The Frame House & Gallery achieves new revenue stream and increased efficiency with new wide format printer from Advanced Business Equipment
For almost 40 years The Frame House & Gallery has been operating as a local, independently owned business in Inman, SC, framing artwork, photos, needlepoint and cross stitching, diplomas, shadow boxes and more for their customers. In 2022 they began accepting digital photo files for printing and framing, expanded their offerings to include printing on canvas.
Kevin Newman, owner of The Frame House shares, “At our shop, we produce a wide variety of prints, from portraits and candid photos to outdoor graphics and technical documents. While fine art printing hasn’t traditionally been our primary focus, we’d began experiencing promising growth in this area. Historically catering mainly to B2C customers, we were also eager to expand our B2B clientele by leveraging our wide format printing capabilities.”
From Outsourcing to In-house
While initially it made sense for them to outsource the canvas print jobs to a 3rd party, as time went on these prints grew in popularity and Newman began wondering about the costs—and possible headaches—involved in owning and operating his own wide format printer for canvas.
Newmans says he contacted ABE after a quick Google search where ABE came out on top. ABE Sale Manager Baxter Culler notes that ABE offers a variety of wide format printers and that once Newman explained the intended use for the machine, he reached out to Canon’s wide format expert to confirm the right system for The Frame House. The Canon iPF Pro4100 was recommended, and ABE/Canon laid out the implementation and training schedule for the customer. This partner approach gave The Frame House the peace of mind to make the commitment and purchase the new printer.
Pre-installation Training Guarantees a Good Fit
Prior to taking delivery, ABE coordinated a pre-installation training session with the customer, ABE and Canon engineer Shawn Anderson. Anderson presented the powerful software capabilities included with the system that would simplify production. Within a few minutes, Newman knew they had made the right choice. After equipment was installed ABE/Canon provided follow up training to be sure everything was working properly and answer any new questions.
Observes Culler, “Many people feel intimidated at the thought of being responsible for the running and maintenance of a professional grade wide format printer. They worry about cost, maintenance and most of all the learning curve on how to use it. Our goal is to speak plainly with a prospective customer about their fears and answer all questions, confronting possible scenarios in their line of work so that they know what to expect, how to operate the device, and how to trouble shoot.”
Progress Report
Newman remains very satisfied with his investment. “The pre-install demonstration with Advanced Business Equipment and Canon wide format experts were top-notch, as was the training from ABE upon installation. Remarkably, it’s been two years without a single service call for this printer—testament to the its reliability!”
ABE enjoys a longtime, outstanding partnership with Canon. With service techs trained on Canon wide formats, customer have the peace of mind knowing that they will be supported before, during and after the sale. Culler points out, “We partner with Canon because they provide the great technology and back it up with exceptional support for the best possible customer experience.”
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