Inkjet & Digital Printing

Investment in Canon technology enables Latent Light to expand into B2C market

Tuesday 30. July 2013 - Latent Light invests in second Canon imagePRESS to meet fast-growing customer demand for photobooks

Canon solution enables Latent Light to expand into consumer market with photogifts.co.uk
United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, 22 July 2013 – Building on Latent Light’s successful partnership with Canon UK, a leader in imaging solutions, the company has invested in a second Canon imagePRESS – the C7000VP – to expand into the B2C market.
Aiming to double the size of its business over the coming year, the Bristol-based photo-print service provider will use the Canon imagePRESS C7000VP to meet increasing demand for high-quality photobooks and expand its business with a new consumer facing offering, photogifts.co.uk.
The imagePRESS C7000VP – a 1200 x 1200 dpi digital colour production printer that runs up to 70 pages per minute (ppm) – provides Latent Light’s existing imagePRESS C6000VP with crucial support during peak production times of photo applications such as photobooks, calendars and canvas prints. The company can now offer even faster turnaround times for short-run, print-on-demand and customised print jobs.
The latest investment joins a fleet of Canon imagePROGRAF wide format devices, helping to drive the company’s new business, photogifts.co.uk. The new brand offers high quality personalised photo gifts that consumers can easily create online, with products ranging from canvas prints and books to mouse mats and chopping boards.
Adam Gildersleeve, Managing Director of Latent Light says: “We have a clear idea of where we currently are in the market and where we want to be. We needed to find the right print solution to deliver the quality, consistency and speed required to grow our business. As with any business decision we considered our options, but our search for uncompromised quality and service led us back to Canon. We had been so impressed by our existing imagePRESS – nothing in the market comes close to the high quality and consistency it achieves – that we needed little persuasion to add the C7000VP.”
Over the last decade, Gildersleeve has seen his company transform from a sideline project based in a spare room, into a serious business venture operating from a 1,160 sqm state-of-the-art production unit in Bristol. One of its recent successes includes a full-time contract to produce photobooks and calendars for a large retailer.
Gildersleeve explains: “Previously, our client used a number of third party companies to produce its photobooks, however they were seeing a high level of these products returned by customers every year because of poor quality. With Latent Light, the client has not received a single return due to substandard quality and we firmly believe that this is indicative of what you can achieve with an imagePRESS.”
Gildersleeve concludes: “From the outset, Canon has worked closely with us to lay the foundations for long term growth. They understand the problems we have faced and have been realistic about how to solve them, exploring all available options with us and providing expert advice on how to get the best out of their solutions.”
Mark Lawn, European and UK Marketing Director, Canon Europe, comments: “We’re delighted to be part of this exciting development journey with Latent Light. As a company they are demonstrating what was highlighted in Canon’s latest Insight Report – that there are significant opportunities out there for print service providers to grow their business through innovation and delivering value added services. Our focus at Canon is to develop business partnerships like this one [with Latent Light] where, by providing the insight, technology and support to guide customers towards profitable new revenue streams, we’re helping them to see the bigger picture.”