To learn more about this company and process, take a look at
this video:
Before using the Epson TM-3400, Flipping Fun created
flipbooks on-site at events using a four step process - printing,
cutting, collating and binding. To print
the books, the company used consumer printers and business card cutters. After collating, they bound the books using
custom covers that had been preprinted prior to the event. Although able to produce a book, Flipping Fun
decided to look for a different process for several reasons.
First, standard office/consumer
printers are discontinued or fundamentally changed on a regular basis. Therefore, finding printers that meet
Flipping Fun’s requirements became problematic.
According to Meredith Barrett, owner of Flipping Fun, “No sooner would
we find a printer that was light enough for transport, and substantial enough
for our workload, and it would be discontinued.”
Second, business card
cutters demand skill to control, making it challenging for the production
assistants to perfect. Meredith says, “cutters
created the opportunity for mistakes; making unusable books inevitable. Also, having
to cut twelve flipbook pages out of 8.5 x 11” cardstock produced huge amounts
of paper cuttings that were both messy and wasteful.”
Third and most
important, Flipping Fun decided to develop a new process to produce a flip book
more efficiently. This goal led Flipping
Fun to contact me.
After some initial test
prints, it was clear that moving to an on-demand label & tag printer like
the TM-C3400 with the built-in cutter would improve the process to produce a
flip book. But to provide the total
solution, we needed to help Flipping Fun with two key development steps;
software integration and media selection.
The Epson Technical Support Engineer for the TM-C3400, Ernie Villarreal,
worked with the company to make sure the software operated with the TM-C3400.
By using the Epson TM-3400,
Flipping Fun now utilizes a two-step process to manufacture
flipbooks. After a performance is
captured in a seven second video, Flipping Fun’s licensed software extracts 60
frames that are sent to print. According
to Meredith, “We are now able to print and cut a flipbook simultaneously,
streamlining our process, saving significant labor, while creating photo
mementos for customers.”
At their first event using the Epson TM-C3400, Flipping Fun
produced mementos for the Fashion’s Night Out party for fashion icon, Diane von
Furstenburg. Here are some images and video captured
from the books they created:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZYbIcHyDDc
After the first event using the TM-C3400, Meredith provided me a very enthusiastic testimonial. Meredith says, “The Epson TM-C3400 is a tiny printer that packs a punch! It has the ability to cut our photo-book frames flawlessly from tag stock that works perfectly with Epson inks. Also, the custom-size rolls provided by General Data eliminate paper waste, important at our events. In addition, the printer requires little skill to operate and control, thus simplifying our training regimen. Next, our clients find the glossy finish and print quality impressive; a very important part of our offering. But most importantly, we have been able to substantially improve our production process while realizing all of these other benefits.”
After the first event using the TM-C3400, Meredith provided me a very enthusiastic testimonial. Meredith says, “The Epson TM-C3400 is a tiny printer that packs a punch! It has the ability to cut our photo-book frames flawlessly from tag stock that works perfectly with Epson inks. Also, the custom-size rolls provided by General Data eliminate paper waste, important at our events. In addition, the printer requires little skill to operate and control, thus simplifying our training regimen. Next, our clients find the glossy finish and print quality impressive; a very important part of our offering. But most importantly, we have been able to substantially improve our production process while realizing all of these other benefits.”
Although producing flip books is different from the
manufacturing, healthcare, logistic, retail, identification or the markets you
or your customers operate, the key point is the same; Moving to on-demand labels and tags will
improve many different processes.
Contact me to discuss how you and/or your customers can capture these
benefits.
Guy Mikel
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