Barnsley display printing company Vivid Display opened its doors for business in February this year and is already anticipating doubling the size of the operation within the next 12 months. Its Epson Stylus Pro 11880 is currently kept busy producing high quality graphics for a niche clientele of shopping centres.
"Business has been brisk from the very beginning," says managing director Peter Wyatt, who has a long and solid background in design and print, especially large format graphics. "Having worked extensively in this sector, I could see that there was a ready made market with ready made customers."
When it came to the question of equipment Peter did thorough research, asking a wide range of sales people and material suppliers and they all recommended Epson. "The Stylus Pro 11880 gives us the best quality at the level we wanted to go in at," says Peter. "Design agencies have very high standards and we wanted to be absolutely certain we could deliver the highest levels of quality and colour along with a fast and reliable service."
A feature of the SP11880 that in particular impresses Vivid is the ability to produce reliable and vibrant colour. "The colours are very vibrant, which is very important," says Peter. "Reds, oranges, greens - they all come out brilliantly."
The company deals with about 16 shopping centres across the UK, producing point of sale material, promo advertising both internally and externally, window vinyls and floor vinyls. "Everything that we throw at it, it handles with no problems," says Peter.
Vivid bought the Stylus Pro 11880 from Fastek Graphic Services in Leeds. Barry Singleton, sales and marketing manager of Fastek, says: "When Vivid set us the task of identifying a software and printer combination package to best suit its needs, we suggested the Epson Stylus Pro 11880 and the ErgoSoft Poster Print Rip. The 64-inch size made sense for the larger format graphics and as the majority of its work is indoor graphics, it is a perfect fit. Vivid is a pretty forward thinking company and I expect they will be looking to grow and have the ability to provide outdoor graphics."
Peter agrees with this. "We plan to double the size of the business in the next year. We have already exceeded our expectations for this year and could expand now, but we want to wait until we have completed one whole financial year." The expansion plans include another Stylus Pro 11880 and another printer for the outdoor market, which is still in the decision process.
This success is largely put down to Vivid's own quality standards. It constantly checks the print quality for colour and consistency and prints on "the best substrates using the best inks, which are both Epson". Each customer gives feedback on every job, grading the quality of print and service and Vivid monitors all of this information to keep ahead of the game.
Its website is unusual and eye-catching but this is not a case of style over substance. Ordering online is quick and easy, with the process being pared down to the essential information only. "The quicker, easier and more enjoyable we can make it for the customer, the better - for us and them," says Peter.
