Brian McGuinness started out selling Xerox printers and copiers in 1983; thirty years on he's still going strong, having set up South East Drawing Office in 2005, and he and family members Andy McGuiness and Luke Walford have learned that 'hard work and graft' and strong partnerships are the keys to long-term success.

"We set up SEDO in 2005 having been approached by Xerox to resell their products and from a standing start, we became Xerox's top reseller in 2007 and 2008," Brian McGuinness recalls. "Our focus at that time was on our large base of government planning departments with in-house printing accounts. We were selling Xerox black and white printers and then moving onto the Xerox equivalent of the Encad 1000i and 1200i. More recently we have been selling graphics printers, such as the Mutoh ValueJets, which means we can address broader markets, such as sign-makers and other graphics production companies."

"Our experience with Xerox and the machines they used or rebadged led us to Mutoh and in turn to Colourgen," McGuinness adds, acknowledging that the company's relationship with the Mutoh distributor that has enabled it to open up to the sign and graphics marketplace. "We never set this business up as an engineering company, but that is one of Colourgen's main strengths. We can put the proposition forward and make the sale and then let Colourgen handle the installation, training and engineering. Once this is done, we can go in and do all the profiling, which is our strength."

Choosing a select few brands to work with also led SEDO to Caldera. "We have worked with the Caldera RIP for many years and often build our solutions around it, as we think it's a fantastic product," says McGuinness. "Most other companies will sell a printing solution based on the qualities of the printer, but we sell on the advantages and benefits that Caldera can deliver in combination with the printer. It's a powerful combination, particularly with the range of Kona cutters."

In spite of the bleak headlines plaguing most of the print industry, McGuinness says SEDO is 'actually doing pretty well': "I believe we are offering great value solutions and a service that ensures our customers stick with us. We have a small team, just us and another family member and we are looking to take on an apprentice fairly soon, as well as moving to larger offices in Basildon."

"The biggest challenge we face is the issue of finance. Companies, particularly in the graphics production sector, are finding it very hard to get clearance on the cash required to make even the smallest of investments. We have some long-standing relationships with finance companies and can try to help where we can, but there is very little easing on that front."

McGuinness is positive for the future, however: "We can see that several customers will look to upgrade their machines to the latest ValueJets over the next year, particularly where their volumes have increased. It's an exciting time for the company and we are looking forward to enjoying plenty of success with Mutoh and Colourgen."