Graphic Printing Technologies to Distribute Products from Colourgen

09/10/2008

It seems a long time since a new Company was formed to take a serious charge at the large format printing market. However, 2008 has seen the formation of just such a company. Graphic Printing Technologies Ltd (GPT) has laid its foundations in Slough, Berkshire and has just opened its state-of-the-art showroom and office facilities.

The company has been formed by Stuart Cole as Managing Director with Shaun Thompson as Sales Director, both well known in the industry from their roles at Colourgen and Applied Image Technology. They are ably supported by three experienced staff covering consumables sales, administration and technical support.

So what does GPT bring to the market? Stuart Cole explains, “One thing the current market for large format printing certainly offers is choice, almost too much! There are printers and related products from scores of manufacturers and suppliers and the end user has to pick their way through a potential minefield before getting the best solution for their particular applications. A lot of resellers sell on price alone as the market has got more and more competitive, however, end users are now recognising that a cheap solution isn’t necessarily the right solution and are turning to companies that can add value in terms of honest advice based on current and future requirements – basically listening to the customer!. Our policy is to have what we believe are the best products available at any given time for each application and be able to show the customer how to compare and contrast between appropriate solutions.”

He continues, “Our showroom is focused on solutions. We want customers to come to us and really see what options they have side by side and assess what is best for them – not what we want to sell them.”

Stuart wants GPT to focus on building long term relationships with customers. “We want customers that come to us to stick with us because they get good, honest service and quality technical consultancy and support. Our business plan is built on providing added value services to customers to help them make the most profit out of the solutions we provide. This includes ensuring their systems are up and running when they need to be, that consumables are ready and available, tried and tested and that we can deliver additional services as their businesses grow such as colour management and profiling. We already have a hugely experienced team and as the Company grows, we expect to add people of similar calibre to ensure we can deliver on the service promise we give to customers.”

Stuart believes that key to any Company’s success is striving to have the type of relationship with suppliers that you would have with customers and sees that his past connections with Colourgen can be leveraged to provide a better service to his customers. “Colourgen is exactly the sort of company we want to work with because it has the same ethos and long term commitment to customers that we aspire to. The Company has been very supportive and we certainly appreciate the faith they have in us that we have the right business model to succeed in this competitive market.”

Jeff Biggs, managing director of Colourgen, says, “I think it’s excellent that a new company has come to market that is aiming to provide a proper, value added service to the market. Too many companies are simply competing on price and this is bad news for the end users who really need the help and support of quality resellers to ensure they maximise the investment they make in large format printing solutions. Of course, I know the GPT team very well and have no doubt that their enthusiasm, commitment and industry knowledge will see them build a successful business.”

The GPT Showroom officially opens in September and will include several printers supplied by Colourgen. These include the Epson Stylus Pro range, dominated by the 11880. “The Stylus Pro 11880 is a really good printer and is proving to be very popular with our first customers. We have already delivered 11880s to BigStuff, GGS and Carnival Graphics, who have all selected the system for its sheer print quality.”

It is still early days for GPT, but as Stuart concludes, “Our early performance suggests that our formula of delivering the best possible solutions for customers and then supporting them on an on-going basis is one that the industry really appreciates. With the support of key suppliers like Colourgen and Epson and our own commitment to delivering the latest and best technology, coupled with first class support, we hope to soon become a major force in the industry.”