IN HOUSE BRANDING: It isn't easy!

Custom branding, branding activation, or wrapping our claw machines are all terms used to describe printing your design on a special "removable" vinyl. That special vinyl is used to wrap your artwork all over the outside of the claw machine to cover the claw machines original artwork.

WHEN WE DIDN'T OWN PRINTING EQUIPMENT we used to cringe when customers asked if we could custom wrap or brand their claw machine because we knew it was going to be a lot of work for a small profit since we didn't own any of the equipment. The client would send us their artwork or we would make the artwork in house. We have staff trained in Illustrator and Photoshop. The next step was emailing or uploading the clients artwork to a commercial print companies website. Next, we'd follow up to make sure the company received it. Within a couple days the printing company would send us a proof to approve or deny. After we approved the proof, the printing company would move the artwork to their customer queue. which was usually a 1-2 week wait before the artwork was printed and we were then notified by phone or email it was ready. Usually within a day or two we would drive to the print shop, check it, and bring it back to the warehouse. A few days after that we would apply the graphics on the claw machine...done! After all this leg work, paying a large portion to the print shop, and paying our staff to wrap the machine, there wasn't a large profit left. We knew we had to either invest in the equipment and do it in house or stop offering custom branding. We choose the latter, to invest.

WE INVESTED OVER 100K IN PROFESSIONAL PRINTING EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES so now when someone asks if we can custom brand or wrap their games or photo booth we say, "yes" with a smile because we can do it in house. No more waiting in line, no more driving back-n-forth to the sign shops, and no more turning down last minute printing jobs because the printing company couldn't do it fast enough.

We purchased the same commercial equipment the printing businesses use. Now we can print the same day if we have a last minute booking. We use to be amazed with the staff at these commercial print shops, but we learned that a lot of the precision work is handled by the professional equipment, not the staff. Staff are important too, but paired with the correct equipment almost guarantees professional results...we learned our lesson! We now offer a professional products in-house that are as good, if not better, than any print shop because we are using the same professional equipment! Most companies in our industry talk the talk, but they don't walk the walk. In other words, they wont invest big money to do it right. Don't expect them to admit this because they know they'll lose your business if they do. We personally know our 2 main competitors do not do it in house. We have been providing full branding in-house for several years now and it's hard to imagine going back to a time when part of our success depended on a separate business. We have the experience and expertise to make all of our customers happy. Investing in professional branding equipment was just one of many steps in the journey that got us to where we are today.
Now if a client mentions the words branding or wrapping we smile instead of cringe.