Compact, Sleek and Personal
They are a team of only six in total. But that's exactly
what makes the commercial print shop Tanner & Bosshardt in
Basel, Switzerland, strong: It is compact, sleek and personal. In
addition, everyone is willing to help each other out and lend a
hand in an emergency. Customers appreciate this flexibility.
It's 7 a.m. on the "Austrasse" street, in the center of Basel, the six-person team at Tanner & Bosshardt is going through the orders for the day, as they do every morning. And, as happens most days, just a short while later a last-minute rush order turns the entire schedule upside down. A regular customer calls just before 11 a.m. He urgently needs 10,000 business letter sheets. Managing Director Tobias Stocker doesn't take long to reach a decision and confirms the next day as the delivery date. "Each department is only a short distance away and easily accessible, meaning we are usually able to wangle such short-term jobs between the departments without any problem. This flexibility is one of our strengths," he says. Stocker regards doing everything humanly possible to process extremely short-term orders as a service: "If a customer acknowledges that 'you've come to our rescue once again,' then our commitment is the perfect customer retention strategy."
Highly Valued Team Spirit
Tanner & Bosshardt is a typical family business: One person works in the prepress department and two in the pressroom. Both finishing and administration are taken care of by one half-time employee each. Stocker himself is a qualified typesetter and in his own words "a jack of all trades". He deals with all "unproductive" tasks such as customer canvassing or the accounting. To that end he is a dedicated team player. "We are such a small business that everyone has to lend a hand in every area, for example in finishing. If the half-day employee is not there, then both printers help with the packing. They also take on the cutting, folding, scoring, punching, embossing or perforating. We only use external bookbinders for the larger matters such as thread stitching or adhesive binding".
It's 7 a.m. on the "Austrasse" street, in the center of Basel, the six-person team at Tanner & Bosshardt is going through the orders for the day, as they do every morning. And, as happens most days, just a short while later a last-minute rush order turns the entire schedule upside down. A regular customer calls just before 11 a.m. He urgently needs 10,000 business letter sheets. Managing Director Tobias Stocker doesn't take long to reach a decision and confirms the next day as the delivery date. "Each department is only a short distance away and easily accessible, meaning we are usually able to wangle such short-term jobs between the departments without any problem. This flexibility is one of our strengths," he says. Stocker regards doing everything humanly possible to process extremely short-term orders as a service: "If a customer acknowledges that 'you've come to our rescue once again,' then our commitment is the perfect customer retention strategy."
Highly Valued Team Spirit
Tanner & Bosshardt is a typical family business: One person works in the prepress department and two in the pressroom. Both finishing and administration are taken care of by one half-time employee each. Stocker himself is a qualified typesetter and in his own words "a jack of all trades". He deals with all "unproductive" tasks such as customer canvassing or the accounting. To that end he is a dedicated team player. "We are such a small business that everyone has to lend a hand in every area, for example in finishing. If the half-day employee is not there, then both printers help with the packing. They also take on the cutting, folding, scoring, punching, embossing or perforating. We only use external bookbinders for the larger matters such as thread stitching or adhesive binding".
Details
Seeking the Challenge
Around 90 percent of the clients are companies who use Tanner & Bosshardt to manufacture their business and advertising publications: up to 400,000 copies of business cards, letterheads and envelopes or up to 10,000 flyers and brochures. "We are looking for that something special," stresses Stocker. For this reason the printers also accept demanding orders from agencies. The Managing Director advises the customer to use something which is eye-catching, for example envelopes made out of transparent paper or printing in metallic colors. The company has even published art books in small runs of up to 1,000 copies on its two Heidelberg Printmaster GTO 52s.
Always at the Forefront
Stocker also recognizes the company's limitations. "It is important not to stretch yourself too thin. It is also important to be at the forefront in terms of technology and to keep optimizing performance. You either produce top quality material using state-of-the-art technology or you disappear from the market." Bearing this in mind, he is more than willing to invest in new machines, even if business is not thriving, as he did about two years ago with the two Heidelberg Printmaster GTO 52s (a two- and four-color machine). It was indeed a financial show of strength and certainly helped the printers to make the "quantum leap" as Stocker emphasizes. And in more ways than one: The business can now print more precise screens. The pinpoint precise print image also led to an increase in quality. And make-ready times have been clearly reduced because the printers can now be keyed in via a central command center. "It does away with tedious tinkering about and that is important bearing in mind our narrowly calculated prices," explained Stocker. "We must produce our orders efficiently and rapidly using both machines."
Around 90 percent of the clients are companies who use Tanner & Bosshardt to manufacture their business and advertising publications: up to 400,000 copies of business cards, letterheads and envelopes or up to 10,000 flyers and brochures. "We are looking for that something special," stresses Stocker. For this reason the printers also accept demanding orders from agencies. The Managing Director advises the customer to use something which is eye-catching, for example envelopes made out of transparent paper or printing in metallic colors. The company has even published art books in small runs of up to 1,000 copies on its two Heidelberg Printmaster GTO 52s.
Always at the Forefront
Stocker also recognizes the company's limitations. "It is important not to stretch yourself too thin. It is also important to be at the forefront in terms of technology and to keep optimizing performance. You either produce top quality material using state-of-the-art technology or you disappear from the market." Bearing this in mind, he is more than willing to invest in new machines, even if business is not thriving, as he did about two years ago with the two Heidelberg Printmaster GTO 52s (a two- and four-color machine). It was indeed a financial show of strength and certainly helped the printers to make the "quantum leap" as Stocker emphasizes. And in more ways than one: The business can now print more precise screens. The pinpoint precise print image also led to an increase in quality. And make-ready times have been clearly reduced because the printers can now be keyed in via a central command center. "It does away with tedious tinkering about and that is important bearing in mind our narrowly calculated prices," explained Stocker. "We must produce our orders efficiently and rapidly using both machines."
Specialty: Envelope Printing
Envelope printing is a huge market in Switzerland and an important pillar for Tanner & Bosshardt. An important client from Basel, for example, orders approximately half a million envelopes and letterheads a year. The envelopes are printed in four colors with the company logo, sender and franking stamp. Some customers prefer to choose natural paper or very thin transparent paper. These ambitious printing materials require extreme precision. "We print on the final format. We can't simply trim off a few millimeters from the made-to-measure envelope if for example the logo is not suitably positioned," says Stocker. Here it is a case of leveling out the unevenness of the envelope somewhere in the area around the envelope seal with plastic membrane on the counter pressure cylinder. To continuously print the envelopes and only keep the sender's details in white is a science in itself. "That is a 'biggie' even for experienced colleagues. They curse more than once when it doesn't work," says Stocker with a smirk.
Single-minded Pursuit of a Strategy
The Company Director still has big plans. He has his eye on the small Suprasetter A52 to transfer film onto CTP exposure. He also wants to increase the speed at which deadlines are met. One of his favorite themes is digital printing, which he offers together with a partner company. "Many people only see digital printing as an opportunity to print small editions cost effectively. But that is where huge individualization potential lies. If a database is added, each copy of a letter or invitation can be printed individually and uniquely," says Stocker. He is pursuing this strategy with his team. "We are compact, sleek and personal," Stocker says as he happily accepts that customers cause havoc with his production timetable day in and day out.
Envelope printing is a huge market in Switzerland and an important pillar for Tanner & Bosshardt. An important client from Basel, for example, orders approximately half a million envelopes and letterheads a year. The envelopes are printed in four colors with the company logo, sender and franking stamp. Some customers prefer to choose natural paper or very thin transparent paper. These ambitious printing materials require extreme precision. "We print on the final format. We can't simply trim off a few millimeters from the made-to-measure envelope if for example the logo is not suitably positioned," says Stocker. Here it is a case of leveling out the unevenness of the envelope somewhere in the area around the envelope seal with plastic membrane on the counter pressure cylinder. To continuously print the envelopes and only keep the sender's details in white is a science in itself. "That is a 'biggie' even for experienced colleagues. They curse more than once when it doesn't work," says Stocker with a smirk.
Single-minded Pursuit of a Strategy
The Company Director still has big plans. He has his eye on the small Suprasetter A52 to transfer film onto CTP exposure. He also wants to increase the speed at which deadlines are met. One of his favorite themes is digital printing, which he offers together with a partner company. "Many people only see digital printing as an opportunity to print small editions cost effectively. But that is where huge individualization potential lies. If a database is added, each copy of a letter or invitation can be printed individually and uniquely," says Stocker. He is pursuing this strategy with his team. "We are compact, sleek and personal," Stocker says as he happily accepts that customers cause havoc with his production timetable day in and day out.
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Printmaster GTO 52
The Printmaster GTO 52 combines proven technology with high reliability in production and is therefore a press you can rely on. More
