Interview with Brendan Carroll, Director at PCI Group, and Andreea Iordachescu, Owner at Save The Date

In Pursuit of High-Quality Print for a Perfect Commercial Marriage

Every business has a role for a printer, so there’s always something to talk about, but when a call comes in from a design, publishing or a graphics company you have a pretty good idea of where the conversation will go. When high-end printing capability is fundamental to the business, the focus for printers is always centered on print quality. When Save The Date, a wedding stationery and design business, got in touch, the goal of the owner - Andreea Iordachescu - was even more direct.

“She knew exactly what she wanted,” recalls Brendan Carroll, Director at PCI. “That happens, but not very often. And when it does, it’s usually someone from the graphic art and design sector. In the case of Andrea and Save The Date the printer requirement was very specific, right down to a machine model number.’

The Galway-based company designs and prints beautiful wedding invitations and stationery. Started in 2011 and run by a team of three, the company website has attracted customers from all over the world. The elegant collections span a wide range of styles and have struck a chord with couples who want the very best for their big day.

Print Quality a Priority

Andreea is the owner of a business built on quality. A graphic designer with 17 years experience, she takes her artwork very seriously and has a meticulous eye for detail. If a client wants the finish on the paper to be blush rose pink, for example, the colour tone throughout the print run has to be exactly as ordered.

“Volume and output quality are important but colour accuracy is top of the list of what we look for in a printer,” she said. “I did a lot of online research and when I came across the Oki Pro9431 I knew I’d found what I needed.”

The combination of 1200x1200dpi print resolution with Multi-Level ProQ colour technology delivers high definition printing with a vibrancy in the colour that does Andreea’s designs justice. It also boasts media handling flexibility, giving Save The Date the freedom to use different weights and textures of paper and card.  

Barely a day goes by without a print job going through, typically runs of 100+, and there’s a constant pressure to deliver. “Reliability is so important because our business is all about on-time delivery,” says Andreea. Here, again, the Oki printer scores high; where it's robust build quality inspires confidence in its ability to be the mainstay of business where printer uptime is business critical. Output speeds of up to 50 pages per minute more than cope with Save The Date’s orders and deadlines.

PCI's Fantastic Customer Service

Andreea knew she wanted the Pro9431 but it was expensive and only available from a small number of outlets in Ireland. PCI was one of them and we were soon at the top of her list. What swung it was our try-before-you-buy consultation. Although the specification looked good, Andreea wanted to be sure the Oki could do the job before she parted with her money.

“PCI was really kind and gave me a lot of time and walked me through the features,” she recalls, “but it was a willingness to print some samples that made the difference. It was fantastic customer service.” She sent some card and very fine paper and PCI came back with a range of printed samples. The results were excellent. All that remained was to agree the deal.

Brendan Carroll takes up the story. “Some of our competitors see high-end print companies as an opportunity to tie customers into weighty contracts with expensive cost-per-page charges,” he says. “ We take the opposite approach, offering flexible and tailored solutions without any onerous, locked in commitment. What is most important to us is a long-term working partnership.”

It’s certainly working for Andreea. “We’re really happy with the product and the customer service has been excellent,” she says. “You know when you click with a company, and that’s what’s happened with PCI.”

Get in touch if you’d like to find out more about how PCI supports high-quality print production for graphic design businesses and architectural practices.