Hot Tomali is very pleased to announce the launch of a new website for our client Metropolitan Fine Printers. Everyone who’s involved in print production, be it agencies, businesses, or other printing companies, knows “MET”. This printer is at the top of its game as proven by last year’s accolade of Canada’s Printer of the Year from Graphic Monthly Canada, and in 2008 MET was the most awarded printer of over 34,000 printers in North America.
So, what’s a printing company doing online? To quote Scott Gray, MET’s senior manager, from his first blog post on the new site: “It’s our business to communicate so we figured let’s make it easier for you to get to know us.” It’s that, and deeper. Metropolitan Fine Printers wants to connect with prospective clients in BC, and around the world, to convey their unique value for clients’ printing needs. The company continues to innovate the print industry: they were one of the first printers in the world to adopt Computer To Plate workflow, they took lithography to new limits in 2001 with 1,700 lines per inch, and in 2004 introduced MET Enviro UV special inks and coatings for a new level of print vibrancy. Metropolitan Fine Printers always has an exciting story to tell, and the company saw the web as the place to do it.
A significant challenge in this site development was to convey the quality and innovation that Metropolitan Fine Printers applies in the print environment, to a digital medium. The solution was to let the experts speak: many of the staff have spent their entire printing careers at MET, and have contributed directly to their clients’ successes. We incorporated “wide screen” video segments into the site with interviews that powerfully convey the MET message. Imagery has also been key: carefully crafted photography that shows MET quality. We also introduced a blog to the site that allows MET to communicate directly to their visitors about what’s going on at shop, in a voice that is authentic and insightful.
In the early weeks since launch, the site is successfully delivering on its mandate of connecting with clients, and generating business. Search traffic alone has increased over 500% from the printer’s previous site. And the Request a Quote feature is bringing in leads every day. Metropolitan Fine Printers, masters of print, now have mastered the digital domain.
