Thriving In A Tough Market
Alphagraphics Of Seattle Grows Business With Océ VarioPrint 6250
At a time when many quick printers are struggling, AlphaGraphics of Seattle is thriving. Know Chuck Stempler, owner and entrepreneur, and its easy to understand why. He developed his business acumen in his familys international garment business. Since 2001, he has applied the lessons learned on the manufacturing floor to his document factory.
Stemplers unique background helps him buck the market trend, and his print business is expanding faster than the print industry as a whole. Now with multiple locations in the Seattle area, Stempler has grown the business organically and through the acquisition of other printing companies. As a result, his firm has been rated one of the Top 100 fastest growing, privately owned companies in Washington for four years. The company has grown digital print profitably, an admirable achievement in todays environment. One reason is the addition of the award-winning Océ VarioPrint 6250 production printer.
Quality: When Promised, as Promised
As an ISO 9000-certified company, AlphaGraphics of Seattle assures customers that its work adheres to the highest quality standards. The Océ VarioPrint is part of the commitment to quality. The output has a different and attractive look that customers like. Its been described as an offset look, said Stempler. Many customers have very particular requirements and prefer the image quality of the Océ VarioPrint output. It's a difference we use to our advantage in the market.
This AlphaGraphics franchise is a unique hybrid of commercial printer and quick printing, with a large capacity base and online web-to-print workflow. Jobs run the gamut, from modest mail merges to many complex template-based projects of more than 23 variables. The full-service shop offers cut-sheet digital printing in black-and-white and color. Most of the work on the Océ VarioPrint 6250 is static sheet-fed production such as long runs of manuals or training materials.
Amazing Uptime Equals Outstanding Service
Unlike other quick printers that can take days to estimate a job, AlphaGraphics of Seattle can turn around an estimate within one hour, and most jobs are completed within 24 hours of proof approval. Speed is a powerful competitive advantage and The reason for this is simple, said Stempler. The Océ VarioPrint has significant uptime compared to competitive production devices.
We have increased productivity with the 250-ppm single-pass duplex print engine and exceptional quality and media handling. The biggest client reaction has been about the sheer speed, because we now have such large capacity.
Stempler said the systems versatile paper drawer and stock choices enhance productivity, noting the post-fuser inserting (PFI) has a twofold benefit: We actually avoid buying a separate inserter for cover, back and color pages. This makes the printer even more flexible for our workflow. They can also do double-sided precut tabs, which their other cut-sheet systems couldnt. This is important for faster completion of the manuals and other book applications frequently produced on the Océ system.
An Awesome Machine
Stempler calls his Océ VarioPrint an awesome production machine. Reason number one is the raw power per square foot. We are in a heavily populated urban environment, so space is at a premium. With 250 images per minute versus 120 on the other systems, its like having two machines, but the space requirement of just one. Its a huge benefit to get twice the capacity for the same footprint and the same labor. In fact, the same work probably requires less labor per printed sheet.
The machine is going twice as fast, but it can go a long time before we have to come back to add paper. By extending the time between maintenance, we are able to spread our people across more machines, extending our labor-to-machine ratio. One business benefit is that it increases our profitability model.
A second reason for the systems awesome reputation is the impressive uptime ratio. At two million impressions per service call, the system is a remarkable ten times better than the other, he said. AlphaGraphics ran over 11 million impressions in five months on the Océ printer and only placed four service calls. This is a new standard for uptime that the competition cant come close to, he declared.
Easy Integration Into Existing Workflow
AlphaGraphics of Seattle first saw the Océ VarioPrint 6250 in action at the 2006 Graph Expo and had it on the shop floor by mid-summer. It went right into production and has never stopped. Less than six months later, they had output 14 million images.
We run that department 24 hours a day with three shifts of two people each, and it was very easy to install the Océ VarioPrint 6250, said Stempler. We didnt have to redo any applications, so everything could go right into production. The workflow is enabled so operators can still drive all print production through the existing Xerox DigiPath workflow using Océ DPlink software. The interface was essential, and as a result, we went right into production with the new system. It sits in the workflow without sticking out.
A Choice for the Future
Over the next five years, AlphaGraphics of Seattle plans to continue enlarging its geographic reach in Washington State by purchasing satellite locations and re-branding them as AlphaGraphics operations. Stempler plans to expand web-to-print capabilities and grow high-end digital printing efficiency through automated front-end systems. As leases expire, older systems will be replaced with Océ solutions. We are coming to a point where we are looking long term at roll fed. The success of the VarioPrint device has encouraged us to put Océ top of mind as we add capability and grow the business, said Stempler.
We are an AlphaGraphics franchise, but its not your typical business model. Fellow AlphaGraphics owners freely share discoveries with each other, he noted. The things we do here arent kept secret, and we are sharing our success with the Océ VarioPrint 6250 for high volume high quality digital production. Now the secret of thriving in a tough print market can benefit others in the AlphaGraphics family and their customers.
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