Meet a tenant – Inndus: The Printing Company Solving Problems

01 Nov Meet a tenant – Inndus: The Printing Company Solving Problems

Elstree tenant Inndus isn’t the average printing company. With a remote team of eighty and a passion for solving their customers’ problems, they’ve designed everything from variable data journals to secure bookmarks. 

We caught up with Managing Director Sarita Menon to find out how Inndus works.

Hi Sarita! Can you tell us about how Inndus started?

Of course! Interestingly, before Inndus, I was cabin crew. When I finished, my friend and I sat down and identified a gap in the market for short runs of printed products.

This friend had been printing almost his whole life, so we put together his expertise in printing with my expertise in customer service to form Inndus together. This was in July 2013. 

We went from strength to strength, although that’s not to say it was easy by any means. But we worked from our strengths and took the time, strategized, and put in the hard work.

So, what does the company look like today?

Now, our team is made up of eighty people and we do everything from basic designing and print production to post-press foiling and embossing… and at the end we package the products before handing them over to our logistics partner for delivery

It sounds like you print a wide range of items!

Yes, we print almost everything! If somebody says to me “I can’t see this type of printing on your website”, then I’ll do my best to do it for them.

We regularly work on business stationery, marketing collateral, display items and personalized gifts.

Actually, one of the most interesting areas is variable data printing. Imagine you’re sending Christmas cards to your clients. Instead of painstakingly hand-writing each card, addressing them and putting them in the post, we create a branded Christmas card for you with your logo and details and each client’s name written in it, we also put them in an envelope for you with an address label on it, all you have to do is to put it in the post. Think of the incredible amount of time we have saved you.

How important is this personalization?

It makes such a difference. Now that people are beginning to recover from Covid, they want to reconnect with their customers. I’ve noticed a lot of companies asking for journals that feature their logo and their client’s name, adding that personalized touch. It’s fantastic!

Personalization sounds like a huge part of the business. Do you have any other examples?

Yes, it is! The other day, a customer wanted black invitation cards and asked us to print clear labels (instead of our usual white) so that it blended well into the black. We agreed, but when they were printed, the gum on the back of the label showed through. We, as a company, weren’t happy with it.

So, I chatted to the client and explained this. We then came up with the solution of printing the labels on black paper, which isn’t normally done. The Inndus team went out of our way to find the paper and sort the solution for our client.

That sounds great! Could you tell us a bit about running your business from The Brentano Suite?

Inndus has been here for just over 3 years. Before that, I was at a space that was very different. It made me appreciate The Brentano Suite so much more. Coming here was great – the quality, the décor, the atmosphere, lovely Jill sitting there with a smile and her positive attitude.

During COVID, I could see the effort that the team put in to maintain high standards and cleanliness. It really put me at ease and makes all the difference.

You mentioned having eighty employees, are they all in the office with you?

No, they’re not. The way our model works is that the printing is done abroad. We don’t outsource; it’s still our company but just based abroad. That helps me keep the price down and manage everything to bring the best for our customers, still using state of the art machinery. We’re premier partners with Xerox

This means I get parcels from around the world and the staff here (Brentano) manage it all so well. I get an email to let me know my mail has arrived. This might sound unimportant, but it’s not. The customer service and the little details make running a business so much easier.

So, how many of you are in the office?

At the moment, I’m the only one based here at The Brentano Suite. I’m like on a hotline connection for my Inndus team abroad. I speak to the customers and get the brief, which typically involves designing or printing. I then pass the brief on to my team who design it (if designing is necessary). I liaise with the customer who approves the draft, and then we proceed to print!

Tell us more about your USPs…

One of our big USPs is short runs. A lot of companies here aren’t interested in printing one hundred leaflets for a brand. Whereas we say to people, “don’t worry! We can work with you based on exactly what you need. We don’t like wastage either” We don’t compromise on quality, and we earn repeat customers.

We also ensure that the customer is the centre of everything.

Recently, we had a publishing house that wanted a bookmark. It sounds simple, but they wanted something unique. They wanted a bookmark that wouldn’t fall out of the book when it’s upside down. We folded it by two and put a magnet on either side – now it never falls out!

That sounds amazing. Do you have any other examples?

Absolutely! These are the sort of things we love doing. It’s not just a job, it’s our passion – we love innovating. For instance, foiling creates a lovely effect, but it’s not cost effective. So, during COVID, we invested in an iridescent machine which gives a similar beautiful finish but at a much more affordable price for our customers.

It’s what our customers wanted, and we found a way. It was a leap of faith for Inndus but it’s all working so well now!

Wow! So, what’s next for you?

We’re setting up a full B2C website for personalized items over the next few months – t-shirts, stationery, and so much more. That way, customers can get the products they want, in the quantity they choose, just by sitting at home. We haven’t had an e-commerce site before!

We’re also focusing on sustainability. We’re looking to partner with companies who use eco-friendly and recycled paper, who use products that are certified as sustainable and cruelty free. It’s so important!

I really care about what we have coming up, it’s all so exciting.

Here at The Brentano Suite, we offer serviced office suites for companies across North London, including meeting room hire, mail handling, and more. Have a look at our video tour to see inside our offices.