Worldwide Online Printing buys On Time Copy Group

It has appointed a Queensland master franchisor to help run the 14 digital copy centres, located from Caboolture to the Gold Coast, many of which operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“The acquisition is a classic win win for both parties,” said Clive Denholm, managing director of Worldwide.

Worldwide Online Printing is a new production format for the industry. It operates two centralised manufacturing hubs, one in Sydney, the other in Perth. These form the core of a network that allows its outlets, which may have only rudimentary production devices, to offer a complete design and print service.

The manufacturing hubs operate high-end digital and offset presses with the work despatched overnight to customers around the country. The outlets, such as the On Time stores, are franchised and owner operated and allow small operators to make use of the latest high-cost technology while maintaining control of their customer base.

It is a business model, sometimes referred to as “the MacDonalds of printing,” that originated in the UK where it has proved successful. Worldwide has announced its intention to have over 100 outlets nationally within three years.

“By making use of the latest print technology, we can assemble print jobs from across Australia to achieve maximum productivity from our presses. This in turn allows Worldwide to pass on excellent economies, maintaining the highest quality of printing within very fast turnaround times” said Denholm.

On Time has been a troubled franchise originally founded in Brisbane by operators without any experience in the printing industry. AusDoc bought it last year but it has been moved on as part of that group’s decision to leave the production side of the industry.

Although On Time has struggled with the format this year, the individual stores continued to trade, some posting good profits. The franchise format was based on the Kinko-style operation of providing 24/7 access to printing and imaging equipment.

Brisbane small business coach, Don Robinson, is the Queensland master franchisor. He is the author of Small Business: Why some succeed and others fail.

“Worldwide’s offset product range will value add to the existing On Time customer base. This is an excellent transition for the On Time group,” he said.