Popular Taupo printer adds new Konica Minolta technology to its capabilities.
Taupo based Quality Print provides a comprehensive range of printing services and products.
Owners Shawn and Cathy Vennell recently installed a new AccurioPress C7100, supplied through Konica Minolta New Zealand. Shawn says, “We were running the bizhub PRESS C1100, the predecessor to this new model. We had a great run with that machine, so it seemed natural to stick with the same colour.
“With printing leaning more and more to digital, it has been important for us to keep increasing our productivity in SRA3 digital and I believe we have achieved this with the C7100.”
When asked to compare the AccurioPress C7100’s print quality with offset, he replies, “As an offset printer by trade, I am biased in terms of the comparison but I must say, I have at times had trouble identifying which platform a particular job might have come from.
“We use the AccurioPress C7100 to produce business cards, books, reports, social stationery, labels and a range of business stationery. With the banner capability the AccurioPress C7100 offers, we can run wider covers such as three-panel A4. It is a nice addition to the capabilities we now have.”
Other features that have impressed Quality Print are the optimised paper transport solution and the double swing registration system for improved paper compatibility and feeding accuracy. He says, “The C7100 feeds incredibly well and seldom has misfeeds, even with the large volume we put through it. It was also encouraging to learn about the eco-friendly Simitri V-toner, while the IQ-501 Intelligent Quality Optimiser is one of the single best improvements on previous models.”
The team at Konica Minolta is committed to providing the best service and support. Shawn says, “These guys feel a little less corporate than some of the regimes we have known. During the install, it was super obvious that they communicated well to keep our downtime during the transition to a minimum. They were supportive and caring, getting us productive and back to keeping our customers happy.“The service and support to date has been great but given the reliable nature of the machine, it’s pretty much routine on the maintenance side of things.”
Meeting new challenges
Guiding the company through the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent economic downturn, Shawn is realistic about what lies ahead. He says, “Like most of New Zealand, we are facing some staffing challenges. Currently, we are short of a designer and a little stretched in our offset department. “It has been interesting, with so many years in the trade, seeing small to medium-size businesses further faced with harder and harder conditions. There are several factors affecting this. Firstly, the cost and shortage of staff due to a weakened workforce is affecting business. Secondly, the cost increases from suppliers. We have seen massive increases across the board, with fuel going across all of these. Thirdly, not wanting to be pessimistic but, given the crazy money printing that’s gone on in the last two years, if you don’t see a recession in the near future, you are possibly missing the indicators.
“We currently have a reduced team of six full-time and three part-time staff who all share and contribute to a great culture that we have built our reputation on. The relationship we have with our team goes a very long way to help meet our printing deadlines with big smiles even when the deadlines are tight.
“Change is a constant and in our commercial printing business we are always working to keep abreast of trends and technology, and we reckon we have done a pretty good job of it. We embraced digital print early on and have been growing this platform for more than 20 years. This includes the outright purchase of the Konica Minolta AccurioPress C7100, updating our wide format poster and light signage capability. It is great to be able to offer long run traditional offset printing from our Ryobi presses or manage a quick turnaround job off our digital platform.”
Training and education
Quality Print encourages ongoing education and personal development for its staff. He says, “Industry training is vital, and we support and encourage professional development, especially for our young trainees and apprentices. We are proud of their achievements and a recent apprentice graduate is now undertaking a Diploma in Print Management.”
Since completing his apprenticeship in 1988, Shawn has brought seven apprentices through their training. He says, “It has confirmed my belief in the trade training apprenticeships 100 per cent. It is a great way for young people to earn while they learn. We would like to thank Grant from Competenz for getting three of our most recent apprentices to the top 10 and Ruth and her team from Print NZ for general business support.”
“We work hard at providing tools for business to succeed, and I am proud of running a good culture and having a good work environment for the team.
“I do feel our industry has been through its toughest changes in terms of technology. A few years ago, the rate of change, when a lot of NCR jobbing work vanished overnight to tractor-fed run invoices that we once could produce, was a great loss to the small jobbing printer. About the same time, home desktop publishing became a thing, so our art rooms took a hammering, our designers upskilled and reappeared as people that have to untangle the weird and wonderful files that the unskilled come up with!
“I used to be pessimistic about whether our industry would last the distance, but now I think it will be around for a very long time providing we keep an eye on market trends.”
Community asset
Quality Print is heavily invested in the Taupo community. The company has won the Taupo business of the year award. He says, “Sponsored by Unison, these were amazing times and boosted our staff morale with us being able to stand on stage accepting the awards in front of 400 people.”
In 2015, Shawn was named ‘King of the Ring’ in the local Celebrity Boxing fundraiser, taking the trophy over 15 other fighters for the most funds raised, being $95,000. He received an additional $ 10,000 for his chosen charity, Greening Taupo, that he has worked closely with professionally and personally for 10 years.. The group hosts community planting days and has contributed 300,000 native plants to the area.
Shawn manages 32,000 native plants on Wairakei Drive, the entrance to Taupo. He says, “I must say that a town the size of Taupo makes you easily recognisable if you lend a bit of a hand. I am regularly congratulated on my efforts. While it is not done for business, it helps raise our profile.”
Six decades of quality printing
Quality Print began in the late 1970s when two men started a community newspaper. Still known as the Taupo ‘Weekender’ it was first printed at Quality Print, although financial viability eventually meant that the newspaper’s production went elsewhere.
Back then, the owners of Quality Print were hard working and from the trade; not dissimilar to today, in fact.
In 1986, Shawn Vennell was employed at Quality Print as a sheetfed printing apprentice. His time in the business saw it moving through the growing pains of the late 1980s, when the company moved to its present location.
He continues the story: “What followed was a dark time in the company’s history involving receivers and uncertainty before being re-created by an entrepreneur who had bought the Runanga Street building in a fire sale only months before Quality Print moved in, hoping they would be a worthwhile tenant. It was a good bet.”
In July 1993, Rex and Rebecca Mathieson purchased Quality Print outright. An integral part of their business plan was succession and early on they involved Shawn, promoting the idea that he would one day be a partner in the business. In 2000 this vision became a reality.
In 2008, Shawn and his wife Cathy purchased the Mathieson’s half share in the company and now own it outright. Since then, they have grown the company into the community asset that it is today. Shawn adds, “We very much enjoy owning and working in this wonderful business that we’ve helped to build. It’s been a 32-year career for me and wonderful to have Cathy involved for 20 of those great years.”
Originally published in the February 2023 issue of the New Zealand Printer Magazine.