Whitchurch-based Print Monkey has expanded its offerings with the investment in a Mimaki JV5 wide format printer and a CJV30-160 printer/cutter.
Investing first in the Mimaki printer/cutter and shortly after; the high end production JV5 printer the company’s product line swiftly evolved and it now supplies high volumes of banners, exhibition displays and posters.
Lucy Ratcliffe, founder, said, ‘Whilst we originally considered supplying sports teams with their bespoke kits, we soon realised that offering a broader range of products would be more profitable and that got us into the wide format market.’
The investment has not stopped there, the addition of a Rollover flatbed laminator has lead to prints on rigid substrates, which are proving popular too. ‘A retail order of 300 boards has paid off a chunk of our investment in the Rollover already, but we still supply printed garments too,’ Ms Ratcliffe added.
The company has recently developed a sub-brand exclusively to assist design agencies in their supply of wide format printed products. Print Monkey Pro tends to the specific needs of agencies that do not have the capability to handle long runs or specialist jobs and has rapidly become a key partner for a number of high profile organisations, delivering work for well known brands.
Investment in Clarity’s workflow software has also assisted with the increase in jobs going out of the door. The business has grown through a combination of targeted integrated marketing, word of mouth and local networking.
It is the local networking that Ms Ratcliffe is focussing on most at the moment, she concluded, ‘We realised that in spite of an initial heavy investment in online advertising, most business was coming from local advertising and networking events.’
Lucy Ratcliffe, founder of Print Monkey
