Images_Digital_Edition_September_2019

www.images-magazine.com SEPTEMBER 2019 images 49 IS DECORATOR PROFILE B2C focus This rapid growth has come about not from chasing bigger and bigger contracts and the B2B market, but by concentrating on smaller orders in the B2C channel – about 98% of the company’s customers are consumers. Through its various trading names, Signature Printing receives an average of 4,000 to 5,000 orders per week, rising to as much as 10,000 per week at peak times. The average order is one to 10 units, which requires a different set-up to more traditional garment decoration businesses that are supplying corporate customers. Decoration is split between DTG and vinyl, plus some heat transfer. What is especially interesting is that Signature meets its growing customer demand using multiple smaller format printers: the company has just invested in three new Ricoh Ri 100 DTG printers, supplied by TheMagicTouch, which operate alongside 18 vinyl cutters, three Oki white toner transfer printers and 15 heat presses. “We have scaled up the amount of smaller equipment that we have rather than moving into single pieces of big equipment,” Ed explains. While they have one Roland vinyl cutter for larger jobs, the rest are smaller Graphtec Silhouette cutters. “They may not move very quickly but, if you set them up the right way, they are ideal for individual jobs. We have found in testing against more industrial cutters, they move quicker for what we do.” The company uses RalaFlex vinyls for standard colours and Dae Ha for metallics, such as gold and rose gold. “Lots of people tend to naturally expand into B2B offerings, and they will focus their equipment around industrial-size equipment,” Ed adds. “That’s great if that’s your model, but we don’t do that sort of order so we don’t focus on that kind of growth. We wouldn’t say no to B2B, but our model is strictly B2C.” The workforce is now up to 15 full-time, rising to 20 at peak times, managing orders across a range of 177,000 different SKUs, from totally customised designs to personalisation of off-the-shelf items. T-shirts now comprise only a small part of the business, which supplies all kinds of customised garments and merchandise – from sports shirts, fleeces and aprons to tote bags and schoolwear – with new products regularly being added to expand the range further. Routes to market The routes to market have all been online from the start. Signature Printing’s earliest sales came via Ebay, where the company trades as The Print House. Of all the ecommerce sites, this remains the best way for start-ups to reach potential customers online, Ed says, as it provides support and advice to sellers and offers a huge audience of consumers waiting to buy. “If you are looking to put products online, Ebay is the most straightforward, headache-free route to market.” This has evolved into a strategic partnership for Signature Printing, with Ed spending time at Ebay’s head office in Richmond in south London and being part of a focus group for businesses to communicate with each other and Ebay’s management. Signature Printing also has a partnership with Amazon, which is another important route to market, although Ed says this requires more work than Ebay. “You have to wait until your product gains ranking with Amazon, whereas with Ebay you can succeed with a brand new product. Amazon can outsell Ebay but it is a very seasonal marketplace.” While Ebay still accounts for more than half of the company’s sales, it We wouldn’t say no to B2B, but our model is strictly B2C [L-R] Hannah Benson and Ed Snelson Setting up the Ricoh Ri 100 printers Direct-to-garment printing One of the company’s 15 heat presses