The recently released Big Print Plan by the Canon UK Distributor, Velmex has seen impressive sales of the UK’s only pay as you go large format rental scheme. The high level of support and ease of upgrading products is thought to be the reason the plan is exceeding sales expectations.
Velmex the UK distributor for Canon’s large format printers has witnessed a significant sales response to the recently released Big Print Plan, pay as you go large format rental scheme. The Surrey based distributor devised the scheme for customers wanting an easy monthly payment solution to owning a large format printer. The Big Print Plan provides customers with a fully inclusive service and support solution, whilst offering a simple monthly billing system for rental and ink usage.
"The introduction of the Big Print Plan gives users a fully supported, cash flow friendly approach to large format printing" says Brendan Wright, Velmex Sales Manager. "We have been very pleased with the customer take up and customer installations are well ahead of projected levels. The Big Print Plan has been very successful with both first time large format users and experienced high volume users. We have already seen clients upgrade within the scheme to meet their customer’s requirements. One client using a 24” printer on the Big Print Plan soon discovered a higher than planned volume of print meant a 44” printer was quickly needed. The Big Print Plan offers an easy solution, as customers can upgrade with no penalty. We simply delivered a 44” unit and removed the existing product."
All Big Print Plan installations have a highly specified support function that provides total support from the moment of installation. It’s this high level of support which is intrinsic to the success of the Big Print Plan.
"The advanced reporting and support system is a standard feature with the Big Print Plan and allows us to take our customer support to a new level" says Mark Keeley, Managing Director of Velmex. "We have completed a number of very successful support issues that would have been impossible to detect with a standard installation. We noticed that one customer’s ink usage was much higher than expected for the volume of prints produced. One of our technicians alerted the customer, connected into the system and found that the user had accidently set the wrong output settings. Within minutes we had corrected the problem and reduced the customers ink usage by over 50%. This level of customer support is only possible because of the advanced reporting system built into the Big Print Plan."
The Big Print Plan allows customers to rent the printer and only pay for the ink they have used. There is no large upfront outlay for ink. All inks, waste ink cartridges, print heads, warranty and support are provided for the full rental term. As part of the ongoing Big Print Plan agreement Velmex will update the printer software, drivers and add new media profiles as they become available. For any significant software upgrades they will not only install but also train customers on the upgrade. Keeley said ‘The Big Print Plan customers will always have the latest options available to them giving them the best possible chance to maximise profit from their printer’.
The Big Print Plan covers the entire Canon image PROGRAF LFP range from 17” to 60”, including the twelve colour photo printers, the 24” to 60” eight colour production printers, all the 24” to 44” CAD printers and even Canon’s large format scan to print /copy systems.
