FRESH PRINT: TO PRINT A DREAM

Billboards of all sizes, souvenirs, branded scaffolding mesh, cars and trucks, digitally printed materials of the highest quality – literally at each step of our everyday lives we are surrounded by items and advertisements made by Fresh Print. The company for digital and large format printing was established in 2003 and has gained the deserved reputation of a reliable partner that works with the most advanced technologies and achieves outstanding results.

When Dimitar Petkov joined Fresh Print, in 2009, he started in an entry-level position. His skill to learn fast, to effectively manage processes, to set high goals and to achieve them lead to a promotion as manager of the production processes. In 2019, a decade after he became part of Fresh Print, he was appointed as the company manager. A couple of months later he faced a challenge of unprecedented scale and nature – the Covid-19 pandemic. How did Dimitar Petkov manage to overcome this and other challenges? We talked to him to learn more.

Fresh Print has been on the market for 21 years already. How did the field of digital printing change in this time? How did Fresh Print change?

In the past 10 years technologies experienced a leap, and the expectations of the clients changed accordingly. Fresh Print aims to be relevant to all the current processes and trends. In the past three years we invested in new digital machines for large format printing, some of them are one of their kind in Europe. This allows us to offer to our clients quality new products with high added value without a paralel in Bulgaria.

What is the biggest challenge that you had to deal with as the manager of Fresh Print?

Beyond any doubt, it was the Covid-19 crisis in 2020-2022. In these years we had to protect and keep both the company and its employees. The Covid crisis started in early 2020. I took over the company as its manager at the end of 2019. Besides the management of the company, I also had to deal with the outcome of the pandemic. Some of the hardest times were in the beginning, when we stopped working for three months, because we had to take care of our staff and their families – they are our core priority and the reason why Fresh Print is still around.

Another problem was the shortage of materials that lasted for a year. In order to maintain sufficient stock, we had to constantly stockpile, which required a lot of money, while there was practically no business. It was very hard, but we managed to survive as a company and to keep our clients. The suppliers that we partner with played a key role for this. They understood our situation. Most of the big European suppliers with representations in Bulgaria and a couple of Bulgarian companies expanded the payment deadlines for Fresh Print and many of our colleagues in the branch without hesitation or negotiation.

And the most important managerial decision?

Equipping our printing facility with new machines, some of which are among the best in Europe and are without competitors in Bulgaria. One of these is a 5-metre UV printer that prints on 5-metre media and in addition to the CMYK colors, uses white ink. This allows us to print on colour large format media – truck banner, coloured vinyls and others. The machine provides a top notch print quality. We use it to also print wallpapers on a 3.2-metre roll, allowing it to have no splice. We also offer the clients installation services, as it is a very specific and special process.

What is the most important leader quality a man has to have to be a successful leader of the organisation that he manages?

Perseverance and determination. This is also relevant for women. There are many successful women, in this respect sex is not important. I know women that are much more successful than many men. Success is not determined by one's sex.

How do you develop your team and motivate them to give the best of themselves?

We motivate them with personal approach, good wages and social benefits. When I took over Fresh Print, in 2019, the company was employing 15 people. Today we are 30. Both financial motivation and work conditions are important. This includes the investment in new technologies and machines that help the employees in their work. However, for me, the biggest motivating factor is the employer's good attitude and understanding. I achieve this easily, because I work in production along with my people. This is a big benefit for me as well, because I see personally what they need in order to make the work processes easier.

Which are the most popular products and services of Fresh Print?

They are many – from printing business cards, flyers, catalogues and calendars, to printing of billboards, printing on vinyl, MDF, chipboard surfaces, printing on textile and glass. Fresh Print is a leader in the printing of scaffolding mesh, we were the first who started doing this in Bulgaria, 20 years ago.

Which are the most interesting products and services in the portfolio of Fresh Print?

Printing on truck banner – our printing is among the best in Bulgaria. Recently, we bought a liquid laminator; we use it to laminate the banner after printing. This makes it even more resistant to the atmospheric conditions and the sun's UV light.

Another product in which we stand out as leaders are the above mentioned wallpapers that we print without splice. Fresh Print is among the leaders in this field in Europe and we are possibly among the best. We print without splice. What I mean: we can print a wallpaper and install it for you on a wall that is, say, 3.20 m high and 30 m long. There will be no splicing, just a whole piece of wallpaper of the highest quality. Of course, we also print wallpapers with splicing, as they are the more budget-friendly option. However, after our professionals have installed the wallpaper in its place, you will have a hard time finding where the splicing is. We offer design and installation all over Europe, and beyond.

How do you manage to offer consistently high quality of your products and services?

With lots of work, dedication and constant renewal and modernisation of the offered products and services.

Which order made by Fresh Print will you never forget?

I would not say that there is such an order. However, I was very moved when one of the managers of a big European hotel chain, a client of ours, contacted us personally to share that he had never expected such printing quality from a Bulgarian company. The order was for print on our wallpapers and veneered MDF (huge wardrobe doors).

What inspires you day after day to go to Fresh Print and start doing your job?

First, it is my family. It inspires me not only to work, but also to breathe, live and love. I have three wonderful daughters and an incredible wife; without her by my side I would not have achieved anything. I am proud of them and I love them dearly. They are my inspiration, motivation in life and bonus in business.

Second comes the satisfaction from the well done job, despite the inevitable obstacles and challenges, and the awareness that we successfully realise the requirements of even the most demanding clients.

Sofia, 75 Andrey Lyapchev, phone: 02 491 11 97

office@freshprint.bg

www.freshprint.bg