In late 2019, Chip Miceli was among a group of U.S. dealer executives to tour Epson’s corporate headquarters in Japan and learn more about the company’s burgeoning inkjet technology offering for the office equipment environment. Miceli loved what he saw then, and his high regard for the Epson line continues to grow.
Mind you, Miceli isn’t beholden to Epson; his Pulse Technology carries a wide array of manufacturer lines, including Sharp, Canon, HP and Kyocera, to name a few. And the product portfolio for this $25 million performer is extremely diverse, including managed print, MNS, mailing solutions, office furniture, promotional products, interactive boards/video walls, among others. If Miceli can fill a customer’s need and make a profit in the process, he’s willing to entertain ideas for new offerings.
Now, the Schaumburg, Illinois-based dealer is digging a little deeper into the Epson playbook by offering the manufacturer’s large-format printers and projectors. The printers can support rolls ranging from 18” to 100” for the production of banners, posters, trade show graphics, automotive wraps, electronic circuit schematics, architectural drawings and construction plans, to name a few. They also enable users to print on a variety of non-paper substrates.
“We’re pleased to expand the Epson product lines we offer,” Miceli said. “In particular, the large-format and the production print options will open the door to new business. There are many organizations who have need for wide-format or larger documents, but in smaller quantities than would make going to a web offset printer financially advantageous. Having this capability in-house will save them time, and in the long run, money. It plays well into our MPS strategy of helping companies find the lowest per-page cost of generating documents.”
According to Jay Grochowski, business development manager for Epson America, the dealer’s success can be attributed to its ability to anticipate and accommodate changes in the market.
“Pulse Technology’s biggest strength and the reason they’ve been so successful is their willingness to adapt to the ongoing changes in technology, then build a business model that puts them in front of these changes,” Grochowski said. “Chip Miceli is well-respected and admired by his peers and manufacturer partners because he continues to take the lead.”
What Miceli finds most attractive about large-format printers is their penchant for capturing detail and producing crisp and clear images, regardless of the size. “For the business owner or organization director who needs to create special-use large size documents, a printer of this sort allows the company the flexibility to produce their documents on-demand and in-house, rather than needing to rely on an outside vendor,” he added.
“The key to having a machine such as this is also assuring that the business has the support to maintain and keep the equipment running should the need arise,” Miceli said. “That’s where the right dealership can make the difference.”
Miceli also believes Epson’s projector line will offer opportunities for the SMB space, with applications for home use and portability for presentations at the client site. Backed by technology advances, the evolution of the projector is opening the doors to applications beyond traditional uses.
“I see projectors as a great opportunity for our industry,” he said. “Video is becoming more important, and these projectors do so much more than their earlier counterparts, including 3D, for example. There are many opportunities for business use, not to mention applications for home theatre. They’ve come a long way!”
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About Pulse Technology
Pulse Technology is a leader in the field of print management, network services (IT) and other office solutions including furniture design and sales, office products and promotional products, with a history dating back to 1921. Pulse Technology is the re-branded name for several well-known area businesses: Des Plaines Office Equipment, McShane’s, and Kramer Leonard. With locations in Chesterton, Indiana; Chicago, Rockford and Schaumburg, Illinois, Pulse Technology serves the needs of businesses across the Midwest. The firm provides products and services to a diverse client base that includes schools, hospitals, law offices, accounting firms, and financial institutions, among others. The firm has won the Sharp Document’s Hyakuman Kai award for sales excellence since 1988 and the Elite Dealer by ENX Magazine since 2007, and has been named to the Inc. 5000 list for fastest-growing businesses across the United States.
