Common sense tips to jump start a wide-format business.
The last thing you are probably thinking about right now is expanding into wide-format. After all, it is another print technology, right? And we all know what has happened to print the past four months. Nobody is printing!
That’s not completely true. It is true that office print has declined exponentially during this time and will likely continue its downward spiral, although not at the rate it did in March through the end of May now that many businesses are reopening and people are returning to work.
But wide-format printing is not the same as office printing. That holds true whether it’s low-end wide-format devices, likely to be found in an office or corporate print center, or industrial print wide-format machines. In general, the wide-format business has not bottomed out as badly as office print during the pandemic, mainly due to applications such as indoor and outdoor signage. Even though wide-format printing can’t completely compensate for the loss of office prints, the technology can create new opportunities.
Market Watch
The market for wide-format encompass reprographers; print-for-pay; sign shops; commercial printers; educational institutions; federal, state and local governments; manufacturing companies; Department of Defense contractors; specialty printers, exhibitor and trade show booth manufacturers; franchise printers; grocery store chains; educational institutions; breweries; and corporate marketing departments. Many of these organizations can likely be found in your customer base.
Prominent players across the various segments of the wide-format space include Canon, EFI, Epson, HP, KIP, Konica Minolta, Océ, Ricoh, and Xerox. There are others too, but for the independent dealer channel, these manufacturers have the highest profiles.
Common wide-format applications across the low-end to industrial-print wide-format segments include presentation posters, certified proofs, blueprints, point of purchase displays, wall coverings, short-run promotional items, signage, endcap displays, deals, and fleet graphics to name more than a few.
Getting Started
Let’s make one thing perfectly clear. If you plan to sell wide-format, you need a specialist. Everyone we interviewed for this article recommended hiring someone with extensive knowledge of the market, the technology, and the applications. Often, this team member understands all aspects of production print.
“Having a background and expertise in applications and opportunities brings credibility to the sale,” said Todd Smith, product marketing manager for wide-format, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., noting it’s easier for a dealer to sell products at the lower end of the wide-format market because of the attractive acquisition price, which can be well under $2,000.
“They’re not a very complicated sale,” said Smith. “Our dealer network is used to that model.”
However, some of the products at the low end of the wide-format segment can be acquired from online retailers such as Amazon. A search on Amazon revealed wide-format machines from Canon, Epson, and HP.
The higher, industrial-print wide-format end of the market is more of a challenge. Konica Minolta is focused on the hybrid UV wide-format space with its AccurioWide 160 wide-format inkjet printer. Most dealers who sell that product already have some experience placing low-end wide-format devices. According to Smith, the UV wide-format space is something that is new to most dealers. For the most part, he said it’s the production-oriented dealers with large commercial and franchise print accounts that are more likely to offer these machines.
LDI Color ToolBox, based in Jericho, New York, has sold wide-format equipment for 30 years to virtually every vertical market. It distributes products from Canon, Epson, HP, KIP, and Océ. Market opportunities for LDI tend to be in advertising, design graphics, education, and large marketing departments. LDI Partner and Vice President Doug Cassetta’s advice when starting out is to stick to one brand that fits most clients.
“You shouldn’t have five brands,” he cautioned.
Once you settle on a brand, learn all about it and educate sales reps on how to identify opportunities. He also recommended working with manufacturer reps before hiring your own internal specialists.
“The minute there’s any interest, bring in the specialist,” said Cassetta.
The production print team at LDI spends a significant amount of time educating themselves about wide-format technology by talking to their manufacturers about what’s new. The team also attends most of the industry trade shows for the big-picture view.
“On the signage side, we’ve definitely garnered some good contacts and good information,” said Michael Schloss, LDI’s solutions marketing director. “Seeing these products live makes an impact versus looking at spec sheets and print samples.”
Bart Jacobs, president of Dorado Graphix, a Canon wide-format dealer based in Jacksonville, Florida, suggests staying focused and building your presence in vertical markets one at a time.
“Don’t scattershot,” he said. “If you take on too much at one time, you get pigeonholed either as not viable or not a good source, and you might not get a second chance ever again.”
He also cautioned about expanding too fast, echoing the comments of LDI’s Cassetta.
“Once vendors know you’re there, their inclination is to try to provide you with other possibilities and convince you to expand, which is not a bad thing, but take it in spoonfuls, not shovel loads,” stated Jacobs.
For those interested in building an industrial-print wide-format business, Luis Villa, vice president, production print, CIP, Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office in New York City, suggested taking stock of the percentage of print for pay or commercial-print facilities in your market. These organizations are likely to have wide-format machines, which means they already understand the technology. Villa has learned a lot about wide-format applications from these businesses. One area is packaging. Interesting tidbit: One of Atlantic’s commercial print clients uses its EFI VUTEk to make hand sanitizer stations out of corrugated cardboard.
An industrial print specialist should be proficient in capital equipment, consultative selling, and financial analysis. Knowledge of digital front-ends (DFEs) such as Fiery or Onyx, color management, and the commercial print sector is also essential. The specialist also understands the challenges and pain points of the target market, knows how to address these challenges, and can readily suggest solutions during the sales process. This includes knowledge of the various wide-format substrates, and rigid and flexible media, as well as costs.
“It is necessary to have intimate knowledge of the solutions themselves, as well as an understanding of the various ways in which wide-format is used in these markets,” said Villa. “Salespeople or the analyst must be proficient in doing the analysis to prove a solution and effectively communicate the value of the solution to the prospect to close and implement the solution.”
Other essentials are a willingness to take the time to learn about the market and hiring technicians capable of servicing these machines along with the ability to provide 24/7 support.
“When we get to machines that are a hundred thousand dollars plus, which is where our UV wide-format machines are at, it shifts to a different type of sale and different types of expertise,” said Konica Minolta’s Smith. “Obviously, dealers need to understand the challenges and pain points of the targeted market segment and look at what those challenges are, and what those solutions are going to do to solve those challenges for the customer.”
Sales Strategies
A customer’s applications obviously determine product recommendations. But there is more to matching a product to a customer than that. Let’s use this example of an LDI client who recently purchased an Epson eight-color printer for proofing applications.
“Epson really owns the proofing market,” said Cassetta. “The reason the customer chose Epson was because they had a 24-inch and a 44-inch printer, and both used the same ink tanks. That made a difference because with some brands, the 24-inch and the 44-inch [models] have separate inks.”
What also made a difference in this instance was that the customer wasn’t particular about the color output quality. While the graphic arts market has long been LDI’s sweet spot, it also offers wide-format products for the architectural engineering and construction space, and other businesses that need technical documents. Those clients are less focused on color quality and appreciate having the extra real estate offered in the large poster prints. Here, the focus is on speed and printing costs.
During the COVID-19 crisis, LDI uncovered new business opportunities, including customers who needed to produce floor graphics and signage that displays COVID warning signs, social distancing, and safety signs in offices. And with graduations going virtual, LDI’s clients in the commercial print shop and retail print space have been making congratulatory signage for lawn displays—another application that emerged during the pandemic.
The majority of Dorado Graphix’s wide-format clientele—about 70%—are photographers and graphic artists. The rest are engineering and architectural firms, and graphics businesses. In addition to Canon wide-format, Dorado Graphix sells cutters, wide-format scanners, and laminating equipment.
“You can’t just be a one-trick pony,” said Jacobs. “You have to do everything or a lot more than just a single technology. Everything we sell, we train the people who buy the products from us. Our moniker is, ‘Know what your equipment can do for you.’ That’s one of the things that is woefully deficient in the market in general. You’ve got a lot of people selling equipment, but there’s very few that will take the time after the sale to make sure that the customer is happy with the equipment and that it is doing what they expected it to do.”
Installations are also an element of Dorado Graphix’s sales strategy.
“I look at installs as a sales call,” said Jacobs. “Not necessarily a billable install, but I have that time in front of that customer to train them how to buy from us, and how to buy Canon material, and how to buy our supplies and media and everything else,” said Jacobs. “I call that a sales call.”
Since Atlantic’s current fiscal year started last September, the company has sold six EFI VUTEks.
The current climate has illuminated more applications.
“Because everything is signage and caution information, a lot of full graphics are being created now,” said Villa.
About 90% of Atlantic’s customers already have wide-format, whether it’s a smaller HP or a smaller Epson device.
According to Villa, the decision to purchase one industrial print wide-format device versus another doesn’t typically revolve around price, but it is determined more by the mindset of the customer who is set in their way on a specific brand because they are comfortable with it.
Inside the Margins
Margins are determined by the dealer, and can range from 15% to 40% depending on each aspect of the designed service and supply model, according to Atlantic’s Villa.
LDI’s Cassetta is less enthused about margins of late, particularly at the lower end of the wide-format market where customers can acquire many of the products on the internet for the same price or less than dealer cost.
“The margins are pretty bad,” said Cassetta. “That’s why it’s hard to incent sales reps. But if you don’t sell it, somebody else will. LDI, especially with our sub-brand Color ToolBox, has always been to provide all of the client’s in-house tech and print needs. The client gets a better value, and LDI can regain some profit by offering enhanced training and support. There is also a benefit to bundling it with a host of solutions as opposed to just selling it as a single standalone device.”
Small Business Appeal
As small businesses begin to reopen in Jacksonville, Florida, Dorado Graphix, a Canon wide-format dealer, is using its imagePROGRAF PRO-4000S, imagePROGRAF PRO-2100 and imagePROGRAF TX-3000 printers to provide local small businesses with large-format peel-and-stick banners to display on store windows and doors to attract customers.
The banners read, “We’re Open; Here to Support You; #JaxStrong,” to let customers know those who hang the signage on their storefronts are open for business and prepared to support customer needs. These banners are designed to be noticed from a distance, helping small businesses reach and engage with targeted customers.
“As a small business owner myself, we wanted to produce something to help our local businesses attract customers into their storefronts as they begin to reopen, and Canon’s imagePROGRAF solutions have brought that vision to life,” said Bart Jordan, president, Dorado Graphix. “Canon’s aqueous ink is water resistant, which is especially important as small businesses will be displaying this signage outdoors. We couldn’t do this without Canon, and we look forward to continue utilizing its technology to create solutions to help support our local small businesses.”
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