Sam Kehoe shares valuable tips on how you can save money across your print business. This month she shares how an investment transformed the day-to-day running of her print business.
As a former printer, if there is one thing that comes to mind when asked what advice I would have to give to our customers on how to save money, my first thought is always ‘buy a Rollover’!
Yes, I understand that first you have to part with a large sum of money (£11,495 and upwards depending on what model you have), but my advice still stands strong.
Let me explain.
Back in 2014, when Lucy and I ran our own print business, the Rollover was a sore subject. Lucy was adamant that we should purchase a Rollover Flatbed Applicator as it would make life easier and in the long run save us money. Being honest, I disagreed, thinking it was a lot of money and I didn’t see the value. Eventually Lucy won the battle and I finally caved. Our Rollover arrived and it looked awesome in our print room. During the install, we were given training on how to use it and within an hour our apprentice at the time was mounting 5ft x 10ft boards on her own. No mistakes, misalignments, bubbles, creases, dust under the vinyl. It was perfect!
Prior to investing in the Rollover, we would waste ink, vinyl, boards, time, energy and the will to live sometimes as we used the laminator to mount boards. We would also have to ensure that there was enough spare blank vinyl at the start of the role to get going and we would often waste a lot of board. Mounting with a board also took three people at times and the dust under the vinyl would always be an issue.
So, bearing all of this in mind, when I had my first go on the Rollover, it blew my mind. Such a hard process was made effortless. And as the weeks went on, we started to see the savings. In various areas. Here are just a few examples:
- Ink – fewer mistakes
- Vinyl – fewer mistakes and reprints
- Board – we mounted an assortment of board sizes and kept off cuts for potential jobs (normally they would be binned)
- Staff – the speed increased capacity, less overtime or late nights.
- Mental Health – happier people in general, less frustrated!
- Quality – better finish on our products
Then we found further uses for it. The light on the bed of the table was excellent when weeding vinyl, especially frosted, clear and those hard to see colours. The memory cutting mat was great when hand cutting PVC banner or vinyl as it kept your knife steady and stopped it from getting into the old cut grooves. The pole and brackets were handy when you just needed a second pair of hands when trying to unroll a heavy 1.6m roll. I guess my point is, it became more than what it said on the tin.
All of the above saved us, in one way or another. Never have I been so glad to be proven wrong and I am still reminded of it today. So, if you want to save money, time and effort, this is the new machine for your business. If you're still not convinced, then come and give it a test in our showroom and see for yourself.
If you have any questions about the Rollover Flatbed Applicator then speak to one of our experts on 01948 662669 and they will be able to help and book you in for a demo (remote or in our showroom).
Check out the flatbed applicator in our latest Rollover video
