9-Cent Color Copies Expands Its Successful Business Into Lacey

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When founder Ron Fryer opened 9-Cent Color Copies in Vancouver, Washington, more than 5 years ago, it quickly became apparent that he had a success on his hands.

Where the big boys in the copying store arena around his shop were making about 30,000 color copies a year, he was soon making 4.5 million copies, flyers, newsletters, booklets, and business cards.

“If you go to Kinko’s or the UPS Store and want 100 color copies printed on one side, on premium paper, their price is $69. On cheap paper, it’s $59,” says Fryer. “We print only on premium paper and we do the same job for $9. You save about $50 on every 100 copies!”

You read that right: just $9. With such deep savings over its big competitors, it’s no wonder clients flock to 9-Cent Color Copies.

But does the quality stack up?

You bet it does.

“The printers we have today are commercial quality, high-speed color presses that print in very high resolution,” Fryer explains. In fact, he uses a $150,000 commercial laser press that can print between 1,200 and 2,400 dots per inch.

A typical home or office printer will claim to be at 600 dots per inch however, according to Fryer, that’s 600 dots in one direction and only 300 in the other.

“They’re not getting the definition they would from a high-quality professional printer like ours. And ink printers can’t come even close to that,” Fryer says. “They can’t get the drops of ink small enough to have that kind of definition.”

If the price initially attracts customers to 9-Cent Color Copies, it’s the quality of their product that keeps them coming back.

Key to the high-quality finish is Fryer’s use of premium paper.

“We don’t use regular copy paper,” he says. “Our paper is heavier – a 28-pound instead of 20-pound. It’s almost 1 ½ times as thick as copy paper.”

The other reason for such brilliant, vibrant copies is the paper’s brightness factor.

Regular copy paper is a 92 brightness rating; 9-Cent Color Copies uses paper with a 100 brightness rating.

“One hundred brightness is pure white,” Fryer explains. “Ninety-two is still eight percent black or gray.” If you hold the two up beside one another, the gray is evident.

Black is the only opaque color. All the other colors are translucent. That’s why, when you print red on yellow paper, it looks orange. The same principle applies with all the other colors. When color copies are printed on regular copy paper, the grayness shows through and the colors are washed out and diminished. But when you print those same color copies on pure white paper, the colors remain true and vibrant and just pop off the page.

“That’s what makes the presentation of what we print so important to small business,” says Fryer. “It puts them in a good light and makes them look very professional.”

Originally from Buffalo, New York, Fryer relocated to the Pacific Northwest in 1982.

In the late 1990s, he helped put together a magazine that was sent into prisons with the goal of increasing literacy in prisoners. He leased a commercial printer for the project. At the same time, he began looking to buy real estate for the purpose of renting it out for income and came to know several area realtors.

“They discovered that I was making this magazine and started asking me if I could print up their real estate flyers for the sign boxes,” he explains.

A business was born. In fact, it outlasted the magazine and grew so large that it was all Fryer could to do keep up. “I ended up upgrading equipment and getting higher quality, high-speed, much more expensive printers,” he says.

He came up with the name after calling a local printer to find out their prices for one-sided color copies. He learned that a customer had to order 20,000 copies of a project for the price to come in at 9 cents per page.

“We do a 20,000 price for only 100 copies,” Fryer says. “Mom and Pop businesses who are trying to get their business going want 100 or 150 flyers to pass out, not 20,000. We make it affordable for them.”

9-Cent Color Copies also makes cuts for free –something you won’t find at the big guys.

“If somebody wants to put two flyers on a page and cut them in half and have two for one – 4.5 cent flyers – we cut those for free,” says Fryer. “Other places charge $2 or $3 per cut.”

9-Cent Color Copies has been so successful in the Vancouver area that it now boasts 4,000 clients. With its brand new location, in Lacey, it hopes to be on the way to matching that accomplishment.

Today, his sons and their wives operate both of Fryer’s stores. Joe and Ashley Fryer operate the Vancouver store, while Chris and Jen Fryer are starting up the new Lacey location.

The reason Fryer started – and stayed in – this business wasn’t just to make a living.

“I’m a patriot and I believe that this country is the greatest in the world. I also believe that this country was built on small business,” he says. “My goal in life is to help small business – it’s my passion.”

By offering small businesses solutions for high-quality, professionally printed materials that represents them in the best possible light – and at about 80 percent less than the competition, no less – he and his family are proud to be doing exactly that.

9-Cent Color Copies
www.9centcolorcopies.com
3137 Lakeridge Court SE in Lacey
7011 NE 147th Ave. in Vancouver
360.367.0440

 

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