4am Delivery Through Third-Storey Window - Chester gets a new lab
Words by Craig Bird of Tetenal - Official Distributors for Epson Photographic Print Solutions
The LCE Group is one of the largest family-owned chains of specialist photographic shops in England, with 29 stores across the country. In addition to offering a wide range of photographic equipment, many branches also provide high quality image processing services. Their Chester branch recently decided to upgrade their processing equipment.
Store Manager Jason Keys explains why it was the right time for his business to replace their wet minilab with the Epson SureLab D3000 from Tetenal: “The cost of running the wet lab was becoming ever more expensive and after seeing the quality the Epson D3000 delivered it was the obvious switch to make for us. Also, the maintenance of the wet lab was becoming more difficult, the new Epson is so much cleaner and economical to run.”After the decision of making the switch from photo chemistry to inkjet, the real challenge lay in delivering the new equipment to the store in Chester. As the shop is located on the 1st level of a shopping arcade where many historic buildings are based, it cannot be entered on ground level. Therefore, the Technical Support Services Team at Tetenal organised a delivery for the Epson SureLab D3000 by crane through the store’s window.
Store Manager Jason Keys reflects on this unusual delivery: “I would imagine we weren’t the easiest of installations to do with the only access being through a 2nd floor window but Tetenal made sure it ran smoothly from start to finish. From the arrangements of organising the Tele-lifter to the removal and disposal of the old Agfa D-lab 2 machine.”
“we weren’t the easiest of installations to do with the only access being through a 2nd floor window but Tetenal made sure it ran smoothly from start to finish.”
Tetenal Operations Manager Rob Blanchard explains why this delivery was unusual even by Tetenal standards: “We have delivered equipment with cranes before but this install was particularly challenging as we had to close the entire street for health and safety reasons. This required us to start operations at 4am in the morning!”He further explains how such installations are organised by Tetenal: “Whether it’s a standard delivery through the door or a more unusual one by crane as for LCE, at Tetenal we always aim to make our hardware installs as smooth as possible. This means planning is key. Prior to every equipment delivery we do a site survey and carry out all necessary risk assessments, to anticipate any challenges that may occur on the day.”
Jason Keys explains how Tetenal supported him throughout the buying process of his new equipment: “Tetenal were excellent in explaining the benefits to be gained from making the switch. We even had the opportunity to visit their Leicester HQ and see the Epson in action. This also gave us the opportunity to see other equipment that we hadn’t even thought of adding to the Epson at a later date to grow the printing side of the business."