The company’s print-on-demand division imail, which last year launched a personalised greetings card smartphone app, SWALK, thinks it can be both cheaper and faster than rival W2P operations by “injecting into the vein” of its logistics network.
The company has been involved in hybrid mail services for six years and runs a fleet of Konica Minolta printers, eight C8000s and four 1250s, at four print centres across the UK.
But it has 52 depots across the country, which could be fitted with print equipment and which are far busier at night than during the day.
Imail commercial services director Andy Barber said the new venture, to be called imail Print, benefitted from cost price distribution and courier services. “It’s quite exciting. It’s quite a unique thing. Print is all about logistics. Most printers start with the print and then move on to the logistics. We want to start with the delivery and then work back.”
The company, which prints transactional and direct mail, has no plans to go into the litho market. Instead it is targeting fast turnaround and “added value” such as being able to deliver within a fixed time window, or texting a client to let them know when their print will be delivered.
“We see ourselves as a pure play digital printers,” Barber said. “We’re not looking for the low-margin, slow-boat-from-China print.”
Imail plans to launch imail Print on 14 December and initially target 30,000 existing customers.
But Barber said the company was concerned about stepping on the toes of other printers, many of whom may be UK Mail clients.
“We want to be careful how we position it. The smaller printers may find it more cost effective to go through us. There’s no issue with scaling the product out. We’re just using printers on the network that have got the capacity.”
Imail plans to double its plant list within the next three years.
“We may buy new printers immediately. We’re interested in the C1100s and we’re in talks with Konica Minolta and other print manufacturers,” Barber said.
He added that his response to anyone who questioned how imail would compete with existing W2P giants was to look at the success he had made of imail, which has grown to a £15m turnover in six years.
Telesales manager Adam Griffin is already promoting the new service.
“People think 100 business cards for £4 is a really good deal but it isn’t,” he said.
“We’re going to be very creative and we’re going to offer super fast delivery."
“We want to become the biggest print supplier in the country. That’s where we feel we can make a massive impact.
“We’re part of UK Mail so we can just inject it into their system.”
Hybrid mail is worth around £600m a year annually but the print market is worth £13bn, he said.
UK Mail calls itself the UK’s largest independent postal operator, with 2,375 vehicles at its disposal. Headquartered in Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Coventry, it reported sales of £485.1m in its lastest accounts.
