The Promocompany, based in Ede, The Netherlands is a wholesale business that sports a 25-year reputation as a key player in promotional items. The business recently decided to insource printing and selected two Mimaki printers.
Internet sales
Founder of the Promocompany, Edwin Steinmeier, bet on the internet big time by selling over no less than fifteen specialised websites. usbcompany.nl and snoeppotten.nl are the frontrunners. “Relevance is key on these sites. People who visit a particular site, need to have access to everything there is to know about the specific product,” according to Edwin. To meet demand, Promocompany imported directly from China. Printed articles took up to 8 to 9 working days for delivery. They had to speed that up to be market competitive, Edwin concluded. “We now keep a larger supply on stock and print it ourselves, to meet the three-day delivery deadline.”
In-house print
In 2017, the company invested in two Mimaki printers to be able to print in-house: the CJV 150-7; an integrated printer/cutter and an UJF-6042 MkII; an A2 size UV LED flatbed printer, provided by Igepa.
Edwin Steinmeier: “It’s all about the speed. People are so used to fast deliveries of online orders. Printing things ourselves enables us to both compete in price and speed. We’re not overly familiar with sign or screen print. But we are entrepreneurs that respond to a market demand by producing in-house. Our graphics department supports customers and delivers proofs. We just didn’t have the required graphic production knowledge. And now there’s no need to – these machines are so operationally idiot-proof, that production ran flawlessly after just a few training sessions.”
Candy jars
What started with printing on USB sticks with the flatbed machine, turned into candy jar throughput runs. Candy jars turn out to be one of the Netherlands’ most favourite promotional items. Edwin explains: “We fill them and we print them. It’s all done in-house. We even have a packing and wrapping unit that focuses solely on this task. On the site snoeppotten.nl you can order these with print on glass or any other substrate and a candy mixture of choice. Candy jars really have a way of grabbing the attention on a desk or in a showroom. These are promotional gifts with an extended expiration date. They just keep very well for a very long time.”
“We turned to Mimaki for a sticker machine, originally. But when we visited the showroom, we realised we might as well just opt for the machine that prints directly onto the jars. The result looks amazing and it’s dishwasher proof. So that’s what we started to with glass and fiber on the flatbed UV printer. We’re unique in that perspective.”
Round surfaces
Or how quickly the production at the Promocompany rolled from one project into the next. Just by choosing the Kebab option that accompanies the Mimaki UJF-6042, new opportunities arose, like printing on Dopper water bottles, as seen in the accompanying video.
Endless possibilities
The Mimaki printers never stop at the Promocompany. USB sticks, Powerbanks and AR-glasses keep the machines busy. Edwin Steinmeier is content. Disturbances have yet to occur: “It truly is a flawless operation.”
He turned to Google when looking for machines suitable for his business. One of his colleagues, IGO Post, was pleased about the Mimaki cooperation, so he decided to invite several dealers over. There was an immediate connection with Igepa that made them the preferred partner of choice. “Once you start operating these machines, opportunities seem endless.” Edwin Steinmeier concludes.