Suggestions Setting up a large format printing facility in Huntington NY

[aaprinters]

Hi Guys,

I am setting up a large format printing facility in Huntington, NY.

This is the first time I am setting up a business in the US, however I have successfully been trading in the UK for 2 years.

Any suggestions of how to source good staff? large format printer operators?

Anything else I should look out for while setting up shop?

 

[BigfishDM]

Why are you setting up in the US, do you have a lot of biz developed out here for printing? What type of company are you trying to setup? You should consider outsourcing until you have a better idea of what your going to need to make a business venture happen out here. I would need to know a lot more detail about what your doing if you want an honest opinion. Is that the machine your going to be printing with in the picture?

 

[2B]

there is a section here for jobs opening so you are at least dealing with like minded people.

depending on what you are looking for, we have had good success with trade schools as most of them already have courses in design / printing

 

[Billct2]

Similar to Bigfish, is it to support an existing base or to grow a new business? Because boy are you moving into a saturated market...

 

[aaprinters]

Hey BigfishDM thanks for posting!

I have just got into this business 2 years ago, done really well in the U.K. Grown from one 3.2m printer to 5 and it's worked very well.. so far.

I have an online marketing background, done SEO & POC for other business for 10 years and now I do it for my own business. My business model is 100% purely based on Web to print.

What are are your thoughts? And yes, that's the machine I will be printing on.

 

[aaprinters]

28 thanks for your post!

I shall definitely checkout the job posting section. Just getting used to the site!

Thanks for for the advice on trade schools! Will definitely check them out.

Thanks

 

[aaprinters]

Billct2 thanks for terrifying me! Haha thanks for being honest I must say.

Well it's a bit late now! I should have posted before making investments!

My approach is web to print, purely online. I have also developed a design tool which is further supported by a team of photoshop experts. Free design service, no matter how complex! What do you think? Do I stand a chance?

 

[BigfishDM]

Hey BigfishDM thanks for posting!

I have just got into this business 2 years ago, done really well in the U.K. Grown from one 3.2m printer to 5 and it's worked very well.. so far.

I have an online marketing background, done SEO & POC for other business for 10 years and now I do it for my own business. My business model is 100% purely based on Web to print.

What are are your thoughts? And yes, that's the machine I will be printing on.

Well I think you will do a good job making banners but there isn't much money in banners anymore. I would honestly try to attack a niche market where you can make some decent profit, maybe something like custom table tops or something.

 

[player]

Sounds like you know what it takes to get business. Just be sure to undercut the market and you will do well.

 

[printhog]

For starters I'd recommend against the free design service. (Unless your pricing is fully accounting for it, which would make you non competitive in the online model)... To be blunt you'll be pissing on the last profit center the trade has. Print capacity exceeds design capacity by at least 20 fold nationally. So it's a commodity market. Selling commodity print and make the design service your profit center works, but selling commodity and giving away design? No bueno.

But if your goal is to do that free design thing.. you'll be that commodity printer... look at circle graphics in Longmont CO. They'll eat you alive in head to head combat. They literally buy media and ink by the train load. So you won't get the national work with your model.

If you give away design you'll alienate the folks who will feed your machines with high volume.

Leaving you with the mom and pop online shopper that only buys once on price alone. Not much there to feed you stability.

Wish you luck, but hopefully you'll see the light about giving away design. Maybe you have a portal that allows the designer and the client to interact and you charge by the minute? Workable. Maybe you do a flat fee that covers paying living wage salaries for your designers? Also workable.

I'd just hate to see your model happen. Once you do it, someone else will do it. I've seen it in small town shops.. no one was left after 3 years of that business model.



Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

 

[rossmosh]

There are two main ways to make money.

1. Volume - This sounds like your business model
2. Niche/Specialized market

So I wish you luck in the volume market. You're competing with some big, established competition and the local sign shops. Your web background is far more important than anything else. Getting traffic and converting it to sales is obviously the biggest battle. I do think you seem to have jumped in with both feet before doing any research. You're opening a business in one of the most expensive places to live/operate a business in the US. You could have setup your business 100 miles south in Southern NJ and cut your yearly fixed operating costs probably by 15-20%. Keep going south or west and you could cut your early fixed costs probably by close to 40%. Also by moving to that region you have 3 heavy hitter sign supply shops within ~25 miles.

 

[andy]

80%+ of new UK business ventures fail within the first 3 years...

I'm not sure I get why you're off to start a business in the colonies when don't appear to have finished what you've started here?

From what I know of our colonial cousins they love nothing more than a competitive punch up... if you want a chunk of their Apple Pie I'm sure they'll make you fight for every crumb

 

[aaprinters]

printhog thanks for the straight firing! really appreciate the brutal truth you have pointed out.

OK, I completely get you, and understand where you are coming from. I think its all about the target market all different printers are targeting. So everyone's opinion about the sector is going to be different. My target audience is SME, 98% B2B small businesses, who start their hunt for a supplier online, that cannot afford professional designers, but dont want to pay for design, or simply dont have the time, as at the moment its a grey area in terms of do we pay for design first? what if i dont like it? will i get a refund? can i get unlimited changes? So to make things simple, I will not be the cheapest, but will be very competitive on volume if thats the USP for the client, hence I have more than one site, one for trade/volume no frills, and one for SME's. So I will not be alienating anyone who just needs a print supplier that wants to give volume, and also not too corporate to alienate the SME's, where I think the bigger bucks are on a daily basis.

I have had a look at Circle Graphics, to be honest, I cant get a price without contacting them, let alone addressing any design services. So they must have other websites that can do that, or maybe they dont and rely on resellers and affiliates to make all the money and they just do the donkey work. I am not in this game to do the donkey work on production, I am happy to do the donkey work on design side, which will satisfy a massive SME sector. 90% of my customers would visit Circle Graphics website, take a look around, and move on to the next site which has straight forward pricing, easy design service and a next day delivery option. I hope I am not coming across as arrogant, but like I said, every printer has their own target market and approach to acquiring customers. Its obvious Circle Graphics are hugely successful in the sector they are in, but my approach and my ideal customers are completely different.

Currently 90%+ of my customers are B2B, and 70% are repeat customers who now simply will not buy banners from anywhere else regardless of my price. Like I said, I am not the cheapest, but what I can say, my design is free, I do the donkey work to help SME customers with their design and they stick for good. 35% actually give us their design work for other things, which we charge for.

The model is proven to be successful in the UK. The US market is 3 times bigger in NY alone. My approach and strategy is no secret, its solving a problem, and I believe, if printers dont adapt to online trends, and changing customer buying behavior online, businesses with printers, ink and media alone will be going out of business, or they will be heavily relying on online sellers via a re-seller program or affiliate, hence making very little profit.

I am very delighted with your contribution, I am very passionate so please excuse the over burn! I would really like to keep in touch!

BTW, any advice on which courier company can deliver next day to most states? with a good reputation and also economical? Many Thanks

 

[aaprinters]

rossmosh I have very good reasons to setup in NY, based on 2 years of customer buying trends in the UK. So here is why;

80% of my business is generated from London, the area which is densely populated with small businesses, and SME's always prefer working with a local company than a national supplier. A huge number of customers only buy from us because we have a London address and a local london telephone number, so basically, I am following my customers. The plan is to start off with NY as I believe its the highest populated state for small businesses, and then moving state to state based on the above.

So yes, although I may be paying 10-15% more operational costs, which can be minimized by searching high and low aggressively for a space that comes within my budget, hence Huntington, which is where I believe I have found such a place. So being based in NY should have a big enough impact on my sales, which should cover the overspend of being there.

Offering next day delivery to NY will hugely impact sales as my next day service is the most popular, and also the most profitable. I am not the cheapest, but will get the job done within hours as far as design service is concerned, something I have not come across as yet with any competitor.

The business model is a fusion of pre-print/design and print skills, I am sure it will be a rocky start like every business is, but get the combination right, I will make my own space in the market hopefully!

Could you give advice on the best courier for next day delivery in NY, and also nationwide?

 

[aaprinters]

player thanks for your comments. I believe the online sector is wide open for new business, I will not be undercutting on price, my attitude is to make buying banners as easy as ordering a burger from McD.

 

[aaprinters]

andy! They can have the pie, I will settle for the crumbs. The market is huge, if I get enough crumbs I think its a risk worth taking.

The 80% that fail, they do something else in which they do really well. This is my 'something else'.

 

[HDvinyl]

Are you really focusing on banner printing??

Maybe your slogan should be,"We're punch-drunk here at AA"

 

[aaprinters]

@HDvinyl haha!

Banner printing is the route to market to initially get the volume and achieve break even, obviously the depth in products will follow. Instead of shaking your head and smiling, express your feelings, what have I got to be afraid of? best/worst case scenario?

 

[ColoPrinthead]

But if your goal is to do that free design thing.. you'll be that commodity printer... look at circle graphics in Longmont CO. They'll eat you alive in head to head combat. They literally buy media and ink by the train load. So you won't get the national work with your model.

Even with a large shop like Circle, there is still plenty of business for the other shops - even serving the Longmont and Loveland areas from Denver.

 

[Johnny Best]

Are you getting those big tax breaks New York State is offering in bringing in new business. Also what about the unions in NY.
I think some of the naysayers on here are related to the guy who gave Led Zeppelin their name. Best of luck in your new business here in the US.