"Printing plates, graphic design, rubber stamps, T.V.s, deep freeze and David Bow"

A review of Reproflex by A. Warner written on Thursday 1st of April 2010

This Belfast company makes printing plates for local printers and claims to have Ireland's first digital plate-making machine. Bear in mind that "first" is not the same thing as "only" or "most modern". Quality can be good, but when there is a problem with a plate, that means press downtime and that means money.

Not all plate problems can be blamed on the plate-maker, however. Some can be traced back to Quality Control or the mac operator who prepares the "artwork". The person operating Ireland's first (or oldest) digital plate-maker makes what is given to him/her, so if it is wrong to begin with, then the plate is wrong, whether it's well made or not. More downtime.

An interesting sideline is "discount rubber stamps", made from off-cuts of plate. However, there are lots of dedicated rubber-stamp services kicking about, both locally and online, and you might save time and money by shopping around.

Another sideline is discount graphic-design. However, just as someone working in a fast-food take-away does not have what it takes to be a master chef, a "mac-operator" is not the same as a graphic-designer. Yet again, there are a lot of talented freelance designers in Northern Ireland to choose from. The company's own logo says it all.

A more mysterious sideline is billed as "Bureau Service". It's hard to understand what this small company could provide along these lines, unless they are also restoring old furniture. Who knows! From the look of their dead-in-the-water website, one hopes that web design is not another sideline they are venturing into.

One major problem with these sidelines is that diversification can look like desperation, especially in the current economic climate - you can't help wondering how well their core business is doing. "Hey, we can use the company car to deliver pizzas! Buy two pizzas, get a free rubber-stamp! Let's cut out the middle man and use the microwave in the canteen to make the pizzas!" The slippery slope...

In short, although I like to promote local businesses, I cannot personally recommend using Reproflex. Discount is not always the same thing as value.

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