Richmond-based Blueprinting Services of Virginia is growing by providing higher-quality color printing, thanks to a newly installed EFI H1625 LED wide-format printer. The 65-inch hybrid roll/flatbed inkjet printer helps the 28-year-old printing company adjust to changes in a market where clients demand digital convenience and superior color imaging.
"We began as a reprographic shop serving the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) industries," said David Hinckle, the company's president. "Clients used to come into the shop with a roll of drawings and ask for five copies. It's not that simple anymore. Now, clients ask us to download a variety of files from various locations, assemble everything and run two sets."
Blueprinting Services prides itself on delivering exceptional customer service to smaller and mid-sized businesses it serves – clients that recognize value in the extra attention the company provides. Because of their commitment to del ivering higher-level service, Hinckle and his team made sure that the inkjet product they selected provided better printing and a broader range of print applications.
Konica Minolta Business Solutions (KMBS) sold, installed and provides training and support on Blueprinting Services of Virginia's new printer as part of a recently expanded EFI/KMBS distribution partnership for EFI Wide Format products.
Creating new opportunities in signage and display graphics
"This acquisition will benefit our business in a couple of ways," Hinckle said. "It gives us the opportunity to offer more graphically rich and color-intense printing services to our AEC customers, and it also opens the door for us to enter the sign and display graphics market."
The strategy immediately started paying off. "The day KMBS finished installing our new printer, we were still running tests and I got a call from a customer asking if I could do construction signage," Hinckle said. "So right out of the chute, we had a $1,000 job we would not have had before. The client needed the signs the next day, and we were able to help him out. Needless to say, he was delighted."
Blueprinting Services of Virginia's new entry- to mid-level production printer is designed to maximize image quality with single-pass, multilayer printing capabilities, true eight-level, variable-drop grayscale printheads and the industry's leading white ink. The printer's � �cool cure" LED inks help EFI customers like Hinckle profit from lower running costs and the ability to print on high-value, specialty substrates that cannot withstand the heat of conventional drying or curing methods.
"The EFI H1625 has given us a whole new lease on life," Hinckle said. "The excitement from customers about the doors this opens gives me optimism for the future. I have confidence I can say 'yes' more often.
"With this printer, we are able to pursue a number of new options," he added, "including real estate, election signage, vehicle wraps and more. I believe that the H1625 will make us more profitable."
