A merica has given us many things that have benefited the UK over the years: battalions of soldiers during the Second World War, the first mass-production car and fast food restaurants to name a few. And now, despite the less than favourable economic conditions that have caused our Atlantic cousin's biggest print firms RR Donnelley and Quebecor World some sleepless nights, it is to give us Mimeo: a thriving print business with a 21st-century twist.

Mimeo is different to most print companies. Its production facilities are entirely digital, while primary contact with customers is via the internet. However, it has proved to be a successful strategy, so much so that overseas expansion is in the offing. And first stop is the UK.

To target the UK market, a 20-strong team will be hitting the phones and the in-boxes of potential British customers from the New York office, while vice-president of sales Tom Karrat, whose background is with tech firms including Yahoo!, has been over in the UK to recruit a team of five direct sales specialists with experience not in print, but in technology or financial services.

Mimeo understands the importance of being integrated within the supply chain. Its two US factories are next to the Fedex hubs in Newark and Memphis.

"It provides the longest production window possible - up until 10pm Eastern Standard Time - and we can still guarantee delivery by 8am the next morning in the US," says chief executive Adam Slutsky.

Focus on quality
The concentration of the business in just a couple of locations also ensures that the company can focus on quality assurance - with checks on quality at the printing, collating and binding stages - something Slutsky says wouldn't be possible if using a dispersed production model.

The firm runs a mix of HP Indigo, Kodak and Xerox cut sheet digital kit and large-format production machines. In Nashville alone, there are 40 digital presses churning out work.

For the UK operation, Mimeo is dipping its feet into the market first, not jumping straight into the deep end. It is minimising its risks by using its Newark factory to produce work for the UK and then shipping it back across the Atlantic. This obviously increases shipping costs, which the firm is taking a hit on by charging customers prices based on shipping from within Europe. It also means that, at the moment, it can't offer next-day delivery to the UK.

But, if everything goes according to plan, it will open a European factory. It has identified DHL as the carrier with the best network in Europe, so its first factory will be next to that logistics firm's hub in Leipzig, Germany.

"I envisage a second hub will be in the UK, as we estimate the UK will represent 25% of the market," says Slutsky.
To entice customers to the brand, Mimeo offers printers the ability to create their own online storefront using its Marketplace tool. This allows customers to host their documents online in an easy to browse and use manner. It is designed to be used by staff; partners, such as franchisees; and by customers. The idea is to save clients the headache and cost of managing the process internally.

Mimeo is also working with other firms to bolster its business. Connect is its developer program, which includes application programme interface (APIs) and software development kits (SDKs) to enable Mimeo partners to plug their businesses into its print platform.

"One example is SlideRocket, an online presentation tool," says Slutsky. "Built into it is RocketPrint, a tool to enable the presentations to be printed out using Mimeo."

The firm has also won business in the photo market.

"We don't have much excess capacity, but between 15 November and 5 January when businesses aren't scheduling events, it is holiday season, which is 35-40% of all demand for photo products," he says.

So far, the Mimeo offering has proved popular with the leading players in the market, including HP and Kodak using the firm. It estimates that, this year, 10-12% of sales will come via Connect partners, a figure that will double to 20% in 2010.
While Mimeo may be a very different operation to the typical printer today, with its integration with the internet and its focus on production efficiency, it looks rather like a template for many of the print firms of tomorrow.

And that is something else we will perhaps come to thank America for. As Slutsky, using the example of another great American import, says: "It's like the cartoons you watched as a kid. What everyone else in print is doing is like The Flintstones - Mimeo is like The Jetsons by comparison."

Mimeo factfile
Founded 1998
Size 480 staff
Production in 2008 450m pages
Products Sales and marketing materials, training manuals and operational print
Clients Forbes Global 2000 firms including Burger King, Gap, GE, SAP, Pfizer and Marriott
Locations Print plants in Nashville Tennessee and Newark, New Jersey Offices in New York and San Francisco