is dangerous and sign-makers need to venture outside their core products to look at diversification options like soft signage or environmentally-friendly products.”

My journey through time and space, or at least Discover Digital, is now complete. Tomlinson highlights that if a customer wished to buy then and there, that they would have finance and leasing experts on hand, remarking: “This is a vital area to get right if you are going to grow a sustainable business.”

Now back on the road to home, I reflect on my day’s odyssey, and if I were a sign-maker, my head would no doubt be brimful of ideas and inspiration. Did I ‘discover digital?’, well yes, I think I did.

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