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THE PRINT ROOM CELEBRATES 10 YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY
The Print Room celebrates 10 years in the industry
Milestone year for Dunedin print firm sees continued expansion.
IAIN MACINTYRE
In May, Dunedin screen printing and embroidery firm The Print Room celebrated its 10th year in business by announcing plans to develop a purpose-built, 1200 square metre factory within the next two years.
Having also recently expanded beyond the ground floor of its current Grosvenor Street, Kensington, office to additionally lease the building’s first floor, the company is positively eyeing further growth.
Jon Thom, The Print Room co-owner, says, “When my childhood friend and step cousin Chris Brun and I established The Print Room, there was just the two of us. Since then, we have grown our team to 16 employees.
“We began our journey with a manual screenprinting machine we created and now operate out of a state of the art production facility.
“The 10-year anniversary is a significant milestone, highlighting our journey from a small startup to a recognised name in the printing industry. This celebration reflects our commitment to our roots and appreciation for the support from our community.”
Creation and innovation
The Print Room offers a range of services including screen printing, embroidery, heat pressing, laser engraving and promotional products.
He says, “We are creators, innovators, and champions of sustainable and exceptional merchandise. Our goal is to bring brands to life through beautifully-crafted products that are desirable, enduring and don’t cost the environment.
“One of our significant points of difference is in our use of sustainable, water-based inks, which we import from the United Kingdom. This eco-friendly approach sets us apart and underscores our commitment to sustainability.
“We believe our growth has also been driven by building a reputation as a reliable partner for other businesses. It is rewarding to take a client’s rough concepts and then produce and ship it out as a physical product into the world, sometimes within a single day.”
He emphasises the team contribution to the firm’s success, noting that many in the company have design or fine arts backgrounds. He says, “That runs throughout the entire business, whether that is in the office or production. This in-house skill, ability and creativity means we can create artwork for clients, or we’ve got a group of talented designers in our network to bring ideas to life.
“Amazing artwork sells tees and has been at the heart of our success to date. We know the better the artwork, the more successful the final outcome of a campaign or product. We take great care in delivering artwork to ‘spec’ and how the designer has designed it.”
One of the multi-award-winning firm’s most impressive projects was the ‘Curve Crusher’ t-shirts produced during the Covid-19 pandemic. Featuring a portrait of Dr Ashley Bloomfield, this initiative raised $145,000 for the Women’s Refuge and gained national recognition. Other notable successes include working with Cardrona ski field, Speight’s brewery, and national events like Rhythm & Vines.
Expansion and technology
The business primarily serves the domestic market, with clients including the University of Otago and Hydro Surf, as well as national brands such as Auckland and Wellington zoos and the Mental Health Foundation.
Jon says, “We collaborate with clients from throughout New Zealand, predominantly within the hospitality, retail, education, and tourism industries.
“While our focus is mainly on New Zealand, over the past year or so, on the back of our travels, we have begun to work with clients who are operating throughout the world and linking up with the network of printers we’ve met to roll out ‘merch’ for clients across different regions.”
He sees the value of staying up to date with the latest technology and integrating it into the company’s workflow. He says, “This is a crucial factor in The Print Room’s evolution and growth. We have recently integrated new laser cutting equipment, but we also balance this with traditional processes. Our initial success with a manual screenprinting machine exemplifies how we blend innovation with time-tested techniques.
“We have always strongly focused on technology and how we can use it to make the world smaller. We had a website from day dot, and that could process online orders. Not many other printers had ecommerce stores and we saw that this was a way that we could have a point of difference in the market.
“These capabilities have enabled the business to operate nimbly, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. We could switch from business-to-business to going business-to-consumer. In doing so, we shifted from running bulk orders to a model of fulfilling individual orders of bulk screen-printed products.
“Over that period, we learned a lot about logistics and the fulfilment of products that inform our operations now.
“As we’ve grown our business, we have also grown our ability to tailor our service offering to meet the requirements of larger clients, such as running the backend of their online stores or using online stores to run pre-orders for uniforms. This has been an essential requirement for clients with many staff or who manage national franchises for brand consistency or for making ordering easy for their many staff.”
Environmental stewardship
A strong commitment to sustainability, innovation, and quality works as a fundamental driver for how the Print Room operates. Jon explains, “Using water-based inks and focusing on ecofriendly practices are central to our business. We also emphasise training and development to ensure our team remains skilled and up to date with industry advancements.
“Our organic growth strategy has allowed us to adapt sustainably to new opportunities and challenges.”
The Print Room’s alliance with One Tree Planted demonstrates the company’s commitment to sustainability. The alliance includes a pledge that the business will plant 10 trees for every order received over $500 plus GST.
Jon says, “This pledge has blossomed into almost 20,000 trees and this number is anything but static. With every print order, the count shoots up.
“For us, it is more than the aesthetics of a leafy horizon. These trees are the earth’s green lungs, gulping down carbon dioxide and exhaling that sweet, life-nurturing oxygen. They are a refuge for native wildlife and an essential cover for the lands against erosion.
“We want to seed the idea of environmental stewardship. Customers who place orders with us get more than just a top-notch product. They are generating a tiny green ripple that joins a growing wave of eco-conscious actions.
“The alliance between The Print Room and One Tree Planted is an ode to the fact that when businesses and environmental champions join forces, they can write leafy legacies.
“In 2022, One Tree Planted ran a schoolcentric project with 217 schools across Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) to grow and plant 84,083 native trees, restoring 15.8 hectares of land.
“Projects like these have huge community benefits as they bring together teachers, parents, whānau and community groups to plant trees alongside the Tamariki and learn about the local environment and how to protect these areas.
“The Print Room is stoked to be able to support incredible projects like these in our country that not only help to restore and protect our environment but also teach the next generation.”
True to their roots
Turning thoughts to the wider print industry, Jon describes the sector as constantly evolving, including through technological advancement. He sees The Print Room’s continual growth as part of the industry’s ongoing evolution. He says, “We take pride in our ability to adapt and innovate, ensuring high-quality outputs and sustainable practices.
Challenges such as maintaining ecofriendly operations and meeting diverse client needs are opportunities for us to grow and differentiate ourselves.
“We have been on numerous overseas trips to visit other shops, suppliers, or factories to upskill our team and improve our service offering. In July last year we did a trip throughout the East Coast of the United States to visit a number of shops and gain an understanding of the industry over there.”
He hopes The Print Room’s success may also serve to assist others in the industry. He says, “Emphasising sustainability, investing in technology, and maintaining high-quality standards are crucial.
Building a reliable reputation has helped us attract and retain clients.
“Staying true to our roots and values, especially our commitment to Dunedin, has also been a key factor in our identity and success.”
Looking ahead, the team at The Print Room feels excited about the move into the larger and predominantly solarpowered Kaikorai Valley premises. Jon says, “This move will enable further growth and enhance our production capabilities. The potential for solarpowered operations aligns with our commitment to sustainability.
“We set out to be the best print shop in Dunedin; then it was Otago; then it was the South Island, and then it was New Zealand. Now we are striving to achieve world class. Our future looks bright, with continued expansion and innovation guiding our path.”
