Where The Trade Buys, a tech-based print company and leading provider of booklet printing, has experienced 88% growth due to its new on online print production operating systems.
Speaking about his company’s success, managing director, Gary Peeling, commented that the firm is increasing profits and production due to the utilisation of its new Site Flow platform. This online program is designed to manage large volumes of short-run and customised tasks from submission to delivery.
“It is a fast-growing website that allows customers to configure jobs the way that they want and in the quantities they want,” said Peeling about Site Flow and his company’s online operations.
Where The Trade Buys is based in south and north-east England. Alongside its sister company, Precision Printing, it works with 10,000 print customers and 700 new clients every month. To date, Precision Printing is currently on target to achieve a turnover of £30 million in 2019 and has already achieved £23 million in 2017.
According to Peeling, building on success in the tech printing industry relies on the skill of handling many “runs of one print, consolidation and dispatch”. He added: “It is reckoned that 17% of the £12.6 billion commercial print sector in the EU is online and that will grow to 42% by 2020.”
Site Flow operations offer a bird’s eye view of all processes, automating the whole production with full visibility and flexibility. The platform provides an overview of online navigations, while simplifying and streamlining the print procedure for a faster process.
There have also been other success stories in the industry when it comes to implementing new technologies. KHL Printing Co, which began using PrintOS Site Flow last year, made the move to Site Flow in a bid to improve “turnaround times and save labour,” which has since allowed the company to expand its range.
Today, the print industry in the UK has a turnover of £13.8 billion, according to the British Printing Industry Federation. However, a strong and well-linked relationship with online services is encouraged across the printing technology sector if traditional print companies wish to stay successful in the future. According to the European Commission, new products and services — including intelligent labels and 3D printing — are cited as ‘potential opportunities’.
However, the future looks bright for companies within the printing technology sector. According to the British Printing Industries Federation, there will be value growth in the industry over the next two years. Many attribute this to the rising requirements for quality digital production, and Peeling has admitted that his company’s offset turnover has “increased thanks to RMGT SRA1 presses and is at £6 million”.
Where The Trade Buys is currently expanding into Australia and recently moved to a £1.5 million site in Dagenham last year.
