The Prism Group, located in London, acquired US based MicroInk, earlier this year hoping to create an integrated management solutions business for the graphic arts. The goal: to combine MicroInk’s 1000 installations with Prism’s technical and worldwide experience to compete in the US. Chris Johnson, group managing director of Prism, says that merging the product lines of the two companies creates a one-stop-shop of management solutions for printers, prepress providers, packaging manufacturers and other graphic arts professionals.

Describe the path Prism has taken from your start in New Zealand now to North America?

Prism started off in the New Zealand market place in 1989. Our mission statement which is still at the forefront of all Prism employees minds is that: "We are committed to become the world’s leading provider of innovative solutions to the graphic arts industry in terms of product, reputation, revenues and profits by being professional, enthusiastic and giving total customer satisfaction".

After securing the New Zealand market place we moved to Australia and then onto the UK. In each case we have become the number one solution closing 85% of all deals we directly bid for. Our strategy in entering new markets is the "trojan horse" strategy we are selective on the customers that we take on and are committed to exceeding their expectations. This gives us a solid base of excellent reference sites to grow our business.

Can you continue to gain market share in the US at the same pace you have in other markets - especially with the printCafe presence?

Absolutely, the US is a very exciting market with massive potential. With the emergence of printCafe last year it has become apparent that there is a sizable gap in the market place for another substantial competitor to printCafe. The Prism Group is now number two in the world on revenues next to printCafe. Prism has solid coverage in both the Southern and Northern hemisphere’s. With the acquisition of MicroInk, now Prism USA Inc. we believe we have got a solid base in order to gain rapid market share in the US market.

Because you have a more global presence, is it safe to say you have avoided the exposure to the US economic slow down?

We are not affected by the US downturn. Being a new player in a new market there is enormous potential for our business. Prism is in an unrivaled position where we have solid business units in Europe and Australia. As a global company we can take advantage of regions that are experiencing exceptional economic conditions allowing us to buffer the regions that are experiencing economic downturn.

During economic hard times, the Graphic Arts Industry as a whole now realize that solutions such as the solutions that Prism offers help them dramatically to understand their business and to become proactive in making management decisions to counteract external environmental conditions resulting in them focusing on profit. The solutions that Prism offers, reports holistically over an operation, identifying issues often before they become serious.

Describe the staffing challenges for Prism USA?

Prism’s growth strategy is based on building a sustainable global organization. The heart of this strategy is to grow on the back of orders and realizable opportunities. To this end with the acquisition of MicroInk and the realizable opportunities that we are closing in the US we are actively seeking to expand Prism USA Inc. with exceptional people. We are in an enviable position where we have built up solid customer service implementation and support teams around the world. Currently with the layoffs from our American competitors we are finding a wonderful opportunity to hire experienced people of a high caliber.

Companies in your space have been pressured to change models in midstream to focus on print buyer work flows AND the printer. Do you ever envision such a move for Prism?

I would like to make very clear to the American market place that our customer is the printer. To this end all our concentration and focus is on developing, implementing and supporting solutions whether management information systems or e-business tools for the printer, so that they can add value to their customer. Prism has no intention to align itself and sell our products into environments outside the Graphic Arts Industry.

We mentioned above the challenge from printCafe since they have acquired most of the workflow systems installed. How can you gain the same sort of traction?

Prism’s philosophy is to provide its customers with choice. With Prism WIN and Prism Enterprise Connect, our API’s, we can allow our customers the ability to integrate whatever part of the Prism solution they choose, with any of their existing or preference workflow solutions. This allows Prism to compete strongly with printCafe, as in short our customers can build a solution which could be solely a Prism solution or a combination of Prism solutions and other third parties. Not only that, our customers can choose from a wider field of solutions rather than be locked into the set offered by one supplier.

Why did you purchase MicroInk?

Over the last couple of years Prism has evaluated a number of different ways in which we could enter the US market. After making the decision to acquire a US identity we assessed all opportunities finalizing on MicroInk. Carol Andersen and her team had over the years built a solid customer base and an excellent mid-range product Enterprise 32, now Prism Enterprise. The relationship has created two opportunities for the Prism Group. First - a solid base with a committed and driven CEO (Carol Andersen) and secondly a mid-range product that was synergistic to our current product range, that we could roll out in the rest of the world through our existing business units.

What vendor alliances does Prism have with software vendors?

In order to deliver a seamlessly integrated solution to our customers we develop all modules in house. This being the case our relationships are more database orientated with Oracle and Microsoft partnerships in place.

From the time a printer signs up for Prism’s full blown package – take us through what happens next.

Prism’s approach to securing a new customer and ensuring we exceed their expectations is through a consultative approach. Prior to the sale Prism conducts a customer audit understanding their business, their issues and their business plans. On completion of this audit we have a good understanding of their business and can agree with the customer a solution that will add value to their business. This process also identifies clearly a return on investment to the customer. Once an order is signed a Prism Project Manager develops a project plan with the customer and more importantly identifies a champion within the customer, to champion the installation of our solution. Once signed off we can figure and train the customer to the agreed specifications of the solution.

We have in place a CRM solution, which allows us to monitor the performance of the project and ensures we understand any issues that arise surrounding support. Once a year we strongly suggest we conduct a solution audit and on completion can advise on how to change or tweak the system to ensure it remains applicable to our customer’s current business environment.

Are your products primarily targeted to the large print vendors?

Prism has a number of products that fit into different segments of the industry. Prism Enterprise is a Microsoft SQL Server product and has been developed for the mid-range printer. This product has a large share of the in-house printers, very strong in the commercial and labels printers and is making exciting in roads into the digital print environment.

Prism WIN is a highly configurable product, which is primarily sold into companies with over 75 employees. We are exceptionally strong in the commercial web market with our QTMS solution and have had huge successes in large commercial sheet fed and labels printers. Because of the configurability we have large customers world wide in every discipline within the industry.


Thank you Chris - we look forward to watching your success in the future.