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Full-service offering
The full-service approach is also helping The Printing House climb its way up the value ladder, says Harrison. “For some years, we’ve done design work for the UK arm of a multinational company. We do 100% of their design. When they did rebrand, they actually got the chairman over from Switzerland to discuss it with me, we actually got right to the top of an international company”.

However, design is not all smooth sailing. Entry-level design is becoming an increasingly commoditised skill, thanks largely to the plethora of easily accessible software or online services such as HP’s MarketSplash initiative. Few know this better than Marcus Lynch, application engineer for design and desktop publishing powerhouse Adobe.

“There’s less need for the design services these days because people are finding it easier to do it themselves,” he says. “To an extent, we’re facilitating that, “Things like business cards are easily ordered via online templates. For example, Lynch explains that greetings card company Hallmark uses Adobe InDesign Server to power its online personalised card service. The software developer has put design into the hands of the people.

Because basic design from template is so easily handled, printers need to offer more than just a logo or letterhead to be taken seriously. Caroline Metcalfe, client services director at HPM Group, says: “From a print perspective, there’s’ even more need now for good conceptual thinking. A template is a template and sometimes that’s enough. But to come up with concept, you need to think creatively about an idea, “The County Durham-based business had sought to reposition as a marketing and branding specialist, having acknowledge that design offered a roadmap to growth.

“The way the print industry was going, it seemed sensible to expand design work, not just for print, but for all marketing solutions,” says Metcalfe, who joined from an advertising background that would prove invaluable to HPM. The group’s remit now extends to advertising, PR event management, web design photography, at prices that undercut design houses.

“From a customer perspective, that’s a great advantage,” says Metcalfe. In any business- and especially in this economic climate- cost is king. HPM can quote below design-only companies thanks to its full-service offering. “The advantage for us is that an advertising agency will sub-contract out the print and add a mark-up,” says Metcalfe, who has seen firsthand just how much agencies try to screw printers down on price. What printers don’t realise, she adds, is just how much extra margin agencies then put on top.

But lower prices aren’t everything. The company turned its creative searchlight inward; the most crucial branding exercise would be internal. HPM had started its life as Hillprint, but in trying to be taken seriously as a full-service agency, it dropped ‘print’ off its name. HPM had operated a “jobbing design facility” for years, but like many printers had struggled with the credibility factor. Having been on the other side of the fence, Metcalfe knew this only too well.

To be continued…

Peter Harrison is Joint Managing Director of The Printing House Ltd of Crewe, Cheshire, UK.

Print Buying Direct is an online trading name of The Printing House Ltd., specialising in online print ordering. Our most popular products at the moment: Business Cards, Banner Stands, Flyer/Leaflet Printing, Poster Printing.

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