Buckman, who managed Camberley’s Kall Kwik franchise for five years before joining Digital Print Zone (DPZ) in June 2010, bought the assets, goodwill and client list of the small Surrey digital outfit from a sole trader for £70,000 the following summer with a view to build it up to a high production business.
He has since invested around £250,000 in digital, finishing and large format kit to replace the old machines originally used by the company, including a hatrick of digital finishing equipment from Morgana. The £60,000 investment, signed for at Drupa, included an AutoFold Pro, AutoCreaser Pro 33, and a DocuMaster Pro.
Previously, the company was hand-folding its products, but using the AutoCreaser and AutoFold together has enabled the business to boost its digital volumes exponentially.
Buckman said that the DocuMaster Pro had made the biggest impact at DPZ: "The squareback ability of the machine is one example of the quality features provided by the Morgana equipment.
"Customers might not even realise that such a solution exists, therefore they can’t ask for it initially. Once they do know about the ability to produce a squareback on stitched work, and they have seen it on their publication, they want it every time, simply because it looks better.
"We are now retaining and winning work because we can produce such a quality finish. Digital printers with other binding solutions can’t provide anything quite like it."
Buckman took out the two original Xerox machines and replaced them with two Canon Imagepress printers – a 7000 and 6010 – and also added the Océ Arizona 360 flatbed printer in September to grow the business into large format.
He said the large format side of the business had not made a major contribution to 2012’s £550,000 turnover, but was fast becoming 50% of the business’ work, bringing in fewer jobs but higher revenues. The Océ Arizona can print direct to substrate, enabling DPZ to win more clients through its unusual applications, such as holographic business cards and iPad case graphics through to exhibition and banner products.
Buckman said: "Digital is almost becoming secondary as we are winning customers who come to us for our unusual large format work but they order more with us through the digital side afterwards.
"We are trying to win customers through offering lots of different services, which saves them having to work with three or four companies to get what they need. If we only did print, we wouldn’t be doing so well."
The company has also branched into website design and set up a promotional items arm of the business, selling lanyards, pens and umbrellas with client branding.
Buckman said that the next move for 2013 was investing in a Zund cutter for the large format work to cut outsourcing costs and further his mission to create the "full package" for clients.
He also hopes to replace the 30-year-old Sulby perfect binder, the oldest machine in the building, with a PUR binding system, and move the finishing equipment into a separate on Watchmoor Trade Centre which is to become available in the near future.
DPZ has a projected income of £750,000 for January to December 2013 and is considering taking on a twelfth employee to add to its eight print staff and three website designers.
