At a glance

Industry: Repro Houses and Copy Shops

Business name: Staples

Headquarters: Boston, USA

Website: staples.com

Challenge

• Staples,Netherlandswantedtocapitalize on the emerging large format print market but needed the right printer to do so.

Solution

• Thecompanyinvestedinthe60-inHPDesignjetZ6200PhotoPrinterforeachofits16Copy&PrintCenters and later introduced HPLatexPrintingTechnologywiththeHPDesignjetL26500Printeratitsnewproductioncenterforoutdoor print capability.

• StaplesalsoswitchedfromunbrandedmediatoawiderangeofHPmediaduetoitsversatilityandthe superior print quality it offers, includingHPEverydayPigmentInkSatinPhotoPaperandHPUniversalAdhesiveVinyl.

Results

• Staplescanproducehighquality A0printsin-storeonarangeofmediawithin10minutesthanks totheHPDesignjetZ6200 Photo Printer.

• HPmediaprovidesfarbetterquality than the unbranded media previouslyused,aswellasamuchwiderrange.

• Thesuccessofthelarge-formatservicehashelpedthecompanyexpandfrom16to28outletswithintwoyears.

• Staplescannowalsoofferoutdoorprintsandaweb-to-printservicewithHPLatexPrintingTechnologies.

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Staples capture the large-format market in the Netherlands with fast, high quality prints produced with HP Designjet Z6200 Photo Printer

“Itisthisspeed,combinedwiththequality,thatmostimpressesthecustomers.Atfirst,wewereworriedthattheHPEverydayInstant-dry SatinPhotoPaperwouldn’tdeliverthehighqualitythatsomedemand,butevenprofessionalphotographers havebeenamazedatthefinishedproduct,”saysEijbersen.

“Most customers come in asking for A1 poster prints on HPUniversalCoatedPaperbutwhentheyseethequality oftheHPphotopaper,theyoftenchoosethatinstead,eventhoughitcostsmore.”

Toensureoptimalcolorconsistency,HPalsocreatedprintprofilesfor12differentmediaformats.Thismeanseachprintercanautomaticallycalibrateitselftodeliverthemostaccurate color reproduction.

Rapid growth through new services

SinceinstallingtheHPDesignjetZ6200PhotoPrinter,thenumberofCopy&PrintCentershasgrownto28,dueinnosmallparttothesuccessofthelarge-formatservice.Thisprovidedthefoundation for Staples to introduce a production center and web-to-printservice.Stapleswaskeentoextenditsrangeofprintserviceswiththenewcenterandexploredtheoptionofofferingoutdoorprintsolutions.

“Wewerefieldingalotofenquiriesaboutoutdoorsignageprintingsoweagainlookedatwhatwasofferedbythemaincompetitors,”commentsEijbersen.“ThankstothequalityHPofferswithits HPLatexPrintingTechnology,whichallowsustoprintonavarietyofmediaincludingHPMattePolypropylene,itwonoutagainwiththeHPDesignjetL26500Printer.Wenowhaveoneof these installed at our central production facility in Almere, andsinceFebruary2013wehavebeenofferingaweb-to-printserviceaswell.”

Customerscannowgoonline,uploadimages,photosandlogos,selectthesizeandmediaaswellasadestinationstoreforcollection.Infuture,Stapleshopestoalsoenablethedirectdeliveryofprintstothecustomer’sownaddress.ItisalsointroducingHPUniversalAdhesiveVinylmediaandhasplanstoallowcustomerstocreatetheirownbespokewallpaperonline.

“Thelarge-formatofferingisakeydriverbehindourrapidgrowthandhasputuswellonthepathtobecomingthenumberoneprintserviceproviderintheNetherlands.Thenewproductioncenterisalsohelpingcementourpositioninthemarket,”concludes Houppermans. “At the heart of both is our relationship withHPwhichhasbeenatrulycollaborativepartnership.HPhashelpedusdevelopthebusinessandwillcontinuetodosoin thefuture.”

“We chose the 60-inHPDesignjetZ6200PhotoPrinterbecauseitdeliversoptimal quality at a lowpriceperprintin addition to high speed, making it ideal for use in a retailenvironment.” – Richard Houppermans, BusinessServicemanager, Staples,Netherlands

©2013Hewlett-PackardDevelopmentCompany,L.P.Theinformationcontainedhereinissubjecttochangewithoutnotice.TheonlywarrantiesforHPproductsandservicesaresetforthintheexpresswarrantystatementsaccompanyingsuchproductsandservices.Nothinghereinshouldbeconstruedasconstituting anadditionalwarranty.HPshallnotbeliablefortechnicaloreditorialerrorsoromissionscontainedherein.

4AA4-6510ENW,May2013, Rev. 1

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Staplesistheworld’slargestofficeproductscompanyandsecondlargestinternetretailer.Itprovideseveryproductbusinessesneedtosucceedincludingofficesupplies,technology,cleaning and break room supplies, copy and print, and furniture. Withnearly$25billioninsales,StaplesservesbusinessesofallsizesaswellasconsumersthroughoutNorthandSouthAmerica,Europe, Asia and Australia.

Oneofthecompany’sprimarylinesofbusinessisthe Copy&PrintService.In2010,therewereonly16Copy&PrintCentersintheNetherlandsandthelocalleadershipwaskeentoexplorenewwaysofexpandingthissideofthebusiness.

A large format future

“Followingastrategicreorganization,wewantedtokick-start the copy and print business to enable future expansion. TherewasnonationwideleadersotherewasaclearopportunitytoestablishStaplesasthepioneerinthisspace,”explainsRichardHouppermans,BusinessServicemanager,Staples,Netherlands.“Centraltothisvisionwasthedecisiontoofferlarge-formatprintingineachlocationandonline.Thiswasasectorofthemarketthatwasenjoyingsteadygrowthdrivenbyposters, roll-upbanners,foamboardsandartprints.Additionally,weforesawfurtherareasonwhichwecouldcapitalize,suchassignageandmaterialfortradefairsandpresentations.”

Staplestestedanumberoflarge-formatprintersfromavarietyofvendorsbeforedecidingthatHPDesignjetPrintersofferedthe best solution. As a strategic partner and one of the largest resellersofHPcomputersandprintersinthecountry,itwasfamiliarwiththequalityandreliabilityofferedbytheHPbrand.

StaplesundertookextensivetestsattheHPshowroom,puttingtheHPDesignjetZ6200PhotoPrinterthroughitspacesusingdifferentmediaatvaryingspeeds.BecausetheHPZ6200 PhotoPrintercanprintatA0formatuptothreetimesfasterthan the competition, Staples could meet the critical deadlines demanded by its business clientele.

“HPwonforanumberofreasons:firstly,ithadadeepunderstandingofthemarketandwhatwewantedtoachieve,”continuesHouppermans.“Thiswasfurthersupportedbythequalityofitsdevices.Wechosethe60-inchHPDesignjetZ6200PhotoPrinterbecauseitdeliversoptimalqualityatalowprice per print in addition to high speed, making it ideal for use in a retailenvironment.”

A quality finish at super speeds

“Thedevicesweresimpletogetupandrunning–ittooknomorethanhalfadaytobringeachprinteronline.Wealsoofferedinternaltrainingbutthedevicesareuser-friendlysoagainthisdidn’ttakelong,”addsBertilEijbersen,Copy&Printmanager,Staples,Netherlands.“Weintroducedthenewlarge-printserviceacrossthreebasiclines:technical,photographicandposterwitha50percentdiscounttoencouragecustomerstotryit.”

Forcustomers,theserviceissimple–onarrivalatthe Copy&PrintCenter,thetrainedStaplesoperatorwilldiscusswhattheprintisfor,whereitwillbelocatedandfindoutasmuchaspossibleabouttheclient’sproject.Theycanthenrecommendthebestsizeandmediaforthejob.Withintenminutes,thefinalprintisreadytotakeaway.Initially,thecompanyusedunbrandedmediabutquicklyswitchedtoHPmediabecauseofthewiderangeonofferandtheunparalleledquality.