Printing performance behind sweet business success

One of the most famous cafés in Poland, Cukiernia Sowa, has grown from a family company to become, over three generations, a network of nearly two hundred confectioners popular nationwide. This was possible due to combining tradition and openness to new possibilities, such as the WorkForce Pro WF-R8590D3TW with RIPS technology

Setting the standards for the industry, Cukiernia Sowa – as one of the most recognisable brands – is mainly focused on its primary activities with minimum involvement in the maintenance and management of tools supporting its core business.

It is for this reason that when the printing equipment used at the company's headquarters needed to be replaced, the main criterion for the evaluation of the solutions offered was smooth operation with no need for servicing, as well as clear and attractive guaranteed support. Additionally, given the scale of the printing, the cost of the purchased equipment was carefully analysed. What mattered was not only the price of the new equipment, but also the comprehensive TCO, taking into account all related expenses, including electricity costs and, above all, the price of printing a single sheet.

Given the above criteria, a decision was made to purchase a flagship device from the RIPS family: WorkForce Pro WF-R8590D3TWFC. The decisive factor was the calculation of the printing costs: it demonstrated that the savings from using RIPS printing technology for two to three years amounts to the price of a new device.

Combining the functions of printing and communications, WF-R8590D3TWFC has become the heart of the print management system at the headquarters. Various departments in the company make use of this system from dawn to dusk. Printouts are most frequently used by employees of the accounting department, who print invoices, reports and accounting statements, as well as by the secretariat.  Apart from printing correspondence, presentations and offers, the equipment works perfectly as a photocopier. And thanks to fast, two-sided scanning by the automatic document feeder, it is also used for archiving documents.

Two features of this equipment are most important for our company. First of all, there's no need for frequent servicing – for example, it eliminates minor malfunctions such as paper jams or having to add more paper or ink. Secondly, the cost of printing is very low.

These advantages, as well as the low power consumption of the printer when its running continuously, provide clear, measurable savings. Additional advantages praised by users include fast and quiet operation and the aesthetics of the device itself.

Because of these advantages, the printer is valued for its high efficiency both through the optimisation of IT costs and through increasing teamwork ergonomics by providing fast and automatic operation. Another key advantage is the quality of printouts, both with text and colour content.

The choice of this Epson model was no accident. It was deliberate, based on the analysis of the total cost of ownership (TCO) over the next few years and the features on offer. A three-year warranty agreement was a significant factor. However, what ultimately tipped the scales in favour of Epson was very good interpersonal contact, personal engagement and excellent communication with the company representative throughout the entire sales process.

According to employees who are making decisions about the expansion of the infrastructure in Cukiernia Sowa, RIPS series devices provide great opportunities for improving productivity and optimising IT costs in the company. This is a good reason why these devices might be installed in the near future in other branch offices as one of the two types (due to the global duplicate IT vendors policy) of main back-office equipment.

Given this context, the implementation of WorkForce Pro WF-R8590D3TWFC is almost treated as a pilot for further cooperation. The daily operation of the equipment is monitored, while conclusions and suggestions for improvement are sent to Epson to maximise the benefits from future purchases. The purchase of a twin printer for the marketing department is scheduled within the next few months.

"On the one hand, in Cukiernia Sowa there was a need for a device that would be as efficient as possible not only in terms of speed, but also regarding the cost of a single print. Given that thousands of pages are printed monthly, the savings are significant. On the other hand, we wanted maximum simplicity and intuitive operation with no time-consuming maintenance by employees, who after all are not IT specialists. RIPS meets both of these requirements – based on our calculations, after two years of using Pro WF-R8590D3TWFC we will be able to purchase another device of this type within the warranty period for the first purchase."

Krzysztof Pieczenko

CTO, Cukiernia Sowa Sp J.