PUBLICATION CENTER

This UPS Store in Beaumont, TX has used LexJet materials and expertise to produce photo enlargements, outdoor signs, canvas prints, and banners on their wide-format printer.

In keeping with our 15-year tradition of helping small-business owners use wide-format printing to diversify their businesses, LexJet has begun providing technical expertise to some UPS Store owners.

With more than 4,400 locations, The UPS Store® is the nation’s largest franchise network of retail centers for retail-shipping and other small-business services. Every store offers a mix of document, mailbox, pack and ship, and freight services and sells moving supplies.

But shipping volumes have decreased now that business people routinely use e-mail to send urgent business documents and more consumers have started giving gift cards instead of shipping packages.  

New Online Print Ordering: To help drive new business to franchisees, the corporate leaders of The UPS Store recently launched an online printing platform that provides a convenient way for small businesses, schools, churches, organizations, and consumers to manage their print needs. Customers can go online and locate the most convenient UPS Store that provides the mix of document printing and finishing services they need for a specific project. They can upload and store their documents in a secure workspace, submit a print order online, and receive an e-mail notification when the job is ready.  

Right now, the online ordering system can only accept orders for standard business documents such as a business cards, manuals, and presentation materials. But The UPS Store has announced plans to enable customers to order banners, posters, and other large-format graphics online as well. An integrated shipping function is expected to boost the appeal of the service even further.  

LexJet’s Personalized Support: Some owners of The UPS Store franchises have already purchased wide-format equipment. But not everyone feels equally confident they can produce whatever type of wide-format print a customer might request. That’s where Kyle Stephens and other account specialists at LexJet can help. For example, Sean Sladaritz at The UPS Store in Beaumont, TX has been using a wide-format printer for about seven months.  So far, Sladaritz hasn’t had any issues with the printer, nothing that: “It’s just like using any other inkjet printer, only bigger.” 

It’s the versatility of materials that can be used with the wide-format printer that has caused some apprehension.  After Sladaritz started promoting his large-format printing capabilities through TV and radio spots and in-store displays, he was surprised by the range of requests he started getting from customers. Many consumers simply wanted photo enlargements, but others asked for banners that could be displayed outdoors or reproductions of images on canvas. Some customers were also intrigued by the stand-up, life-size cut-out figures that Sladaritz had created by mounting photos on foamboard.  

He could have ordered rolls of wide-format inkjet materials from the same paper company that sells him supplies for his copiers. But even the paper-company salesperson admitted that he wasn’t prepared to answer some of the additional questions that tend to arise when customers start asking for projects ranging from banners to canvas prints. 

“I found LexJet when I went online to find a source of paper for the wide-format printer,” recalls Sladaritz. “When I called and spoke to Kyle, he told me everything I needed to know.” Mostly, The UPS Store in Beaumont uses LexJet 8-mil Production Photo Satin and Gloss papers for photo enlargements and posters. But to meet other requests, Sean Sladaritz heeded Kyle Stephens’ advice to use LexJet TOUGHcoat Thrifty Banner and banner tape for banners and LexJet TOUGHcoat Extreme AquaVinyl for outdoor signs. For the art reproduction, he used Sunset Select Matte Canvas with Sunset Gloss Coating.   

“Kyle has been very good,” says Sladaritz. “He calls me every couple of weeks to check up on me. It’s really nice to be able to talk to someone who knows what they’re talking about in terms of wide-format printing.” 

Sladaritz, who always had an interest in Photoshop and computer graphics, acknowledges that not every UPS Store owner is likely to add wide-format printing to their service mix.  The local community may be saturated with similar service providers. Or, it can be intimidating to people who have made shipping and packaging the focus of their business.

“But wide-format printing isn’t really that hard,” says Sladaritz. “Especially when you have people at LexJet who know what they are doing, and are available to help you out.”

According to Stephens, other UPS Store owners he has talked with seem surprised to be able to be able get practical advice and assistance from a live person in this era of impersonal, online ordering. Stephens points out that providing one-on-one customer service is one of LexJet’s core strengths: “Every customer who orders from us has access to a dedicated, experienced rep who understands their business needs, and can help them grow.”