BeanPrint - OKI Pro1050 and OKI Pro9542

BeanPrint Ltd, which was founded in 2009, is a personalised printer based in Redditch, Worcestershire, that specialises in high quality, short run printing. The company’s portfolio includes a wide range of customised products including labels, gifts, business cards, stationery, invitations and badges. BeanPrint has 11 employees and sells its products online via its website: https://beanprint.co.uk

Challenge

Around two years ago, BeanPrint made the decision to expand its portfolio with the addition of personalised labels that are specially designed for school uniforms. At this stage, the company was using a machine to print and cut the labels in small batches, however demand quickly grew and BeanPrint’s existing printing method was extremely time consuming. As a result, the company was struggling to keep up with the significant uptake of orders and its staff were working longer hours to meet the increased demand.

Alongside this, BeanPrint was also witnessing a growth in orders across its range of sheet labels. The company had relied on the same printer for a number of years to produce these, however as demand continued to grow, BeanPrint came to the decision that this printer was no longer up for the job. Consequently, in order to ensure its customers could continue receiving their orders promptly, and without delay, the company decided that they would need to invest in a dedicated sheet label printer to help them keep up with the high volume of orders they were experiencing.

BeanPrint came to AM Labels requiring two separate solutions. Chris Chedgzoy, Director, BeanPrint Ltd explains: “Firstly, we required a roll-feed label printer that could print onto the specialised labels we were using for school uniforms. Our requirements for this printer were that it needed to offer a more streamlined solution, along with increased efficiency and colour quality. Secondly, our existing sheet label printer wasn’t up to scratch, and we often had problems when the machine was nearing a service. We therefore needed a solution that would ensure we could offer our customers consistent results and exceed their expectations in terms of quality. With this model, it was also important that we could maintain it ourselves, to reduce our current service costs.

Solution

Chris was aware that he would require a significant amount of guidance and expertise to find a solution that would work for BeanPrint and its customers. He researched suppliers online and soon came across Northamptonshire based AM Labels. The AM Labels team attended several meetings with Chris, talking in-depth about BeanPrint’s requirements and the challenges the company was experiencing with its existing printers.

Chris comments: “The level of customer service we received from AM Labels was second to none. The team showed us that they really cared about finding the right solution to support us in producing products of the best possible quality. The service we received, whether it was over the phone or face-to-face, was always fantastic. AM Labels even brought equipment to our site in Redditch to enable us to conduct tests in a real-life, production environment.”

AM Labels worked with BeanPrint to conduct several tests using a range of different printers and materials. After seeing a demonstration of the five colour OKI Pro1050 colour label printer, this model met all of Chris’ requirements for creating high quality, personalised school uniform labels. Thanks to offering the added benefit of printing in white, the Pro1050 also exceeded BeanPrint’s expectations, providing the company with the opportunity to further expand its portfolio and explore new revenue streams.

To support BeanPrint in its search for a printer that could boost production across its range of sheet labels, AM Labels demonstrated the OKI Pro9542 digital colour label printer. Chris was immediately impressed with this model as it had a much smaller footprint than the company’s existing printer, while also offering the unique option of printing in a full range of CMYK colours, plus solid white. The Pro9542 also met Chris’ requirements as all parts were user changeable, meaning the company could reduce downtime significantly.

Following these demonstrations, BeanPrint made the decision to invest and upgrade its labelling system by purchasing both the OKI Pro1050 and the OKI Pro9542 from AM Labels.

Outcome and benefits

Since installing the OKI Pro1050 colour label printer, BeanPrint is able to produce large batches of personalised school uniform labels on-demand, meaning the company saves a significant amount of time and can fulfil orders much faster than its previous printer could facilitate. In addition to offering print speeds of up to six inches per second, the Pro1050 benefits from durable and waterproof print results, in addition to excellent UV resistance and good resistance to scuffing. Combining vibrant, professional and high quality print results with a 1200dpi resolution, the printer can easily handle short-run label demands across a range of media types.

BeanPrint has also found that the Pro1050 is extremely reliable, as well as offering impressive colour reproduction. Prior to purchasing this model, the company’s staff were having to dedicate a significant amount of time to overseeing this aspect of the business, meaning production across other product lines was being interrupted and delayed. The OKI Pro1050 enables the school uniform labelling aspect of BeanPrint’s business to run smoothly, making it a worthwhile investment and a highly valuable addition to the company’s operations.

Since installing the OKI Pro9542 colour label printer, BeanPrint has been able to produce and fulfil a much higher volume of orders each day. The OKI Pro9542 delivers excellent print quality and unrivalled media flexibility, offering a highly efficient solution to on-demand, in-house label printing. With print speeds of up to 50 pages per minute, this model can be used across an extensive selection of media and packaging types including cartons, boxes, pouches and packets from A6 to SRA3 in size, as well as on banners of up to 1.3 meters in length.

Due to the nature of BeanPrint’s business as a same-day printer, it is essential to fulfil orders quickly. Reliable and easily maintained printers are vital to ensure reduced downtime and servicing costs, as well as increasing productivity. The OKI Pro9542 can be maintained, managed and serviced with ease by BeanPrint in-house, giving the company added confidence that its customers won’t experience delays should an issue arise.

Chris explains: “The OKI printers we purchased from AM Labels supported us in completely overhauling and streamlining our label production operations, meaning we could create labels of the highest quality, while fulfilling a much greater volume of orders. Thanks to both printers offering the unique option of printing in a full range of CMYK colours, plus solid white, we will be able to continue expanding our portfolio with more unique products, helping us to stand out from our competitors.”

AM Labels provided the installation of the OKI Pro1050 and OKI Pro9542 colour label printers, followed by extensive training and general maintenance to maximise productivity and efficiency. Furthermore, AM Labels was able to use its extensive knowledge and experience to help BeanPrint find a solution that would successfully improve its operations, while opening up new opportunities for the company in the months and years to come.

Chris summarises: “The level of service we received from AM Labels is what set them apart from other suppliers that we considered. The entire team was friendly and patient, and they were completely committed to helping us find a solution that would benefit and improve our operations. I would recommend AM Labels to any business looking for a new label printer.”

Investing in the OKI Pro1050 colour label printer and the OKI Pro9542 colour label printer has enabled BeanPrint to upgrade and transform its label production operations with significantly increased levels of quality and efficiency, while helping the company to fulfil more orders and reduce turnaround times for its customers.

What can AM Labels do for you?

We are committed to finding the right solution for each customer’s individual needs. We understand that one size does not always fit all and, as a result, we will work to understand your company’s requirements to offer the most suitable solution, be it labelling, barcoding, scanning, RFID, asset tracking etc.

Regardless of the industry that your business operates in, our friendly and knowledgeable team can use its wealth of industry experience to identify the best products and solutions to meet your business’s needs. We offer unrivalled product knowledge, an experienced and helpful sales department that’s on hand to offer support and advice and an expert technical team that can oversee the installation and implementation of your new system.

For more information on how AM Labels can help find the right solution for your business, please call the sales team on 01536 414 222 or email: [email protected]