Winchester Printers: Old School, New Profit Tricks

Wide-Format: A Game Changer

Speaking of hybrids, the EFI Rastek H652 UV wide-format inkjet printer has the potential to be a significant game changer for Winchester Printers. It can drive more large-format signage, including banners, signs, and wall and window graphics. Best of all, Winchester Printers can sell through their direct mail customers, as well as copy shops and other small printers—firms that wanted to offer large-format signage, but could not commit to the investment.

The substrate spectrum on the Rastek is pretty wild, according to Casella, with capabilities ranging from ceramic to tile, metal and glass. "The hybrid large-format printers allow you to go from roll-to-roll to rigid substrates. It gives us a more diverse portfolio of what we're able to print for clients."

Web-to-print capabilities is another area where Winchester Printers has a high potential ceiling. After doing research for a couple of years, Hottle and Casella happened upon the Aleyant Systems booth at Graph Expo, where the pair were duly impressed with the Pressero system they saw. Two days after returning from Chicago, a curious call came from a customer.

"One of our clients called and said, 'Hey, that Web-to-print storefront you were talking about the other day…I just sold it to one of my customers,' " Casella recalls. "We basically had two days to create a demo site for a presentation we had to give at a corporate headquarters the following Monday. But, with only two days' experience and a graphic arts background, I was able to design a basic site for them. Because of that meeting, our customer was able to land the account."

Online Storefronts Build Loyalty

Within two years, Winchester posted 200 variable products on the site that serves a company with 1,400 users. A second client was obtained shortly after, and Casella notes the experience was much simpler and, to date, even more profitable than the original site.