Confessions of a Printing Techno-Junkie
By Cinda Baxter -- Gifts and Dec, 5/1/2007 7:29:00 AM
In the past two years, five different office supply stores have caught me testing blank stock and printer compatibility on their display models. After learning I knew more about the printers than they did, three of those stores offered me a job.
When I first opened Details, Ink., I built what was then considered a cutting edge in-store printing system: an HP laser, an Epson bubblejet, and a Mac that had less memory than today’s palm-sized digital cameras. I could print colored text. Customers swooned. I was (naively) invincible.
Today, I run ten printers, four Macs and two scanners. I print four-color photos and graphics. Customers still swoon. I am still (relatively) invincible.
The hardest part of the growth process has been getting reliable information. A few years ago, I assembled a small peer group of stationers from across the country for the sole purpose of sharing information. We’ve learned more from each others’ trials, tribulations and stealth visits to office suppliers than from any other source. Still, it’s not enough.
When I really need information, I contact my vendors to ask what types of equipment they’ve had success with. I also scour the Internet for reviews. I devour tech magazines in hopes of learning something new. And I quiz new vendors at the National Stationery Show (especially Epson, since they’re central to in-store printing).
Still, I haven’t broken my old habits: I still sneak blank stock into in-store display printers. On the bright side, I’ve learned to take time to explain myself to a manager before slipping the paper out of my shoulder bag.
So far, so good — no arrests.
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