Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Mimeo Launches EasyCopy.com (and mention of RhinoCopy)

Down below, you'll find a press release from Mimeo.com about its new “EasyCopy.com” service. Before you read the press release, I’d like to make just a couple of comments:

(1) Inasmuch as they are talking about using the Internet to submit orders, perhaps they should have called this new service “easyprint” rather than “easycopy”? After all, if you’re submitting an order over the Internet, one does have to submit digital files, rather than hard-copy originals, and the printing industry uses the term “print” rather than “copy” for jobs printed from digital files. Not a big deal, but I thought I’d mention this. My guess is that “easyprint” was not available so they had to go with “easycopy.”

(2) I’m a fan of Mimeo.com, even though they were a competitor (when I was active in the reprographics business), primarily because they did (and still do) a great job at making it very easy, very simple, very quick for customers to place orders with them. I really like the “on-line” proofing service they provide. I’m one of those “believers” in making your reprographics (or printing) business as “user friendly” as you can, because the easier you make it for customers to do business with you, the greater your loyalty (repeat-business) factor will be.

(3) Mimeo.com’s 200,000 sq ft main production facility is located near the Fedex Hub in Memphis Tennessee, and Mimeo.com is known as a “high-volume” digital copy/print operation. I don’t recall the exact year that Mimeo.com started, but I’m so old that I remember when another “high-volume” copy/print business started up, that one known as “RhinoCopy”, located (if my memory serves me correctly) somewhere in Pennsylvania. I never had the opportunity to visit RhinoCopy, and, until today, I didn’t know that they were still in business. Back when RhinoCopy started up, they acquired a whole bunch of high-speed copiers and were offering very low prices. Today, I found that RhinoCopy is still out there, but where, exactly, they are located is a mystery to me, since I did not find any address(es) on their web-site. They still offer very low prices for copy/print work and, like Mimeo.com, they promote on-line ordering/job-submission. Here are the prices I found on RhinoCopy’s web-site:

RhinoCopy current promotional offer:

FULL COLOR XEROX COPIES

8.5 x 11, single sided, 28# laser paper: $0.09 per copy (min 1000 copies)

11 x 17, single sided, 28# laser paper: $0.11 per copy (min 1000 copies)

BLACK & WHITE XEROX COPIES

8.5 x 11, single sided, 20# white: $0.028 per copy

8.5 x 11, double sided, 20# white: $0.053 per sheet

11 x 17 single sided, 20# white: $0.038 per copy

11 x 17 double sided, 20# white: $0.059 per sheet

Prices good for orders received through 12/31/2011.

Stapling, binding, folding, and cutting services available at great prices.

Minimum order: $50 (not including shipping)

Blog-author’s comment: Wow, RhinoCopy’s color print prices are CHEAP!

(4) Back in 2006, while on a customer-relationship visit to one of our customers – and this particular customer was located only several blocks away from our main Tampa production center, which operated two-shifts daily – I learned that someone at this customer’s office was using Mimeo.com’s service – sending digital files up to Memphis, ordering overnight digital printing, binding and distribution ….. and we had to ask ourselves, “how the hell did this happen?!”, especially considering the fact that this customer was located only several blocks away from us and that our pricing was certainly competitive with Mimeo.com’s pricing. I don’t think I ever got a straight answer to that question, even though that customer, at our urging, stopped using Mimeo.com for the little bit they had been using Mimeo.com for. But, what happened to us (what we found this customer doing) still brings to mind these questions; (a) do your customers know that you operate a multi-shift operation and can “handle” whatever they need you to handle and that you can take care of their needs whenever they have a need?, (b) are your prices competitive?, and (c) are you doing everything you can to make it simply, easy and quick for customers to do business with your company, both on-line and in-person? Don’t ever “assume” that customers know what you know about your company or its capabilities.

Okay, here’s the Press Release that Mimeo.com issued this morning:

Mimeo Launches EasyCopy.com

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Press release from the issuing company

Mimeo, the leading online printing and distribution solutions company, today announced the launch of EasyCopy.com. The new site combines the latest online technologies and Mimeo’s super-efficient print production and distribution platform to offer an entirely new customer experience that solves many of the challenges often associated with retail print shops. The result is the easiest and most convenient way to order printed materials, including guaranteed next morning delivery for orders placed by 10PM EST, online proofing and ordering, and superior quality.

We found that many of the printing challenges faced by customers t local print/ship and office superstores can easily be solved with the combination of intuitive online tools and centralized print centers located at the largest distribution points,” said Adam Slutsky, Mimeo CEO. “With EasyCopy.com, customers simply select how they would like their project to look when printed. We’re sure that once visitors give it a try, they will become loyal customers.”


EasyCopy.com addresses many of the challenges associated with walk-in retail print centers. This includes the need to drive to the printer, frequent lack of stock in commonly used items such as binders, and no guarantee regarding delivery dates. With EasyCopy, customers simply go online, select a delivery date and place the order. EasyCopy.com also eliminates the need to describe how a project should look to a store employee since customers can instantly see a virtual proof that shows how a project will look when printed.

“There are many benefits of using a web-based solution for copy and print services,” said Keith Miller, General Manager, eCommerce. “Using the Internet, you never have to leave your office, with digital files moving seamlessly from the computer directly to our digital print and distribution centers. Our solution eliminates many common problems such as equipment breakdowns, inexperienced staff and limited store hours. We have hundreds of print professionals available 24/7 to make sure that projects are printed perfectly and that they meet promised delivery dates.”


EasyCopy.com will be powered by the Mimeo print production platform, which includes over 200,000 square feet of print manufacturing capacity across three strategically located digital print and distribution centers. Projects are printed on the latest digital presses and inspected eight times to ensure that work received is always perfect. 

To introduce the new service, EasyCopy.com is offering new customers 50% off on everything they print, making this the perfect time to order brochures and other items needed for the New Year. Click here to try the new service and discover how simple printing can be (enter offer code EASY1234 at checkout to save 50%).

2 comments:

  1. Blog author's follow-up note: the main plant in Memphis is not a 200,000 sq facility. The 200,000 sq ft number is the total manufacturing floorspace at Mimeo's 3 facilities.

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  2. Joel,

    Thanks for publishing the release and for accurately capturing what we are trying to with EasyCopy.com. We found that many customers do not want to "build" their documents and select the best papers/binding, they would rather have us do it for them. EasyCopy.com makes it easy to pick a finishing style, and then all they need to do is upload the file. The online proofing tool transforms their work into the selected style. It's fast easy and only the beginning of several planned innovations.

    Take Care,

    Jeff Grill
    VP, Marketing
    Mimeo.com

    ReplyDelete