Higher quality printing rather than the cheapest prices is the ‘most important’ requirement for customers of the long-established national ‘for trade’ printer.
More than 10% of its thousands of professional printing clients responded to a detailed questionnaire with the majority ticking the quality of print as their most important requirement. Alex Coulson, manager at the Sydney-based production centre, was especially pleased with the focus on better printing.
“It reinforces our belief in the way we operate our business. We’ve always put quality control first and that seems to be what clients are most interested in,” he said.
Respondents to the survey that sought to rate client expectations, put cheaper prices a poor second. To Coulson’s delight customers gave the printer an overall rating of 8.9 out of ten on all the main criteria such as service, quality and price. “We even got forty percent of our customers ticking ten out of ten, with over ninety percent giving us over eight,” said Coulson. “It was a very satisfactory response.”
The relatively high rate of engagement with Heroprint’s customer survey also validates Coulson’s philosophy that a good printing business is based on relationships. The family-owned business is on a consistent growth path that emphasizes personal engagement even as it provides easy online ordering.
“We make it possible for all our customers to place their orders easily online, if they don’t need to talk to us. At the same time we encourage them to come in and deal face to face, whatever they prefer,” he said.
Notably Heroprint produces proofs for large amounts of its work, with many customers coming in personally to the Euston Road, Alexandria, plant to do a press check. Coulson is happy to facilitate these visits, actually encouraging them to come and see the scale of the Sydney-based operation.
“Many people are surprised at how large our operation is. Many still think of us as being a Perth company, while we’ve been Sydney-based at this site for over a decade,” he said.
The hugely productive, 24/7, printing plant runs three Komori Lithrones – a ten-colour A1 perfector, a five-colour A1 as well as a four-colour A2. A Kodak Nexpress, one of two with the other in Perth, takes care of digital orders. A comprehensive finishing department churns turns out every form of printed product.
The family-owned business has refined it processes and its locations. It has an offset and digital operation in Perth as well as digital sites in Melbourne and Brisbane. Firmly focused on ‘for trade’ printing, Heroprint’s range of products is constantly growing as it meets its customers’ requirements.
“It’s important that we are all things to our customers. That’s why we’ve taken things like die-cutting in-house. Because quality finishing is so important, everything we produce is coated. Nothing is too hard for us,” said Coulson.
Heroprint operates its own custom-built MIS and most jobs are turned around within two-three days. In the highly competitive ‘for trade’ space it keeps focused firmly on what it does best – quality printing for a recognised clientele.
And it seems to be a formula for success.