Case Study Snapshot
• Limited application capabilities
• FUJIFILM Business Innovation B9100
• Versant™ 180 Press
• DocuCentre-V 5070 CP
• High print quality and accuracy
• High printer productivity
• Extended service offerings
• Digital banner printout of size 660mm
About Ho Services
Situated in a bustling arts district in Dhoby Ghaut, Ho Services is a leading print store led by a team of experienced print professionals. Since its incorporation in 2002, it has built a firm reputation for speedy service and diversified printing and photocopying services. With a strong focus on photocopy, artwork design and printing services, Ho Services has since grown to two shop fronts at Peace Centre. Today, the business’ growing base of clientele includes educational institutions, law firms, creative agencies, designers, as well as students from nearby art schools.
Planning Ahead
Ho Service’s product portfolio encompasses photocopy printouts, marketing brochures, training materials as well as large format prints like posters, canvasses, promotional floor stickers and roll-ups. With such a diverse mix of applications, media types and customers, it was necessary to plan for complex workloads with high volume output.
In addition, due to the highly competitive business landscape and increasing customer expectations, the company needed to scale its operations and evolve to meet the demand for high-quality products in short turnaround times. At a record 700,000 printouts per month, Ho Services capitalised on this opportunity to expand on their offerings with mixed media capability.
Harnessing Technology
Having built a strong partnership with FUJIFILM Business Innovation for over twenty years, Ho Services had full confidence in FUJIFILM Business Innovation’s print technology solutions. Coupled with a business consultation team that keeps the business abreast of new market trends and new innovative solutions, it was an ideal partnership that helped futureproof the business.
“FUJIFILM Business Innovation was our preferred partner because of their industry expertise and the collaborative approach they take when solutioning. They have consistently proven their ability to understand our customers’ marketing requirements and interpret all of that through their production capabilities.”
- Mrs Ho, Founder, Ho Services
The first solution for Ho Services was the Versant™ 180 Press, a powerful colour production press that would take on high-volume colour printing and photocopying for Ho Services. The press has the ability to run a greater variety of stocks and media types, and takes image quality to the next level with Ultra HD Resolution. The Versant™ 180 Press renders jobs at 1200 x 1200 dpi, which captures four times more pixels than the usual 600 x 600 standard. This preserves fine details in graphic fills, continuous sweeps, line art and text. With Confident Colour, a suite of innovative colour management technologies, clients can achieve bold designs and accurate colours, and enjoy high-quality, vibrant prints.
FUJIFILM Business Innovation further identified a need for a multi-function device (MFD) that could support shorter runs in colour and black and white. This would enable quicker turnaround for Ho Services’ clients while ensuring high print quality. The PrimeLink C9065 is an “all-in-one” MFD with a flexible and productive workflow and a multitude of digital solutions. Its productive print speed of 70/65 ppm in colour and up to 75/70 ppm in black and white would reduce the waiting time for customers with smaller print jobs. In addition, the variety of finishing options and functions it offers – such as density uniformity and colour calibration – would support the creativity and innovation required in professional client work. Besides media versatility and incredible colour and detail, the MFD also offers extensive finishing capabilities that would give a professional polish to high-quality print materials.
To help Ho Services manage its high print volume efficiently, FUJIFILM Business Innovation also recommended to complement their colour production requirements with black and white printing on the FUJIFILM Business Innovation B9100. As a monochrome printer, with its lower print cost per page as well as faster turnaround time, it would aid Ho Services meet the demand for high-volume mono printing while freeing up the PrimeLink™. In addition, the B9100 expanded the business' service offerings in large format prints as the B9100 was able to handle media of up to 660mm in width. With printing speeds of up to 136ppm as well as advanced finisher capabilities (like inline finishing with two or three-sided trim, creasing and cover insertion, simple image quality adjustment and high capacity stacking features), Ho Services was able to deliver high-quality, full-bleed booklets, banners, and new media catalogues for new customer segments.
Scaling Up Production
The transformed set-up has digitised the print workflow and improved productivity and operational efficiency at Ho Services. The unprecedented image quality afforded by the PrimeLink C9065 and B9100 has attracted more customers in the area, especially during peak periods. Besides minimising time spent on setting stocks and changing finishers, Ho Services is now able to support varied short-run jobs within 1 to 2 hours. Ho Services has also experienced an increase in orders, especially during the semesters and examination periods of schools in the vicinity, and expanded its service offerings to include high quality name card and designer brochure printing.
“With the PrimeLink, we get the all-in-one capabilities of a light production printer and a photocopier rolled into one, with no trade-off on quality, speed and application options. All of FUJIFILM Business Innovation’s solutions have added up to a very comprehensive system that we now use on a daily basis.”
- Mrs Ho, Founder, Ho Services
With advanced print technology, Ho Services is able to easily and digitally manage its print workflow to meet the needs of its customers from the diversity markets. The business’ new, integrated print environment has improved print efficiency by 30% and automated print workflows upstream and downstream. This automated the paper path and expanded the business’ service offerings and media handling capabilities. Whether it is a high-quality commercial application or personalised marketing materials, Ho Services is set to increase in popularity in the industry as an experienced, reliable custom-print partner of choice.