Spectrum Digital Services LLC, a Hartland-based CD recording company, recently completed a 2,000-square-foot expansion, which launched the company into paper printing and conversion. The expansion included the purchase of four-color printing equipment, as well as UV coating, die cutting, folding, gluing, stitching and binding machinery. The $200,000 investment will make Spectrum more of a one-stop shop for its customers, said Russell Gnant, chief executive officer of Spectrum.
"We’ve added capabilities because in today’s business climate it’s much easier to sell more to an existing customer than to find a new customer," Gnant said. "And with every CD, there is generally some paper associated with it." Printing, folding, cutting and binding capabilities also allow Spectrum to deliver a finished product much faster, Gnant said. Previously, Spectrum’s customers would need to wait seven to 10 extra days for printing.
The new machinery and extra space will allow Spectrum to complete a CD project within 48 hours, including printing. It also allows Spectrum to serve customers who need much smaller runs. "Because we’re digital, we can do small runs," he said. "(Our customers) can now get 100 custom-printed sleeves, which is almost impossible to do."
Spectrum believes that it is the only facility that can handle an entire CD project in house, Gnant said. "Another advantage to these expanded capabilities is that paper printing will match the disc," he said. "Usually a disc facility struggles to match the paper printing provided by a client or outside vendor. With all printing done in house we can guarantee matched pieces and meet the quality expectations of a demanding client."
Spectrum occupies about 12,800 square feet of space. The company has 12 employees, and the expansion will create at least three new jobs within the next year, Gnant said. The 10-year-old company has had flat revenues over the past several years, despite growing its volume.
"We’ve been flat in the last two years as (CD) prices have decreased," he said. "We’ve had to produce more to keep our revenues the same. We’re hoping that this addition of new products will allow us to achieve 10-percent revenue growth for 2008."
