The addition of a Foliant Taurus 530SF to Little Eaton-based company Mercia Image Print, completes the company’s vision and signals the end of a 26 year long journey.
‘It is the final piece in a jigsaw puzzle that we started when we set up the business in 1989,’ said Amanda Strong, managing director of the general commercial print operation that has seen turnover increase 10% to £1.4m in the past year. It completes litho print on a five colour B2 Mistubishi Diamond and a five colour Heidelberg SpeedMaster 52 and digital print on a Xerox J75.
It is not just the immediate demand that will have an impact, ‘It is too early to say what difference it has made to our bottom line but we are already able to offer lamination as an extra, much more freely than we were before. This helps us create a more value added service, which in turn makes our customers feel like they are getting more for their money. We can also promote the service more readily because we know we have full control of the process and timings – especially when so many jobs are now on demand. There are so many areas it impacts. It was such a good decision to buy.’
Ms Strong explains that the laminator will also play a crucial role in the company’s move towards direct mail production supported by the other recent additions. ‘We are seeing a growing interest in targeted mail. This was something we were outsourcing and have now brought totally in-house. Lamination is central to this and being able to keep control of all the elements in-house will greatly enhance our service.’
