HP has announced the first in its chain of Print Stations in the UK, planning to roll out 10 by the end of the year.
Nottingham-based John E Wright is the first in the project, which will target creative areas in key cities and will tie in with an e-commerce portal, so that customers can pick up online orders from their nearest Print Station
Phil Oakley, UK & Ireland country manager, Designjet for HP's Graphic Solutions Business was adamant that the scheme was "not a franchise".
"The shift in HP now and over the past three or four years is away from being just a print company. We want to be known as a printing company," he said.
That shift will see the power of the HP brand, already in consumers' minds for laptops and desktop printers, applied to high street printing services.
The Print Stations will offer items such as brochures, business cards, newsletters, poster, graphic consultation and other services targeting SMEs, as well as educational and student customers. More importantly, it will offer an attractive environment for customers to create their print product from the ground up, including access to HP's image and template libraries, design software, as well as print and finishing.
John E Wright managing director Tony Barnett described it as the print equivalent of an internet café and a "one-visit solution".
Oakley said there was no financial incentive offered for printers wishing to provide Print Station services, although Print Stations would agree page targets and report their marketing plans.
HP Print Station EMEA sales manager Paolo Dal Santo said that HP would not set Print Station pricing on or offline, nor would it take "any portion of the profits or revenue generated in store or online. "We help the partner assess the market pricing and support the right product positioning only.
"HP and our partners agree jointly on quarterly page targets to be achieved online and offline, mostly considering the total colour pages and large-format pages printed."
HP helps fit out the Print Station 'booth' with furniture, technology and other items, with around $20,000 (£12,170) in support in the case of John E Wright.
More importantly, it assists with identifying and marketing potential new print services such as personalised wallpaper, for which it is creating apps that plug straight into the Print Station network.
Barnett said that the resource this kind of development needed was beyond his £6m-turnover business and gave him distinct advantage over his competition.
The first five Print Stations to roll out will all be John E Wright businesses in locations such as Leicester and Northampton. For the remainder of the initial phase of 10, they are likely to come from other members of the GDL (graphic dealers limited) network - a group of 17 owner-managed businesses - to which John E Wright belongs, such as Pinders in Sheffield.
Oakley described further potential Print Stations as "ideally an HP customer", with small-format digital as the essential piece, along with the level of customer service in line with expectations of the HP brand. "If they are an established brand that can see the benefit and leverage the HP brand can offer, then we're always open to discussion," he said.
Barnett suggested that UK printers looking to become a Print Station could contact him directly. There are currently 50 HP Print Stations across nine countries; the first opened in South Africa. | 
