Now we are not suggesting your brand has put on a little “holiday weight.” Not at all! We are talking about a different kind of detox and one that does not involve a plastic tube and litres of water.

First things first, we need to find out if your brand is toxic?

What is a brand?
Let’s start by understanding what a brand is not. A brand is not a logo. Logo (short for logotype) is another word for trademark and means “word” in Greek. A logo or trademark is not the brand but a symbol for it.
A brand is the feeling and emotion an individual has to that particular product, service or company. This means that the brand is defined by the individual. (Don’t think you have/need a brand? Talk to us.) Or take our toxic brand quiz.

We are now 5 months into our own rebrand from Printstop to printing.com. We have detoxed our brand; our colours, our logo, even our name to become international and sophisticated while retaining our sense of fun, vibrancy and humour to stand out from our competition. So what do you think about our rebrand…?

What is a logo?
So we have established a logo is symbol for your brand. Logos will often include a name, a graphic design element, symbol or trademeark sometimes even a slogan. Your logo is the most important piece of graphic design your company will own, as it fronts as the face of the company and is the basis for all your marketing material; stationery, packaging, promotional materials and signage.

So we really hope your logo is not saying nasty things about you behind your back. Imagine if it was telling potential customers that you cannot be trusted. Imagine you caught it saying you were sloppy or unprofessional. We bet you would have some pretty stiff words to say to it. The reality is, your logo says a lot about you.

Even your choice of colours can give people the wrong impression. Some logos grow old gracefully. Some look dated before you have finished your first box of stationery. Sometimes you will simply outgrow your logo. It’s a common problem and it’s nothing to be ashamed about. Your logo is really important. It is the cornerstone of your brand. It is your signature. You should be proud of it. And we want you to be proud of it.

Maybe your logo is looking a bit tired and just needs a “nip and a tuck” or maybe you do not have a logo at all – we can help. Just drop by or give us a call – our talented team of designers will create a logo that you will love for years to come. Once we have crafted your new identity, we will save you a packet on your printing too.

Wow, here we are, the first week of April and our Stores in Albany and Takapuna are now printing.com !

What a month (or 3) it has been…

From painting, new signage, new car branding, business cards, flyers… through to launch party, t-shirts, flowers and lollipops… new furniture, new banners, balloons and much much more.

“Fast Full Colour Print” is our new marketing tagline.  We embraced this  – We painted the town pink and blue and celebrated with pride.

We are looking forward to working with all our clients under our new branding – we have a new name and a new look but we are business as usual – the same Great People, same High Quality, same Handy Locations, same Friendly Service and same Delivery Promise.

“Its such an exciting time for us as business owners; knowledge that we are embracing and implementing the very thing we discuss with our clients on a regular basis around the importance of detoxing, refreshing and modernising logo’s and brands.”  Erin Adkins, Owner North Shore

Takapuna Store of printing.com

Albany Store of printing.com

PrintStop and printing.com has evolved over the years. Reading through the history of the franchise and company it is evident that things change over time to reflect the current market, the industry and of course, the customer.

PrintStop is a name you are familiar with, a name that is synonymous with well priced, fast turnaround, full colour printing. We are New Zealand’s only national retail printing chain, with 50 locally owned and operated franchises spread across the country.

This year we will continue to bring you everything you love about PrintStop, plus a whole lot more! We’ll be expanding the service and products we currently provide for you so watch out for some exciting new initiatives in the months ahead.

We live in a world of constant change, where things seldom stay the same, and we believe that’s what makes our world so wonderful.  That’s why we’re excited to be sharing our news about our future, where we will be staying the same in so many ways, but we’ll have a new name and be even better than before!

SAME great people

SAME high quality

SAME handy locations

SAME friendly service and

SAME delivery promise …

with a NEW name!

From 1 April 2011 it will be business as usual at PrintStop, but we’ll be called nz.printing.com. That’s the name that’s been powering PrintStop from behind the scenes for a number of years and also operates in England, Europe, USA and Australia. Through our ongoing association with printing.com we’ll be able to bring you more new products and other innovations that are already proving to be a huge hit in the global marketplace.

What is a brand?

A logo? Corporate colours? Stationery?

A brand is all of these and much more, a brand is everything from a customer’s perception of who you are, to the quality, the look, customer care, retail and web look, the voice of communication and more.

The relationship between consumer and brand is often emotional rather than rational.  Branding facilitates memory recall, thus contributing to preferred selection and customer loyalty.

Why bother changing our name?

Printingdotcom (PDC) are an established, progressive retail print UK based company who have “powered” PrintStop for the last five years.

We are going global – but remaining locally owned, future proofing ourselves and our customers with new initiatives, like on-line ordering, digital asset store and customer templates.

PrintStop, New Zealand’s leading printing franchise network, has formalised its strategic partnership with printing.com to bring even more quality print services to small and medium sized businesses.

Today (1 April 2011) PrintStop rebrands to printing.com as part of its partnership with the UK-based global network of the same name.  The partnership provides the New Zealand franchise network with access to an international network of resources, expertise and collateral.

PrintStop CEO Steve Messenger says PrintStop stores around the country can now offer an even wider range of high quality print services that have traditionally been priced out of the reach of small and medium businesses.

“Small businesses want the same high quality print services as big companies but historically they haven’t been able to afford the same level as those with bigger budgets and volumes,” says Steve Messenger.

“We’ve changed that by making high quality print services readily available to all businesses without the high costs for setup and project management that have traditionally been associated with large volume print clients.”

Research into the New Zealand print industry by PrintNZ found one of the key motivators forming the print buyer’s perception is the interaction the buyer has with individual printers and print suppliers, who the buyers consider to be the ‘face’ of the industry.

Lisa Gembitsky, General Manager of Konfident Kidz, has been utilising PrintStop’s services for over three years and is excited by the network’s latest initiative.

“We run an anti-bullying and interactive confidence building programme for school children and the team at PrintStop has been a huge part in making a difference to this company,” says Lisa Gembitsky.

“They got us started by printing our very first workbooks and business cards, and they made it so easy for us. And they meet some of the tightest deadlines!  Really, if it wasn’t for PrintStop’s help and ongoing support from the awesome team, Konfident Kidz certainly would not have helped over 2000 students so far!”

PrintStop’s strategic partnership with printing.com will enable the network of franchisees throughout New Zealand to focus on further developing the consultative-led approach that is the essence of the PrintStop model.

“Service is the key differential and our nationwide local presence enables us to develop more strategic client relationships through consultation to strengthen loyalty and it provides the ability to offer a marketing solution, not just print services,” says CEO Steve Messenger.

“It’s all about service which is inherently linked to quality and brand perception.  We operate with the ethos of putting local service backed by the benefits of access to an international network at the heart of our business.”

The same values form the basis of the printing.com model and the company has traditionally maintained a strong network of client-facing account managers which has served it well in building more strategic relationships to strengthen loyalty and attract new clients.  “Our partnership with printing.com means we’ve become a classic example of ‘glocalisation’, where we’re backed by an international organisation driving development and technology advances and upgrades which are filtered through the system to our people on the street at the forefront of the customer relationship.”

“Changing the network name to printing.com only brings the alignment closer and includes us as part of a global network dedicated to making our businesses – and those of our customers – even better!”

Additional benefits for the New Zealand franchise network include access to international design and marketing professionals providing collateral and resources to help franchisees and in turn help customers market their businesses better.

“printing.com also provides a lot of support for targeted marketing campaigns that can be measured, monitored, recorded and fed back into the business development loop.  This way we can retain and further develop sustainable demand and our competitive edge in New Zealand by continuing to deliver consistently high quality.”

“One more thing – if you’re searching online for print services and you ‘google it’ we like the fact that we now have the added advantage of our new name so we will be even easier to find.  Currently the global website is ranked 13th in the world for website traffic in the printing category.”

So, how did the PrintStop network begin in New Zealand?

In 2003, Astra bought a chain of copy shops from Xerox.

In the course of the search Lawrence came across Printing.com in the UK (PDC).  PDC were so obviously ahead of the rest but not ready for international engagement, so the development of a hub and spoke print model was introduced.

Those early days are a bit of a blur in hindsight.  A concept was fleshed out, a brand was developed, products were defined, production processes were planned, surveys were done and selling programs were established.

They were exciting times, but they were also difficult times.

Talks began again with PDC (printing.com) and in October 2006, 14 stores were operating under the master license of the printing.com method.

Where we are today:

The PrintStop network is now fully tapping into the ongoing research, development and business initiatives generated by printing.com in the UK, changing our name to printing.com only brings the alignment closer and includes us as part of a global network dedicated to making our businesses – and those of our customers – even better!