Being one of the first companies in the UK to install a newly-released press shows a willingness to take risks and to pioneer new technologies, as well as faith in the manufacturer. To do so twice within as many years really is to prove it beyond any doubt.
That is exactly what Bakergoodchild has done, and the Birmingham-based print and business and promotional communications specialist will be hoping to reap the rewards of being early adopters of both the Xerox Iridesse and the Xerox Baltoro.
The former, a production press boasting a range of embellishment capabilities, was installed within months of its 2018 European launch. The company opted for the Iridesse because it wanted to ‘enhance its colour and embellishment capabilities’ and in order to ‘meet increasing customer demand for ‘more vibrant and pure colour finishing technologies’.
Managing director Paul Brough has big plans for Bakergoodchild
The Iridesse can print metallic gold, silver, white or clear toners and the usual CMYK at speeds up to 120ppm. It supports long-sheet printing at up to 1200mm, and also has multi-pass capability that creates watermarks and security features via clear toner and ‘dimensional’ printing.
The company was drawn to the Iridesse as it was seeing an increase in customer demand for print services from sectors such as retail and seasonal events, and investing in the press allowed Bakergoodchild to not only handle the extra work but also ‘to add a touch of sparkle to client work.’ This included spot colours, metallic finishing and pure crisp white finishing.
Meanwhile the Baltoro, Xerox’s ‘entry level’ sheet-fed inkjet press, was only given its UK unveiling in October of last year, but Bakergoodchild had its very own up and running before the year was out. The Baltoro prints at 1200dpi, on sheets up to 364 x 520mm and at speeds of up to 300 ppm. It is able to print on matte, silk and satin stocks and Xerox has described it as ‘enabling a company to make the decision to the leap into inkjet a much more less daunting proposition because they keep the infrastructure they have in place while they continue to enjoy the same level of service.’
One of the most attractive features of the Baltoro to a transactional/direct mail company like Bakergoodchild is its ‘hyper-personalisation’ capabilities.
The company heavily focuses on high volume, fast turnaround mailing which often involves customising the print. ‘Personalisation is the key to success with many direct mail projects,’ Bakergoodchild managing director Paul Brough told Digital Printer. ‘And when it comes to communications that need to be delivered in a short turnaround time, we believe a personalised approach is the best way to deliver mail campaigns.’
Mr Brough joined Bakergoodchild last year after spending five years as CEO for Opus Trust Marketing, which he helped grow from a £15m to a £26.5m turnover business over a five-year period, establishing the company’s postal service division. He has made clear his intention to grow Bakergoodchild in a similar manner.
The Baltoro is obviously a key part of this drive. ‘We have a number of applications that we can transfer to the new machine,’ Mr Brough continued. ‘It gives the sales team another piece in the armoury to sell print and mail solutions. It very much suits some of the transactional and business mail work we do. We can explore solutions for slightly different markets. It also fits nicely into our print room without too much disruption that would have been necessary with a larger press.’
‘We are really pleased Paul has invested in the Baltoro,’ says Nick Bridge, general manager graphic communications, Xerox UK. ‘For a company in the transactional and direct mail space, it makes a lot of sense. It makes a business’ decision to move into the inkjet space a lot less daunting because they’re able to keep the infrastructure they have in place while they continue to reap the benefits from the same level of service.’
It is safe to say that Xerox machines,will be at the core of Bakergoodchild’s activities; in addition to the Iridesse and the Baltoro the company also runs two Nuveras and a Versant, all supplied by Xerox Production Reseller Pinnacle. The ambitious company says that it will continue to invest throughout 2020 as it prepares to ramp up the amount of services it can provide to its customers, though transactional and direct mail will remain at the heart of its portfolio.
