Crease Stream Ltd Blog

5 Of The Most Inspirational And Amusing Comments Ever Spoken To Me Since I Set Up Tech-ni-Fold

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Soon the 60,000^thTri-Creaser will be installed, and I still have to pinch myself to make sure I am not dreaming. It only seems like yesterday that my boss at my last place of employment was telling me to sell my patent and proto-types to Heidelberg for a couple of thousands of pounds or whatever I could get for them. That was back in 1999, and a lot of unbelievable things have happened since, good things and bad things, but mainly good. I am happy to have experienced some of the more negative stuff, because I have learnt from each experience.

I thought I would put up my list of 5 of the most inspirational (and amusing) comments ever spoken to me on a personal level throughout my business journey (even the ones that seem to be negative were inspirational, honestly!!) There are many, many more, but these spring to mind...

5 Of The Most Inspirational And Amusing Comments Ever Spoken To Me Since I Set Up Tech-ni-Fold

"You will never make any more than pin money out of this creasing idea, and you will struggle to find a better job than working for me.”

This is what my last boss said to me when I suggested quitting my job in 2000 to set up Tech-ni-Fold.

“Can we buy two of your Tri-Creaser’s with discount before you leave?”

This is what the same boss told his production manager to ask me before I left his company to set up Tech-ni-Fold

“It’s not worth the plane ticket over, we hear about ideas like yours all the time.”

This is what Heidelberg’s product manager said to me in 1999 when I tried to get an appointment to present and demonstrate my product; it took 12 months of perseverance to get that meeting.

“Maybe you got lucky”

This is what the same product manager said to me after the Tri-Creaser outperformed their scoring device during that appointment, a few weeks before they placed their first order

“ Rotary methods of creasing can’t eliminate cracking problems, it's impossible."

This is the most common statement I hear; most of the 60,000 Tri-Creaser’s we sold so far went to many who had previously said things like this.

Scepticism is natural, everyone has this trait

Please, please, don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to show disrespect for any of the people mentioned above, I would probably have said some of the same things if I was in their position. Scepticism is natural, we all have this trait, but it doesn’t mean that we should give up based on what people say about us or what we do, I hope you get my point.

There are some really funny stories connected to the statements above, let me know if you want to hear about any of them, why not post a reply below?

Thanks for reading my blog

The story behind the manufacturing of our 60,000th Tri-Creaser, who made it and who might get it

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

We are soon to sell our 60,000^thTri-Creaser, and I thought that it would be good to let you know something about the story behind the manufacturing of this amazing device, simply because I truly think there are lessons to be learnt by all who may read it. Someone recently said to me that people buy from people, and I believe this is true. Certainly, the people who have helped me to get to this stage have had a massive influence on me and the way we run our business. Unfortunately there is a different side to my story, and I think you will agree, people can also break you, shatter your dreams and dictate what happens, if you let them, remember that last part of the sentence “if you let them.” I hope that the examples I give of the two companies that first set out to manufacture my Tri-Creaser product will teach you a thing about how ethical business should and shouldn’t be implemented, and more importantly I hope you can learn how to bypass the negative stuff.

When I first looked for an engineering company to manufacture my Tri-Creaser product in 1999 I had no money, I had to sell before I could buy. I found a local engineering company, situated opposite the printing firm I was working for, and placed my order for my very first proto-types. At first they obliged because I had borrowed money and paid by cash, the proto-types worked a dream and I knew I was onto something really, really special. So after four or five visits to tweak the design I was ready to order my first batch of 20 devices, and then something happened that changed things. The near retired engineer who was assigned to help me with my project started to jeer as I came in; he got the other workers to join in. You see, the simple fact was that he didn’t like the hassle and disruption to his routine, so he let me know through such chanting that I wasn’t thought of as a serious prospective customer. But I persevered and tried to paint my vision. I told him and the owner of the company that this was only the start, I tried to explain that I would be placing orders for hundreds, and the potential was for thousands, and if they could hang in there with me then they could be part of the journey, I was basically telling them that they would be my trusted manufacturer, potentially for the duration of my business life.

This is where I realised I had found the sector of business that I call the tut, tut brigade, those that scratch their heads and tell you that almost everything you suggest is impossible. You may imagine what I experienced in that work shop, it went something like this: “Tut, tut, we don’t think what you are trying to achieve can be done, our guys are busy working for our biggest clients, you are getting in the way?”

Ok, some of you reading this may think that these engineers had a point, I may have been wasting their time with an ambitious idea that had more chance of failing than succeeding, and I wasn’t even in a suit, why on earth would they take a chance on me? Well, in my book, everyone should have a chance, and be treated with some kind of respect, after all, who knows what could happen in the future, many ideas do work, and those that stand behind you have a big chance of being part of the journey. The bottom line here is that I was forced to go to another engineering company (I found one after 8 attempts) and they are about to manufacture our 60,000^thTri-Creaser

Just imagine what may have been possible if the first company would have listened, think of the thousands of products they could have made for Tech-ni-Fold. All they needed to do was listen and trust, even if the odds to them seemed to be slim. Yes, they had to be good at what they did, they had to produce high quality work, but providing they also matched with my expectations we would have prospered together, this is how I like business to be conducted.

So let me tell you of a similar story that happened in parallel with the first, and how the outcome was totally different. For those of you that know our creasing products, you will be familiar with the rubber creasing ribs we use to crease the stock, they are equally as important as the metal work that the engineers produce for us. When I produced my first proto-type I needed a rubber manufacturer to supply some samples, a friend of a friend told me of a company that could possibly help. I drove over and described to the owner, John McNorton, exactly what I was looking for, and shared my vision with him. Within 2 weeks I also began to frustrate his business partner. I found out many years later that his business partner had recommended that they turn me away because I was disrupting their schedule, all for a few samples. Fortunately I had already convinced his better half, John, one of the nicest, most helpful people I had ever met, to stick with me. We hit it off straight away, and even though he has since admitted that he wasn’t convinced about my idea at first, he still helped me, probably because even if he had doubts he knew that I didn’t. John didn’t want to be the one to quash my dreams, and he also knew that there was a chance that things might work out, even if it was a long shot. I am proud to tell you the name of this person because he is a dear friend of mine and all of us at Tech-ni-Fold, and always will be. John McNorton is the kind gentleman who set me on my way and true to my word we are still use his company now, and have since ordered hundreds of thousands of parts, we are their number 2 customer. John is long retired but because he conducted business in what I would call an ethical and correct manner, it all worked out for both our companies. It is quite ironic that his rather sceptical business partner inherited the business from us for a while, until he sold out to another firm. I still see John, he is always welcome to visit anytime he likes. We often look back at those early days and I never fail to say thank you for what he did in having patience and some belief in me and the vision I was trying to fulfill. It fills me with joy and hope to think that before I had placed a decent order, John had gone out of his way to help me find the correct type of rubber, heated to the right temperature so it wouldn’t burn during my trials, he educated me about the materials I needed and mixed up a special compound, especially for my purposes, what a great human being.

Back to that engineering company, many other companies followed a similar path, some tut, tutting along the way, although to be fair, others were more professional but couldn’t produce the quality I demanded. I found the 8^thcompany in 2001 and they have supplied us ever since, and are about to produce the 60,000^thTri-Creaser, I will most likely let you know who get’s it. So the 8^thengineering company got the contract and if you consider all the other parts we produce, they have made tens upon tens of thousands of parts for Tech-ni-Fold, and they also have expanded and grown with us, every single step of the way.

Thank you for reading my blog, I hope it was interesting

Graham Harris

CreaseStream vision for 2012

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

It’s been a very interesting and rewarding year for our new CreaseStream business, officially launching it in April this year (2011) after our 2 year development programme. We are really excited about next year, especially now that we have secured a new office and showroom right next to our existing Tech-ni-Fold headquarters, of which we are aiming to use to its full potential, starting from early January 2012.

As Managing Director of Tech-ni-Fold I am immensely proud of what our company has achieved and is continuing to achieve. Setting up CreaseStream has been very challenging in many ways, but the frustration we encountered in trying to get each of our products launched has been eclipsed by the excitement we have all experienced in seeing how our customers have reacted to them. On a personal level I must admit that it is in my nature to keep our ideas turning and our product range evolving all the time, staying as we are isn’t an option.

Of course, if it wasn’t for the amazing breakthrough of the patented creasing device, Tri-Creaser, developed by Tech-ni-Fold in 1999, CreaseStream would never have been set up. It is through the selling of over 60,000 Tri-Creaser’s and 1000’s of our micro-perforating and cutting devices that allowed us to develop the exciting CreaseStream range, despite the tough economical climate of the last three years. I think that the fact that we continued to invest and develop new products and not stand still through this depressed period will pay off over the next two years. Paul Barrett and I are print finishers by trade and we use this knowledge to create products that are simple to use that have mass market appeal.

CreaseStream was set up as an independent company, focussing more on the growing digital print market, and the very essence of what made Tech-ni-Fold so successful is at the heart of this new brand of solutions. Providing offline creasing, micro-perforating and cutting solutions in many forms, to suit all types/sizes of print companies is our goal. The work is paying off and word is spreading, this is reflected in the high amount of sales we are achieving on a day to day basis, and we are ahead of our targets already.

CreaseStream Vision

Our vision for CreaseStream is to make it a global leader in unique and innovative digital finishing solutions over the next three years, offering a cost effective and faster alternative to the conventional methods that already exist. We aim to create more versatile and flexible applications so printers have extra scope to finish complex tasks in one pass, enhancing the finished products beyond what was possible before. More importantly the quality of crease/perf/cutting application will be better than what exists, this is our promise.

We have already proved that quality creasing that eliminates digital cracking doesn’t have to be applied by a slow blade and matrix style machine, and to prove this we have attracted attention from several digital print manufacturer’s, more news regarding this will be available in the new year. It is an ongoing challenge to prove that a rotary system can match the conventional way of creasing, but over 60,000 converted sceptics (as mentioned earlier) isn’t a bad way to gauge potential. I think that we have a great opportunity to pioneer a new era in creasing technology, setting a new standard for others to follow.

Developing three more machines in 2012

We have started to develop three more CreaseStream machines, meaning that we planning to show six solutions in total at Drupa 2012, which starts in May. I would prefer to keep the details of these products a secret for a few more months, until we have concluded test trials.

Please feel free to add a comment to my blog, it would be great to hear from you

On behalf of Tech-ni-Fold and CreaseStream, I wish you a Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year

Regards

Graham

Tech-ni-Fold/CreaseStream are seeking dealers/business entrepreneurs, it could be your opportunity

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Very few of our distributors are exclusive re-sellers, so now may be a good time to get in touch, before it’s too late!

Some of the most successful business partners and re-sellers of Tech-ni-Fold products started out as lone people with good sound industry knowledge and endless amounts of passion to set up their own company. You may be reading this, thinking that you have plenty of enthusiasm to do something different with your life but just need a little inspiration that will nudge you in the right direction - Maybe it's your time?

We already have a good distributor base, however, due to the success and potential of our CreaseStream business, we also have opportunity and scope for new re-sellers. In fact, very few of our Tech-ni-Fold and CreaseStream distributors are exclusive re-sellers, so now may be a good time to get in touch, before it’s too late. Here’s how two of our distributors got started...

Andre Palko of New Jersey, USA, was a gifted print finisher with experience in running his own Bindery, until he happened to come across our "Seeking Dealers" advert we had posted on an American website in 2001. Andre, purchased a Tri-Creaser from us, with a degree of scepticism, and sold it to his printer friend, and with the profit he purchased a few more, and it wasn't long before he was placing significant orders of 5, 10, 20 and even 40 per month, making lucrative profit margins. Andre now heads up Technifold USA, who are our leading distributors, covering the US and North American market. Andre and Gina Palko, together with their smart sales team, spend each day converting skeptics into customers, using their passion, experience and innovative marketing strategies. They work from a New Jersey office and spearhead national campaigns that reach out to the whole US/North American market, resulting in amazing mail order business that much larger companies can only dream about.

We also created an opportunity for a Mexican customer who thanked us for helping him achieve the finishing quality he was looking for on his perfect binder. Our Spine & Hinge Creaser solved his cover scoring problems, where tearing and cracking were always a threat.

Rodrigo Catellanos was so passionate and excited that we helped make his working life so much easier that we asked him if he would ever consider representing the Tech-ni-Fold line of products in Mexico. We knew that he owned a Bindery, but thought he may consider bolting on a separate division to his firm. We thought that his outstanding enthusiasm for our products, together with his superior knowledge in print finishing was the perfect ingredient for success. We were not wrong, Rodrigo is flying high, his sales are building up fast and he has started to recruit sales staff. We are so impressed with Rodrigo that we have started to roll out the CreaseStream products under his leadership.

How to become a Tech-ni-Fold/CreaseStream distributor

Firstly, please familiarize yourself with our products by visiting the following two websites

www.technifold .com

www.creasestream.com

This opportunity is open to anyone that has ambition and passion to succeed, even individuals, as long as they have drive and determination.

Becoming a successful Tech-ni-Fold or CreaseStream distributor usually starts with an email and then an informal chat. If you think you may have what it takes to represent our unique product lines, simply tell me about yourself, including your career details and relevant background information that explains why you stand out from the crowd. And that’s it, nothing too elaborate at this stage, we like to take things easy at the start.

Email graham.harris@technifold.co.uk

I look forward to hearing from you

Graham Harris

Managing Director

www.technifold.com

Tel: +44 (0) 1455 554 491 Fax: +44 (0) 1455 554 526 Email: graham.harris@technifold.co.uk

Tech-ni-Fold Ltd.,Unit 2, St. John's Business Park, Lutterworth , Leicestershire, LE17 4HB, UK

Vacuum free CreaseStream Plus ready to order now

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

It's taken us almost three years to get to this stage, but I am delighted to inform you that our fully automatic CreaseStream Plus will be available to purchase from January 2012. Why has it taken us so long you may ask yourself? Firstly, I must say that the concept of producing a vacuum free creasing machine that could feed as good, if not better than a suction version was a lot harder to create than we first thought. We used four designers from three different countries and a lot of our own ideas to create a special feeding mechanism that requires no suction pump to seperate the sheets before feeding. We feel that we have made a breakthrough and have applied for a patent already.

Our goal with the CreaseStream Plus was to give digital and litho printers an option to produce faster output without the extra costs of buying a vacuum pump. Of course this means that noise levels are highly reduced, which is great for the environment. A lot of time was spent in working out how to eliminate feed scuffing or marking, which is common with friction feeders, and we have found the solution. So, our new creasing machine is unique in many ways and the hard work is beginning to pay off.

During the coming days and weeks there will be more updates and announcements regarding the details of the CreaseStream Plus, however, if you are interested in receiving all the latest information please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for reading this short announcement

Graham Harris

CreaseStream

Fast producing CreaseStream is set to raise the standard in creasing technology

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The CreaseStream Plus will eliminate cracking problems faster than anything else in the global market, and will begin to set the standard in creasing technology according to the creator, Graham Harris. Back in 1999, Harris had successfully developed and patented the Tri-Creaser, a simple folding machine device that used rubber o-rings and inserts to apply the creasing. And with 45,000 systems now installed world-wide, he has reinvented the formula and is repackaging it for the thriving digital market, through his CreaseStream innovation. Amongst those that buy the Tri-Creaser on a regular basis is none other than global print manufacturers, Heidelberg, so it’s no wonder that Harris speaks with unwavering confidence.

Harris comments: “I keep on saying that conventional matrix creasing machines that use a blade to strike the sheet are too slow and limited in what else they can do. Our rotary system gives exactly the same creasing result as that acquired by flatbed matrix methods, but with much higher speeds and more flexibility to produce other quality applications, such as fine and flat micro-perforating as well as razor sharp trimming. All such applications can be performed at the same time using the CreaseStream Plus, and you will struggle to find another manufacturer that can say the same. “

The CreaseStream Plus will be available in January 2012 and promises so much to the CreaseStream distributorship and close customers that have patiently waited for the first production models. Even the feeder is different; it doesn’t require a vacuum pump and will work efficiently on anything starting from 75gsm paper and will comfortably feed 400gsm stocks and above. Output speed will surpass 20,000 sheets per hour, no matter how many creases, micro-perfs and trims are added, and a host of existing folding units can be aligned at a right angle to enhance the finishing process. The unit is expected to offer multiple applications at a cost effective price, and this has pleased the CreaseStream prospects who are awaiting the first batch.

Six CreaseStream products in total are planned and these will cater for all types of budgets. All machines will benefit from the same rotary creasing technology that made Tech-ni-Fold a globally known enterprise. This way of creasing seems so simple in that it relies on bands of rubber to press the sheets into grooves that form an incredible depth of impression, so folding is easy to implement, without seeing signs of ink breaking off the spine (cracking.)

There has been a false belief out there that rotary methods of creasing cannot reach the standards required in the digital print sector, and Harris likes to blow that one out of the water: “We understand that people are sceptical about how rotary creasing may perform, and I understand that many have failed to prove them wrong until we arrived on the scene. We have revolutionised the way creasing is performed on folding machines, now we are looking to do something just as special in the digital market. “

There is more information available on the CreaseStream website, including “live” footage of the CreaseStream Plus in action, visit www.creasestream.com

Bringing quality creasing to the designer and those companies that produce in-house folded samples

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Whether you are an independent designer that produces finished greetings cards, or part of a large print company that prepares samples for customer approval, creasing them can be expensive. Unfortunately the options left open to those that seek a practical solution are limited, most are either too slow and cumbersome to use or over priced for what is required. The CreaseStream Mini, produced by UK creasing specialists, CreaseStream has started to fill the void in the market where affordable, quality creasing and micro-perforating is clearly lacking.

CreaseStream owner, Graham Harris comments; “It’s amazing what lengths people go to in order to produce a few mock up samples for a job they are quoting for, I have witnessed company rep’s using bone folders or even the impact of a guillotine blade to create scoring that is good enough to allow them to produce the fold’s. Many use the common push down handle matrix creasers, but these are tricky to use and extremely time consuming. Having thought about this, we developed the “Mini” to present users with a quicker and more flexible solution, allowing them to accurately hand wind a rotary handle to process items such as cards, menus, book covers and mock up samples. The creasing is done by a patented rubber compound that is integrated into the shafts, which stretches the fibres in the stock before a fold is made, and the micro-perf option performs the kind of quality that is usually found on flat bed cylinders or letterpress machines. This process is completed three times faster than commonly used desk top creaser’s, we think this is one of the major reasons why we can do well in this “untapped” market.”

Please see film of the CreaseStream Mini in action on this link - http://www.creasestream.com/our-creasing-machine-product-range/mini

One UK designer has described how the CreaseStream Mini has already impacted upon his business.

“The CreaseStream Mini has completely transformed how I used to crease my order of services and wedding cards. It was a tedious task trying to align 280gsm card in position to apply 2 creases, now I can produce both accurately and simultaneously, with much better speed. The quality of crease is the same as before, hence no cracking, but output is much, much faster.

Although my new CreaseStream Mini has a rotary handle to drive the sheets through, it is more efficient and versatile than anything I have seen in this price range and the back problems I used to suffer operating my previous model has disappeared. I am delighted to recommend the quality of the CreaseStream Mini to any person or company needing to successfully crease low volume cards, menus and brochures etc.”

David Denton

Designer

The CreaseStream Mini can be seen in action on www.creasestream.com

Kind regards

Graham Harris

CreaseStream

www.creasestream.com
Tel: +44 (0) 1455 554 491 Fax: +44 (0) 1455 554 526 Email: graham.harris@creasestream.com
Tech-ni-Fold Ltd.,Unit 2, St. John's Business Park, Lutterworth , Leicestershire, LE17 4HB, UK

CreaseStream Mini trebles output speed over "conventional" desk top creasing methods

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Low volume desk top creasing methods are notoriously slow and usually involve someone carefully aligning card stock into position before pushing down a handle to engage a steel blade into a matrix channel. Of course, creasing results are good, this is reflected by the thousands of units that are sold to designers, copy shops and small digital printing companies every year. However, CreaseStream have come up with a unique solution that produces the same quality of crease, only 3 times faster.

The CreaseStream Mini is best described as a desk top unit consisting of a pair of rotary shafts with soft patented creasing dies integrated, and a handle that can be manually turned to feed sheets through one after another. Up to two creases can be applied at the same time, and a choice of three crease settings can be implemented within seconds, to suit stock ranges of 100-400gsm. A special micro-perforating tool can be added as an option, this administers the type of application that allows perfed sheets to travel through laser printers without jamming the machine (the perf lies flat and doesn’t break up during offline processing.) The unit doesn’t require electrical input and can accept sheet sizes up to 52 cm in width.

Simple

“It sounds simple, and it is.” says CreaseStream owner, Graham Harris. “We have seen a lot of people struggling to process products through their manual creasers, but they have had no choice but to persevere, sometimes spending all day creasing a few hundred sheets, so we sought to take advantage of the situation. The rotary action significantly quickens up production, and the specially developed rubber creasing technology we use manipulates and stretches the fibres, even in the most sensitively printed digital stocks, so that folding is made easier, without showing signs of ugly toner cracking.“

CreaseStream has made use of a specially modified adaptation of Tech-ni-Fold rotary creasing technology, also owned by Harris, and turned it into a unique product range that was designed to speed up the process of digital finishing. The CreaseStream Mini is the basic model before motors and sheet separating systems are incorporated to automate the famous Tri-Creaser technology. The CreaseStream Plus sits at the top of the CreaseStream range and can process up to 20,000sheets per hour.

Ian Collins of Colcards, Malvern UK, recently purchased the CreaseStream Mini, and added his comments
“We were searching for a manual creaser that could cope with our low volume greetings cards. We produce runs of 100 cards on a regular basis in 3-4 different sizes and needed something that was quick and easy to use that wasn’t expensive to buy. The CreaseStream Mini has more than met our needs, the quality of build and the creasing results are excellent, in fact we over work the unit to gain maximum benefit, it really is a very good solution.
We recently purchased the micro-perforating tool option and are looking forward to seeing how this works for us; all in all we are extremely happy with our CreaseStream Mini.”
For more information and to see a short video of the CreaseStream Mini working, please visit www.creasestream.com

Press reply button and ask for high resolution images to support this press release
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Graham Harris

www.creasestream.com
Tel: +44 (0) 1455 554 491 Fax: +44 (0) 1455 554 526 Email: graham.harris@creasestream.com
CreaseStream,,Unit 2, St. John's Business Park, Lutterworth , Leicestershire, LE17 4HB, UK

Briefing: Improvements pending in patent law

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

For this weeks blog I thought I would post an article written by Adam Hooker of Printweek, this touches on the difficulties of patent applications and how the costs etc affect small/medium sized companies and lone inventors. Tech-ni-Fold is highlighted, as we have plenty of experience in this area, so please scroll down and let me know your thoughts, you can do this br posting your comments at the end of Adam's article.

Innovative SMEs are hopeful that a government review will simplify the patenting process

In December 2010, the government launched an investigation into the Intellectual Property framework. It looked at ways of making the patenting process quicker and easier, in order to ensure innovation can happen in the UK on a regular basis.

An independent review was carried out by Ian Hargreaves, professor of journalism at Cardiff University, which made 10 recommendations for improving the framework. One of those recommendations was aimed at SMEs and individuals, who often find they are hampered by the cost and red tape associated with obtaining a patent.

With its focus on improving efficiencies, the print industry is a hotbed of innovation. But for every press giant with a huge R&D budget, there will be dozens of individuals trying to get their ideas built, not knowing how to do it and not knowing how much money they will need to achieve this goal.

One of those men is Craig Collins, a print finisher from Scotland. He currently has a patent pending, so does not wish to disclose his product, but says: "It is an attachment for a finishing machine and it will make it do something it has never been able to do before. I have used it, tested it and it does work."

He applied for a UK patent in April this year and is currently working towards worldwide protection. He is in the process of applying for a £10,000 grant through Scottish organisation Starter for Six, which he hopes will cover the application, as well as some advertising. While unwilling to discuss the product itself, Collins is more than happy to discuss the last 18 months, which have been neither easy nor cheap.

He explains: "The first patent attorney I spoke to wanted to charge £4,000 just to do the application and I didn’t know any better so I assumed that was the cost. But I spoke to Innovators Counselling and Advisory Services in Scotland (ICASS) and they advised me to shop around, I found a guy who had left the company I spoke to and set up specifically to help small businesses.

"There are good guys out there, but there isn’t much to point you in the right direction. A lot of what I have found, like Starter for Six, was through word of mouth."

The worldwide patent protection is costing Collins £5,000, which is not an easy sum of money for an individual to put together. He has already turned to family members for help getting funding for the initial patent. This is another area that he feels needs more support.

"Unless you are corporate-based you are up against it," he says. "You can get backing, but I don’t want backing. There is less for you then. I have put everything into this and I don’t want to share it with a venture capitalist just because they have a bit of money to throw around."

Expert aid
One of the things that Collins has done is seek the advice of experts, which led him to Tech-ni-fold managing director Graham Harris.

In the late 1990s, Harris designed the Tri-creaser, a tool that was applied to folders in order to pre-crease and prevent cracking. Harris has grown the business into a £2m-turnover company, but it has not been without its problems where patenting has been concerned.

He says: "So far our patents have successfully protected us against infringement three times and we are locked in litigation right now in a fourth case, which should hopefully conclude quite soon.

"This latest case has been going on for almost three years and has been very frustrating for me personally. The financial impact has been significant. In fact, when people ask me how many we employ full time, I usually include the two lawyers in the US who are acting for us. When I mention this, people think I am joking, but for the money we pay out on legal fees to protect our products we could employ at least two more sales staff."

Harris says his Leicester-based firm has adopted a "big company mentality" to protect itself worldwide. The company has had to put provisions in place, with funds set aside specifically to pursue potential infringers.

Obviously, Harris is often approached at trade shows by other print industry members who want to follow in his footsteps. However, Harris says that naivety is prevalent.

He says: "Enforcing patents can take months and even years, not to mention thousands of pounds in legal fees; I know why a high percentage of inventions fail, or fall into the hands of a larger organisation.

"Is it difficult for small companies to protect their patents? Absolutely – near on impossible. Tech-ni-Fold is definitely in the minority. You are always under pressure to sell large volumes of your product so that you can not only improve them, but protect them too, this is really sad."

In his review, Hargreaves calls for the government to draw up plans to improve accessibility of the IP system to smaller companies, including access to lower cost providers of integrated IP legal and commercial advice. The government is currently looking over the review and taking evidence from a number of organisations. It seems the review of the system takes as long as it does to achieve a patent. Hopefully, once it has been completed, the system will look a little more kindly on smaller businesses and individuals, so innovators like Craig Collins will not be dissuaded from pushing ahead with their ideas.

30-SECOND BRIEFING
• Applying for a patent is a long and potentially very costly process. Don’t expect your idea to be winning awards and selling in the millions within weeks of you thinking of it
•Seek the advice of business owners that have gone through similar experiences, as well as organisations, such as ICASS
• Shop around for patent lawyers. Don’t accept the first quote you get as the standard price as there are specific lawyers aimed at helping small businesses and individuals
• Seek out grants aimed at innovation – the UK is desperate to keep innovation within the country, as many ideas are going abroad, so there should be plenty of places available to help
• Once your product is up and running, be prepared to continue paying to protect it. There is always somebody looking to make a few quick pounds off of somebody else’s idea

Photo-book creasing, we have the solution

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Has anyone out there had experience in producing photo-book Albums? I would love to hear more about what your experiences have been, especially as we are receiving more and more requests for creasing systems that will accommodate this application. We are getting requests coming through because people are telling us that some bar creasers are producing wider creases that result in variation in hand folding. They simply seek tighter creases that allow them to fold more accurately.

We like to think that the CreaseStream application is unique in that the array of crease choices available are vast, but more importantly our machines can easily produce the fine, deep crease that suits accurate folding of photo-stock with the benefit of eliminating fold cracking. The specialised rubber creasing technology we use is gentle to the photo-stock, manipulating the fibres and creating the exact depth and width channel for the tight fold to be implemented, we have not seen this available on any other machine, let me know if you have....

Our CreaseStream Mini was partly developed to give an option to photo-book creasing. It is a hand cranked, manual machine that accurately produces 2 x crease lines, with the option of adding a fine, flat micro-perf, so good that the sheets can be processed through laser printers. Ok, the micro-perf is probably not appealing to this sector, however it does find a place in the digital market, where combined applications are scarce.

Click here to see short CreaseStream video: http://www.creasestream.com/our-creasing-machine-product-range/mini

Latest creasing project

We are currently developing a second manual creasing machine that will accommodate wider sheet sizes, up to 80cm, for more information please email graham.harris@technifold.co.uk

Remember, if you have any comments regarding what I have written, simply press the reply button and let me know

Thank you for reading my blog

Graham Harris

Press release: Print innovator goes it alone to set up major player for the finishing market

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

How many times have you felt that your job is not enough of a challenge, dreamed of throwing down your ratchet or pen and storming out the door to set up on your own and make your millions? And how often have you picked up that pen or ratchet again, got on with what you were doing and forgotten about that dream?

Meet Graham Harris, managing director and founder of finishing equipment manufacturer Tech-ni-fold. Harris was a long-time print finisher who decided he wasn’t happy with what he was doing, so he decided not to pick his ratchet back up and headed out into the big, bad world all alone.

His company now sells a device that is known across the globe, and with more than 350 other products, and more on the way, the success looks set to continue.
Despite his, some would say, overwhelming success, Harris remains very much down to earth; there is almost an innocence to the way he runs his business. He prefers overseas distributors to deal solely with his products, rather than selling them alongside other finishing equipment – he wants them to care about his “baby” as much as he does.

Harris started his career at Senator Print Finishing at the age of 16, and spent 16 years there before moving to Streamline Press, where the Tech-ni-fold dream began to unfold.

“I became manager there,” he explains. “But there wasn’t any challenge in it for me. I wanted something to push me and decided that I would like to set up on my own. I just didn’t know what to do.”

Harris decided to tackle one of the challenges he had constantly come up against: cracking. He says: “The effort that went into creasing covers was ridiculous. I thought if somebody could devise an idea to make it easier, they could be a millionaire. I gave myself six months to come up with something.”

The story of the first Tri-creaser has been told many times, and is best left to Harris. It led to him designing and patenting a product that uses metal and rubber to crease book covers of all thickness without cracking.

Proud father
He developed the idea, had it made and then became a salesman, travelling around sceptical print finishers proving that the Tri-creaser could do what he said it could. Perhaps because it is his own product, Harris is a very emotional salesman. He says: “When I see people gathering around the machine to see it working, I always feel very proud. But you have to hide it, you have to stay professional.”

And his pride is understandable. In 1999, his company sold 200 Tri-creasers; in 2007 it was up to 5,000 a year.

Nowadays, Harris is taking his product around the world. Paul Barrett has been brought in as national sales technician for the UK market, leaving Harris to dedicate his time to finding new distributors elsewhere. By leaving the UK in Barrett’s capable hands, Harris is allowing others to achieve similar success to the kind he has enjoyed through Tech-ni-fold. One example of this is Tech-ni-fold USA.

He was approached by someone in a similar situation to the one he found himself in before starting up Tech-ni-fold: Andre Palko, a finisher in New Jersey wanting to distribute the Tri-creaser in America. Palko now runs a very successful arm of the company, and is enjoying success equal to that of its creator.

And the distributor can be safe in the knowledge that the man that supplies his livelihood is loyal to his followers, to the point of turning down a big pay-day. Harris has been approached on more than one occasion by finishing manufacturers looking to buy up his business. “If I sold the business, it would probably kill off the distributors we have, and I don’t think I could do that to them, so I have always turned down any approach.”

It sounds like a manager giving his best for the company speech, but hearing him talk about something that he clearly feels passionate about, you get the feeling he really cares about the people he works closely with.

So what next on the agenda for Harris and Tech-ni-fold? The company is looking at China as a potential growth market, although he perceives it as “difficult”. In addition, Tech-ni-fold is always looking for other products that it could introduce to the market.

In typical fashion, though, Harris says he is not looking to compete with products that are already out there, but looking for solutions to other problems, so watch this space. And he remains as thoughtful as ever about the future. “Opportunities fly at us all the time. You have to grab what you can, but some you have to let go of. But if we do something, we make sure we do it right.”

Whatever happens in the future, Harris can say that he lived the entrepreneur’s dream. He decided to stop what he was doing when he wasn’t enjoying it, and he has been rewarded for heading out there by himself. We could probably learn a thing or two from him.

Forging ahead in print finishing by being different

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

It’s easy to get caught up in negative discussions about the economic climate and how future doom & gloom predictions might affect our companies. However I also feel strongly that we all have choices, we can either bury our heads in the sand and wait until things get better, or we can confidently forge ahead, looking to find opportunities that allow us to stand out from the crowd. Whether you are a business owner or work for someone else, it doesn’t matter, now is the time to stand up and be counted, before you are counted out.

When I worked for someone else, my co-workers used to criticise me for starting my shift on time, or for trying to carry out a task in a particular way that may save money. Most of my colleagues thought I was trying to impress my bosses and gain their favour (if that was a consequence then it wasn’t my intention.) They failed to realise that I simply hated sitting around drinking coffee, and complaining about how tough things were. I liked to try and enjoy my time at work and experiment with ideas in setting up particular jobs on my folding machine, trying to be smarter than my colleagues, it certainly beat off boredom. Remember my last blog, where I told you about the day I got fired? Well, the reason I believe I got reinstated so quickly wasn’t because I sipped coffee and told jokes before my shift, (I didn’t by the way) it is because of my attitude towards my work and the hours I gave to my company. I would love to tell you that the reason I wasn’t sacked was down to my high skill levels, but I was still very young at the time and my technical side hadn’t quite developed at that stage. Maybe I am old fashioned, but I believe that if someone gives me a job then they deserve the best I can give, let me know your thoughts about this, it will be interesting to hear your comments.

I have seen so many people I know lose their jobs, because when those cut backs come along, their managers look back at their poor performing record , they are instructed to pluck out the moaners and groaners who made a career out of dodging their basic duties. Equally I have seen those that show promise, whom others may ridicule, rise to the top and later take up important roles in management.

In my humble opinion, being employed and doing all you can to stay that way isn’t a million miles away from being a business owner and keeping ahead of the competition. You don’t have to naturally be the best, just the smartest, let me explain. When I had trained in my finishing department for four years as a young man, I knew I wasn’t the most naturally gifted in my craft, so to get ahead and find a place in my company operating my own machine, I did things differently . For example, I knew that certain folding jobs had to be pre-trimmed first, so I perfected my own way of edge trimming the sheets on my folding machine. This meant that the guillotine operator could do something else for a few hours. On another occasion I once stayed behind and managed to configure a special folding format that everyone else in my company gave up on; we won a five year contract. I hadn’t gone about this task the way that the most skilful operator in my company would have, I had to be unconventional in my approach and think a little different, it was the only way I knew, and it worked!!

Today I spend most of my time looking at what opportunities are out there for my two companies, Tech-ni-Fold and CreaseStream, and I try to capitalise on some of them (it’s impossible to take them all.) We must be doing something right because we are getting close to developing our 400^thTech-ni-Fold product and our dedicated CreaseStream range is gaining recognition as a great alternative solution to conventional methods of creasing and micro-perforating. We are also planning to double our existing floor space to accommodate a state of the art showroom, and our distributorship is steadily growing, which is wonderful.

I see the incredible growth opportunities that lie ahead in the digital print market, and it is an exciting time in which many of us can take advantage of. As you may have learned from my previous blogs, I don’t like to “jump on the band wagon” and do what everyone else does, I like us to stand out in all that we do, although I refuse to be different for the sake of being different, we have to produce something better than what already exists. I am also pleased that we encourage our work force to come up with new ideas, to the extent that some of our young guys surprise themselves at what they think up, this promotes a creative and fruitful working atmosphere.

During my early career I wasn’t encouraged to contribute any ideas to my company, my bosses liked to dictate how things would be, and like my co-workers, I had a choice – I could have grabbed an extra few minutes drinking my coffee before my shift, thinking I was getting one over on my boss, or “roll up my sleeves” and get on with it, learning everything that I could to improve my chances of getting away.

I truly believe that in order to succeed and thrive, especially during this present climate, that we all should be held accountable for our input. Company owners and work forces should respect each other and collaborate, so that innovative thinking helps to steer their company clear of troubled times.

Thanks for reading my latest blog

How Tech-ni-Fold may never have been set up

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

I started this blog by wanting to tell you about my trip to Chicago to support our distributors, Technifold USA during the Graph Expo show. However I realise that I would include my right hand man and friend, Paul Barrett, who travelled with me. You probably need to know about Paul and his background before I can tell you about Graph Expo in one of my next blogs, simply because he is a big part of such trips. I thought it would be nice to introduce Paul to those of you that don’t yet know him, I therefore dedicate this blog to his work at Techh-ni-Fold and CreaseStream. There is one particular story involving Paul that I think you may find interesting which could have resulted in Tech-ni-Fold never being set up.

Officially, Paul is our National Sales technician, but anyone who has met him will know that he does much more than what is written on his business card, you can read about this later. First and foremost Paul is a friend, well to be honest, before this he used to be my manager (in our previous careers, working for the same print finishing company.)

Paul used to order me about on the factory floor and set my working schedule, but to his credit he was also gracious enough to give a lift home when I spent my bus fare, which was quite often. You’ve got to remember, I was a naive and lowly paid apprentice, all of 17 years of age who liked to spend my wages within 2 days of getting them. Paul taught me a lot about the finishing industry and led by example, but something major was about to happen in that early era that could have changed the course of history, Tech-ni-Fold and CreaseStream may never have been set up, and it was all because of Paul (or so I thought)

How Tech-ni-Fold might never have happened, thanks to Paul

It was Christmas time, and I was 18 years old, all the main finishing operators (and me) were having that last lunch time drink at the local pub, which they thought they deserved after making their bosses so much money over the last year. I kind of hung out with them for those extra 20 minutes above our allowed half an hour, which seemed like a life time. That last drink not only gave us the extended Christmas lunch we felt we should have been offered anyway, it also got us on the leader board of our company’s infamous hall of fame.

The part that Paul played started to unravel upon my return to the factory. I seem to remember him leading the cheering, which started to ring in my ears like a death knell. Paul was always the master of timing and enjoyed sharing a joke or two with colleagues, in order to pass the time away. All of the “naughty 5” of which I had proudly become part of, seemed to sense something bad was going to happen. Unfortunately an hour had ticked away very slowly before things started to hot up. Paul has the most happiest of smiles imaginable and it can be present most of the time, however it was definitely missing on this occasion as he started to approach me. As my manager I knew he probably had something serious to say to me, but I hadn’t accounted for what was about to happen, I don’t think that Paul had either. “Alvin and Danny will see you now” he said, these two guys were our bosses, one of whom shouted at you when he was in a good mood, so you can imagine why my whole body began to shake.

So I took to the long walk from the corner of the factory to the office where I had only ever been to share fish & chips with the boys after a 14 hour shift, as a thank you from the “angry” boss for getting him out of a mess (I was easily pleased as a youngster.) Paul’s rebel rousing had long subsided as an eerie silence began to take hold. It is the kind of situation I may have enjoyed if it wasn’t me playing the star role. I could almost hear people thinking what might happen to the tall skinny apprentice that dared to step out of line. Surely the bosses would understand, after all I knew that one of them liked the odd whiskey or two himself.

I opened the door and the look of surprise on Alvin and Danny’s faces said it all, they were clearly not expecting me. “We are not ready for you yet, but as you are here you’re sacked?” shouted “angry boss.” Then it hit me like a sledge hammer, Paul had set me up, he told me that I had been summoned, but it was just his idea of a joke – it sounds crazy but this is the kind of “light hearted” banter that went on in those days, probably not quite all leading to this extreme outcome, but there were some that came close. I remember my “good cop, bad cop” bosses demonstrating their disappointment in me, their promising young worker and how I could have done well in my print finishing career if only I hadn’t been led astray. One boss complimented me on what might have been and the other “pulled the rug from under my feet” Paul’s smile had returned as he asked me what had happened as I left the office, I think he half expected me to say, nice one Paul, you sure got me fooled. “Well I’ve been sacked Paul” I answered in a quiet voice that matched my low mood. I wish I could have taken a picture of Paul’s facial expression; he hadn’t banked on this happening, his joke turning a little sour. All the "naughty five" were fired, although I do seem to remember thinking that the company may struggle without this talented bunch of grafters who had played a major part in making the company one of the very best print finishing houses in the country.

Before you start to judge Paul and think of him as Mr nasty and insensitive, maybe you should know that as soon as he heard of our dismissal, he was the first to march into the office and stand up for us, which eventually led to our reinstatement the next day, not soon enough to stop me having to tell my parents, which was very embarrassing. Ok, I may play on the fact that Paul got me fired and never let him forget it , but to be honest I would have been sacked anyway, probably an hour later than I did (I think that my bosses wanted us to finish our shift before breaking the news.) Paul and I often bring this up, the time he used to be my boss and got me fired, and how I am now his boss. Of course this makes up just one of the many stories we talk about, resulting from experiences shared 2-3 decades ago. In fact, if you meet me in the future, please ask me how I got my own back on Paul in his first week at Tech-ni-Fold, nothing too cruel I can tell you...

When I set up Tech-ni-Fold, there was only one guy I could ever choose to work for me, although I prefer to say, with me. I didn’t want Paul to join me just because of his sense of humour, although it helps to make life more fun, I chose him for many reasons – technical ability, honesty, integrity and his amazing knowledge of our industry and also because he is a good friend, all to name but a few things. I don’t want to build Paul up too much because he will feel embarrassed, but I do want people to know what a massive contribution he has made and is still making to Tech-ni-Fold and CreaseStream. His gift for creating new products and driving our technology forward is both amazing and inspiring, although it may never have been realised had he not succeeded in getting me my job back some 30 years ago. Between me and you I prefer the story about him getting me fired, it is much more entertaining.

Thank you for reading my blog

Graham

Tip on how to keep that score straight on your folding machine

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

This tip is ideal for those that score or perforate single sheets through their first unit folding station

Producing quality creasing on your folding machine is one thing. Expecting the

single unfolded sheet to run through perfectly straight is another. Many factors can lead to sheet

variance such as intermittent feeding, out of square side lay, uneven roller

pressure setting, or incorrect deflector alignment.

Many years ago I devised a quick and easy method of make ready to eliminate

most of these problems. It is not conventional and does not fall in line with

textbook methods, but then again none of my solutions do.

Method

1. Place one strip of the material you are processing into roller caliper setting

No. 1 and slitter shaft (exit roller)

2. Place five strips of the material you are processing in the entire roller caliper

settings in between.

3. Make sure that folding roller No. 1 and slitter shafts are set even and

sufficiently to the material being used.

4. Check alignment of side lay, making sure it is set squarely so that there is no

obvious curtailing of the sheet as it enters No. 1 roller.

5. It is also important to align all the deflectors level, as they will not be used to

influence the squareness of the finished product.

6. With all these procedures carried out run a sheet through the unit

7. Check the squareness of the fold by hand folding the sheet down the line of

the crease. If the fold is out of square, identify which side of the sheet is

running through the slowest and then displace 1 strip from caliper roller

pressure No 2 or No 3 that side until the extra grip influences the outcome. If

the desired result is not reached displace more strips from roller caliper

settings. Eventually through careful checking the sheet should run through

perfectly straight.

The idea behind this method is not as crazy as you may think. Why? – The No.1

roller is adequate enough to grip the sheet and guide it through to the exit shafts

without interference from the rollers in between. After all they do not really serve

much of a purpose when not being utilized for folding do they?

I can guarantee that this method of practice will greatly enhance the quality of

the finished job and will speed up make ready times considerably. It is a

technique that I found effective 85% of the time. It is fair to say that in 15% of

cases normal set up procedure is sufficient.

How I could have ended up on the Dragons Den TV show

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

It sounds crazy, but it’s true, I applied twice to take part in the BBC programme, Dragons Den, and was asked to audition on both occasions. For those of you that know nothing at all about this cult TV show (UK version), entrepreneurs pitch for investment in the Den from the Dragons, five venture capitalists willing to invest their own money in exchange for equity.

My love for the show, somehow compelled me to apply on-line, with the view to pitch one or two of my ideas, just to see how I would fair against the formidable (or frightening) multi-millionaire business tycoons. I was flattered when a producer called me the first time I applied and asked if I could make my way over for the audition. And during that split second of silence that followed his question I could easily have accepted. After all, I have read every book written by the 5 Dragons, and it would have been my best chance to meet them all under one roof, because, let’s face it, I am a busy person too. However, it is mostly down to the fact I had read all of those books that I knew I wouldn’t have been tolerated for more than 12 seconds in that kind of forum, read on and hopefully you will understand.

People often say to me things like, I’d love to see you pitch your Tri-Creaser on the Dragons Den, just to see how you would get on, well that’s just great for them isn’t it? Me being the focus of their amusement (well, for all of 12 seconds anyway) Even my 17 year old son has perfected the Scottish version of “I’M OUT,” which is frequently muttered by Duncan Bannatyne, one of the Dragons on the show (I’M OUT is the Dragons catch phrase which means, GET LOST, I WON’T BE WASTING ANY MONEY ON YOU) .

Of course, with such interest in how I may pitch to the Dragons, coming from my close family members and friends, who wanted me to grace their television screens and become instantly famous, maybe you can begin to see how I was “tipped over the edge,” enough to fill out that application form (twice.) The trouble with the Dragons Den is that, you can actually become famous, but not necessarily for the right reasons. You can become famous for not answering financial questions correctly, or for losing the ability to continue well rehearsed lines, this happens a lot, and Dragons and viewers alike are made to feel uneasy until the pitch get’s back on track by the often perspiring entrepreneur.

Seemingly invincible young genius’s who, in my mind, would definitely go on to win the noble peace prize or become the next Richard Branson or Donald Trump, are ridiculed and disgraced in front of the whole nation. Their ideas are picked to pieces and their credibility is shredded to bits. And sometimes (only sometimes) I kind of see why, the Dragons don’t take kindly to anyone that bluffs their way through a pitch, masks the truth or exaggerates the valuation of their unproven company, which may have absolutely no track record.

The reason why I find Dragons Den so fascinating is because I know something of what the entrepreneur or inventor is going through. I know that their life has more than likely been consumed by the excitement that their idea has brought them, and I understand how people can actually believe they can turn into a millionaire overnight. I feel the frustration, when a person standing before the Dragons are made to feel like a waste of space, my heart goes out to them.

When I started Tech-ni-Fold in 1999, I knew almost nothing about business, my first product was a bit like a scalding potato that had just come out of the oven, I wanted to hand it over to someone else, because it I thought it was too hot for me to handle, I tried very hard to offload it. My boss at the time advised me to sell my newly acquired patent to Heidelberg for a couple of thousand pounds or whatever I could get for it; he thought that it could pay for a nice family holiday (how thoughtful of him.)

In a way I did sit before Dragons, of a kind, when I eventually faced Heidelberg after a successful testing of my invention the very next year (2000.) A group of purchasing and product managers started to fill the room I had entered, and they dramatically got negotiations under way, thumping desks and all sorts. I was in a corner, but didn’t feel cornered, I was slightly pressurised, but didn’t succumb to it. I had the confidence of knowing that I had successfully sold 200 of my creasing devices (Tri-Creasers) that improved the method of scoring on their folding machines for the last 12 months, so I wasn’t about to hand over my patent. I had something they wanted and I knew it, so it was a matter of working it all out from there. This process took a couple of months, but it led to a purchasing contract that has lasted 11 years thus far. Before I get myself into trouble with Heidelberg, I must say that they employed the right tactics to try and work with me, this is business, and we have enjoyed a fantastic relationship ever since, I promise.

Going back to the TV Dragons and the reason why my pitch wouldn’t last more than 12 seconds. Well, there is nothing more annoying to the self made millionaires than someone who comes before them, no matter how great their idea may be, who wastes their time. Within a millisecond the Dragons would know that I wouldn’t require their investment, simply because my products are already a proven success. I thought long and hard about ways in which I could pitch one of my experimental ideas, hoping I could use the Dragons money to fund it and turn it into a separate business venture, away from my more successful stuff. However, I know that from watching previous shows that people who try to do this are quickly exposed, and told that they are insulting the intelligence of the panel.

I am fortunate that Dragon’s Den didn’t exist in 1999 – 2001, as I am sure I would have applied to appear on the show, and gone through with it. I could have given away 40% of my business for the help that I thought I desperately needed at the time. Thankfully my story evolved the way it did, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way

Thanks for your time

Graham

How low can a company stoop in a bid to promote their product against a competitor?

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

I felt compelled to write this blog in reaction to a You Tube video I recently downloaded. The video shows two almost identical folding machines in action, one made by a reputable manufacturer, the other produced in the far East. This footage is meant to be a comparison of one versus the other, and the producer of the film is trying to make the original folding machine look poor. The English speaking voice told me how the far Eastern machine was 20% faster in producing folded copies, and he ended by showing how the original machine had produced a fold that is clearly unacceptable. I was left asking myself, how low can a company stoop in their bid to promote their product over a competitor? This is the most unprofessional product video I have ever seen, it is insulting, not only to the manufacturer that produced the other folding machine, but also to those that happen to stumble across this clip.

Please do not misunderstand me, technology comparisons are great, where showing one way of doing something against another way of doing something is acceptable, we are always promoting the fact that our rotary creasing technology produces the same quality that comes from a cylinder platen or letterpress, both methods employ very different features and designs, and potential customers need to know the differences.

Respect for pioneers of new technology

I have enormous respect for the pioneers of new technology, the vast amount of time and money they spend to to be the first to solve problems in a particular area of print production is commendable. I know about the, blood, sweat and tears,the head scratching and the two steps forward and three steps back routine, currently we are involved in a ground breaking project that has already taken us three years to get to proto-type stage. So when you pour your heart and soul into something you are passionate about, it is natural to feel animosity towards someone that may come into the market with exactly the same type of product, incorporating your own clever innovations, or at least their take on them. The You Tube video I spoke about earlier did not work for me, it is poorly filmed and their own products are shoddy looking, the marketing message is insulting to everyone, doing nothing more than showing themselves in a bad light.

I am comforted by the power of patents and the true innovation coming from market leaders, staying ahead of those that try to piggy back on this success.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog

Regards

Graham

Latest order from Fuji Xerox, underlines CreaseStream potential

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

I just wanted to add a small blog to tell you that Fuji Xerox, our CreaseStream distributors in Australia, have just ordered from us, 4 more machines, to go with the 7 they purchased at the start of our collaboration. So what's the big deal and why are we telling you this? Well, this news simply underlines the fact that our unique method of creasing is being accepted in the digital market place by those companies in the thick of digital production. Fuji Xerox representatives came to see us at IPEX 2010 and noticed something different about the way we crease, perforate and finish digital print. I remember that a representative from Fuji Xerox, Australia was impressed enough, after seeing our technology within half an hour of his visit to our stand, to place a multiple order - powerful stuff!!

I cannot hide the fact that such a repeat order is highly significant in our young company history, CreaseStream was only set up in April this year, using to great effect, the famous Tech-ni-Fold Tri-Creaser technology. Tech-ni-Fold have sold over 45,000 Tri-Creasers that fit onto folding machines and print finishing equipment to eliminate cracking.

Tri-Creaser in action

We set up CreaseStream on the back of this success and continue to penetrate the digital market at an impressive rate, winning sales against those conventional methods.

So why did Fuji Xerox, Australia choose to work with CreaseStream products? Well, I could give you my answer, but it is better to read a few words coming straight from them, here is an early testimonial, written by a representative...

"....found the CreaseStream easy to set up, and easy to use. It scored very well and had excellent speed even with the hand feed.
It was a good price point and fits very well in our current range. '

Document Supplies Division
Fuji Xerox Australia Pty Limited

You can also learn more from www.creasestream.com

Thanks for reading my blog

Graham

Are there too many creasers out there that do exactly the same thing?

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

There is no question; creasing machines have become such a vital necessity in the digital print sector that any company worth their salt wouldn’t survive without one. Toner cracking is a print business owner’s worse nightmare, seeing their work spoiled by the ugly cracking that appears once their prints are folded is demoralising, let alone potentially damaging to their chances of gaining repeat work from their disgruntled customer.

So how do those affected by toner cracking begin to find the right creasing solution?

Search the internet and you will find dozens of creasing machine options, approximately 99% of them are based around the tried and tested method using the matrix compression formula, where the sheet stops and a creasing rule strikes it. I must say that in one sense I am not really surprised to see so many versions of this style of creasing method we have come to know and accept, simply because it is proven to work and manufacturer's see a great opportunity to to capitalise on customer demand.

However, I feel strongly that there is a danger that replication of proven methods of any finishing process, without knowledge and expertise could be a recipe for disaster. And more importantly, I believe that a lack of imagination and hunger to improve on existing standards is unhealthy and does nothing to raise that bar of excellence, allow me to explain. The creasing industry is a good market to get involved in, there is no doubt, however, there is no way that my company would create our own adaptation of something that is already out there, this would confuse everyone even more. By the same token, there also isn't a chance that we would have entered the creasing market unless we felt we had a better, faster and more versatile solution than what already exists

This may sound a little controversial, but I suspect that some manufacturer’s wouldn’t know exactly why their creasing adaptation works, simply because it is only a replication of something else, something that is a safe bet to make them some good profit, perhaps? somebody else has spent their own time and money on research and development and fine tuning and Mr opportunist comes along and says "thank you very much, this method is just what we need to add to our product range." Such companies have re-branded and re-packaged a proven idea, and painted their version in a different colour. Ok, I am not saying that every manufacturer is the same, three or four have actually hit on something different. My company, CreaseStream is one of them; we set up to offer an alternative solution to conventional methods of creasing, mentioned above. we chose a different way, something that is unique and was created as a result of many years of research, development, blood, sweat and tears, something that we think has the potential to raise the standard of creasing to a new level for years to come. Our CreaseStream range of products are growing to fit in with all areas of creasing requirements, and offer extra benefits that make the difference, see www.creasestream.com.

Advice

My advice to you is to look at the track records of those companies that offer you any type of creasing solution. Find out if they are experts in creasing technology or have suddenly just become one. You can find out a lot about manufacturer's and their technology through internet searches and by talking to resellers and dealers of these machines, or you can ask for a demonstration.

Andy Middleton of Zoo Solutions explains a lot better about our creasing application than I ever could. Zoo Solutions had used a matrix style creaser for many years and saw an opportunity to improve and expand their finishing capabilities. Please click on this link that shows Andy demonstrating both creasing technologies side by side, I am sure you will find this both educational and interesting -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IDxupKFX3w

Maybe my comments are pretty strong and a little controversial, so please let me know whether you agree with them or not

Thank you for reading my blog

Exhibitions are they worth it ?

Thu, 19 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Last week we exhibited at Northprint in Harrogate, proudly demonstrating the first three machines in our CreaseStream family. Prior to Northprint I heard that visitor levels could be low, no one really knew what to expect, including the organisers and fellow exhibitors. However, we all went there with limited expectations, given the present status of our economy. On a personal level, it was just as important to me that we could gage visitor reaction to our new products, even if only three people turned up. However, we were pleasantly surprised at the attendee figures and delighted that some of these people were happy to give their opinion regarding how they perceived our technology, please check this out by clicking on this link........

I get passionate about exhibitions, as it gives me the chance to find out what people are looking for. As an example of this, we designed our entry level CreaseStream Mini version, simply to get smaller companies started in creasing. As it turned out, about 70% of visitors wanted to see the unit perforating, using our special optional device, they deemed this to be almost as important as the creasing element. And having the possibility to have both applications running side by side was something that caught their imagination. It is hard to admit this, but our technical Guru, Paul Barrett was definitely right to have anticipated such reaction, much against my “better” judgment. And thanks to Paul’s foresight we already had the optional perforation device already in the planning stage, and now available for this model

I would like to know what you think about local print related exhibitions, is there any point in them, or are they crucial to our economic recovery?

The main reason we developed the CreaseStream range was due to a lack of quality solutions out there that could successfully apply multiple applications at the same time,

Is it important to you that a creasing machine should be more versatile, having the ability to crease and perforate simultaneously, or is this not a critical factor?

Is speed really that important in digital finishing?

It would be great to hear your views, through your answers to my questions above. Further to this it would be good to receive any feedback regarding other related issues.

Thank you for reading my blog

Welcome to the blog of Graham Harris

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the blog of Graham Harris.

Who is Graham Harris? I describe myself as an innovator of new print finishing technology, who is about to head up the launch of the exciting CreaseStream development. As you will discover over the coming weeks and months, it is very much a team effort from our side, I have a wonderful group of people around me with amazing skills who have helped me to realise my dreams and aspirations. Without these key contributors, CreaseStream simply would never have got started.

But it’s important to start at the beginning and I began with an idea that would transform production finishing for the print industry. We called the company Tech-ni-Fold and our range of rotary creasing products has eliminated cracking forever - and all products are protected by world patents.

I took my Tri-creaser invention on the road and I encountered rejection and scepticism. But if you believe in your product you don’t give up.

I made telephone call after telephone call and in my first year, back in 1999, I sold 200 units. My customers were telling me what a difference it was making to their business. My wife joined the company and we started to develop the mail order side. Our sales trebled.

I wanted to share how I first got started because I would like visitors to the CreaseStream website, and new customers, to realise that I understand the pressures that people feel as they are trying to launch and grow their businesses.

Tech-ni-Fold continues to grow. In the last 12 months we have sold 2500 units. But why CreaseStream? We could see there was a need for a range of portable finishing machines that could adapt and still maintain their speed in production for the growing digital market.

Peruse the website, find out about the CreaseStream range and tell us what you think. Ask questions and we will feature our replies. Please tell us about your business.

CreaseStream has global appeal and we want to hear from large and small companies around the world.

We want to keep you informed, but we want to hear your views too. Let’s start the CreaseStream dialogue today.