Fluid take lead in print run

A Hyndburn graphic designer who became so frustrated by the treatment of his company’s work by some printers have decided to do something radical about it – set up his own full colour print franchise.

Jon Greenwood of Hollins Lane in Baxenden and business partner are the brains behind Fluid Media Adam Hindle of Clough Street Waterfoot who have just launched Printing.com on Bolton Street in Bury.

“As designers we’d had varying experiences with printers. Sometimes jobs that you had spent months on with a client had become butchered at the hands of a careless printer,” explains Jon, who set up Fluid Media in Rossendale with Adam three years ago.

“Others were excellent and one of the best we came across was Printing.com. So when we discovered that there was an opportunity to open up a franchise in Bury it was too good to be true. It means we can continue to offer our design services but also offer a printing service too. It’s the perfect fit from a business perspective.”

So what makes Printing.com different than the opposition.

“I think it’s because we are far more customer focussed then many other places,” says Jon. “That ethos informs everything we do. For example, we sell over 2,750 different print items — from business cards to brochures — and each has a fixed price. People can see clearly what they are getting and how much it costs.

“We also offer a guaranteed turnaround time of either 3, 5 7 or 10 working days, depending on the customer’s needs. And, naturally we are competitive. A recent survey of comparative quotes showed that we  are up to 77 per cent cheaper than the average industry price.”

 From it’s North West HQ, Printing.com has established over 140 outlets nationwide since 1992. A centralised printing operation means that several jobs can be printed at once, which brings the economies of scale that mean a highly competitive pricing strategy. For an established design house like Fluid Media the in-house printing expertise is invaluable.

“We design company logos, letterheads, brochures and many other products which all require a high standard of professionalism right from the concept stage to the final print job.  Now we have control of that element too it’s great for business.

“We also have another steady income stream with people coming in  from the street because the Printing.com brand has such a good reputation for quality and value.”

The business is set to host an official opening in February 2006.

Picture shows: From left to right Jon Greenwood and Adam Hindle