Starting a Digital Print Business

My first brush with business was when I was a kid. That time when my mom would ask me to remove her white hairs for 5cents each. During that time, my childhood want was candies. Years went on, wants have changed. I think major reason could be was my grandfather's influence to me to be a boss of my own. My fascination with printing started when I frequent the copy centers to have my classmate's notes be duplicated. I figured, I will need an investment or a fortune to start one. And the only resort I was thinking was to work out of the country to earn enough to start a business. As I was able to do that, now is the moment of truth. I am now starting a digital print business. I am actually be working with my brother who has deep sense of creativity having learned using Adobe design publishing softwares from First Academy of Computer Arts.

Knowing that we had enough to start one, I had four options, two franchises and two printer dealers. These are with no large format printers.

Franchise GB print shop

I checked the franchise for printshop. I even wrote down the questions before I went to meet the franchiser:

What are the equipments?

Answer: heat transfer equipments, desktop printer, computer, softwares

Can the satellite be converted to a full service store?

Answer: No. But the satellite store can resell services offered by the full service store like large format printing, riso printing, picture printing, etc.

Post opening assistance?

Answer: The franchiser will monitor the sales once a week

Where is the training going to be held?

Answer: The training is going to be held in the nearest full service store.

What are the products for personalized printing?

Tshirts, caps, button pins, PVC ID cards

How many service crews?

Only two for the satellite branch

ROI?

after 9months

How is it going to be competitive?

Open the store within malls and resell what the full service store is also selling aside from the usual products.

Where are the satellite branches?

Answer: The current satellite branches are at the provinces.

Royalty fee?

They have no royalty fee but a fixed fee per month whether you earn or not.

The guy told me that they assist in all the business requirements and that also include the location.

Franchise R printshoppe

I checked again the franchise for printshop. I even wrote down the questions before I went to meet the franchiser:

Do you offer locations?

Answer: They are offering locations suited for this business. They do marketing study prior to approving even your suggested location.

What are the equipments?

Answer: Riso, Copier, Computer, FAX machine, Scanner, blue print machine

What will be the products and services?

office forms, photocopying, scanning and fax service, design/layout service, cards, letterheads, brochures, flowcharts, business cards, certificates, banners, and other paper works.

ROI?

9months

Royalty fee?

5% per month

How many service crews?

two service crews and one financial officer going to supervise the operations and the marketing stuffs. The two service crews will be coming from their employment services company that is also belong to the same group of company. The franchisee will have to interview the candidates.

Where will the training be?

at the franchisers office.

They offer assistance on the business requirements which also include the location. They only offer this franchise per city.

Printer Dealer C

I went to their office and they showed demo for the machines they are selling. They have the printshop package and a sale to boot amounting to as much as 40% off. For the RISO printer and the Multi functional laser printer.

Printer Dealer U

Offers similar products to Dealer C. The demo was better than Printer Dealer C but no sale items.

Going down on my choices, the franchises didn't offer much transparency on their product offerings. The discussion was too general. So that's why I thought I have to start by my own. I chose Printer Dealer C.

From the marketing material of Printer Dealer C:

Why Print Shop is the right business for you?

• There are neither royalties nor franchise fees to pay!
• There are no special skills required to operate the machine!
• It is easy to set up and can conveniently co-exist with your other business, if any.
• The space requirement is minimal - 18 to 24 square meters can be sufficient.
• The return on investment can be in less that one year
• It can easily be expanded into a full-service printing business
• The services that be offered using the machines are various
• It is not just a fad, the services are needed by almost all kinds of businesses all year long
• Sales are easy to monitor because of the meter counters found in the main machines
• Materials used have long shelf life, so spoilage can be controlled and minimized
• The potential market is vast and continuously grows each day
• The business has been tried and tested by about 800 print shop owners nationwide

How about you? What business are you planning to start? Or what made you choose your business? And why?