Since it opened its doors in November 2012 Cambridgeshire-based Red Monster Print has staked its reputation on offering ‘print prices that aren’t too scary’. The company picked up its second-user Mimaki JV3-160 two years ago in an online auction after it was recommended by colleagues in the industry, and it uses it to produce outdoor and roller banners for a variety of local clients including notoriously hard-to-please marketing and graphic design agencies. 

For the first year that it had its JV3, Red Monster Print was using OEM inks and forking out full list price for every cartridge. “Then we heard about a free trial of Nazdar inks and thought, ‘Why not?’” says business development manager Lewis Cornwell. “We did consider another third-party ink supplier, but they wouldn’t give us the opportunity to trial their product. When we tried the Nazdar inks, we saw no difference in colour or quality between them and the Mimaki inks.”

The company made the switch to Nazdar inks around five months ago, and hasn’t looked back. It has also established a fruitful partnership with Nazdar supplier APS. “We’ve had a relationship with APS for about a year,” explains Lewis. “We first came across them when we heard about the Nazdar inks, and we’re now working with APS on a new solvent fabric which we’re hoping to use in the future for flags.”

Nathan Burnett, who joined APS in September last year to head up its specialist inks division, has guided Red Monster Print through the switchover. “Red Monster Print is a textbook example of a business that has really benefitted from switching to Nazdar,” says Nathan. “It’s a young company that is making its mark in the local area, and every penny counts. By making savings on their consumables, they can ensure they’re offering the best prices to their customers. But it’s about more than saving money – it’s also about maintaining a reputation for quality. We’ve helped them get the most out of their printer with full technical support, which can obviously be hard to come by when you’re working with a second-user printer.”

In some cases, the combination of Nazdar inks and support from APS have helped Red Monster Print produce jobs that wouldn’t have been achievable before. “We recently did some work for a local school,” Lewis explains. “For the kids leaving they wanted a small banner with all the children’s faces on it. We did have an issue matching the school’s red in the background, but with APS’s support and the Nazdar inks we’re able to do that now.”

Red Monster Print has seen significant financial improvements since moving to Nazdar inks, too. “We’re saving around 30% on the cost of an ink cartridge,” says Lewis. “So on a full set of 6 we are making significant savings without having to compromise on quality.”