Investing in Innovation: How Vedda Printing Is Disrupting the Industry

In this episode of Struggles presented by NCBI, host John Carpenter sits down with Phil Vedda, third-generation leader of Vedda Printing, to talk about the bold decisions behind investing in new technology — even when it’s not the “safe” choice. Phil shares how his team is embracing a revolutionary new inkjet press, why betting on yourself matters, and how modern print innovations can actually lower costs while raising quality.

They discuss the pressures of running a family business, navigating big purchases in a changing economy, and leading with confidence when adopting cutting-edge tools. From behind-the-scenes teasers to open-house plans, this episode offers insight into what it takes to stay ahead in a traditional industry through innovation and trust.

🎧 Presented by North Coast Business Initiative — where we navigate challenges together.

Transcript

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(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) So with the new one, it's something, it's pretty revolutionary. It's a disruptor in our industry. Oh, wow. You know, we had to go to Columbus to see this device. So I don't believe anybody in Cleveland, especially our size, has this kind of technology, but it's completely different. You know, so we've got digital print and we've got offset print. And typically the digital, it uses toner. This is an inkjet printer. So it'll be quicker. So quicker, lower cost, but the quality, the quality is really there. Welcome to another episode of Struggles presented by NCBI, the podcast where we navigate challenges together. Hey everybody, welcome back to the Struggles podcast produced by NCBI. Today we have Phil Vetta of Vetta Printing. Have you ever been on with the Struggles podcast before? This is my first Struggles podcast. Awesome, I know we've done a podcast together, but I'm glad you're on the Struggles podcast because that is a little bit different. And you know, so we were talking offline the other day about a big purchase that you made. How do you feel it was most stressful? With the, I guess the current economy, with what the current print market looks like and how it's shaped over the past year or years, I should say, making an investment like that, as we know that, you know, maybe print tends to, you know, go down, you know, we can get by with the current equipment we have. I mean, you've been to our shop. You've got a lot of impressive equipment, big variety. So making a big investment like that when maybe it's not necessary, but that's where the stress comes in. Gotcha. Speaking of that and bringing that up, personally, I mean, I know it's a family business and it's a third generation business and all that, or fourth generation, I don't know. But have you, did you lose sleep personally over something that big? I wouldn't say I lost sleep personally over it. I bet my father did. That's something that, you know, he's the numbers guy. But it's definitely kept me awake. It's definitely, and it's not something that was a spur of the moment. I mean, it's been, we've been looking at this for over a year now. Yeah, is it the one that you guys had gone to Cincinnati to kind of check out? So good question. So it's not. So we went to Cincinnati. We went to Detroit to look at a different type of equipment. We really wanted that to be the machine, but it was really impressive with what it did. But the more we looked into it, we realized it didn't fit our current business. Okay, interesting. Haven't you made some other purchases in the last few years for other equipment? Sure, on a smaller scale. We've brought apparel in-house. So we've got a DTG printer. We're always investing, just investing in equipment. So how has the purchases from the other equipment affected the business? Like you said, you brought in apparel into house and you've done some other things. Has it affected positively or you would have moved on from it? Sure, yeah, yeah. Apparel's been great for us. Especially having equipment on site, having our customers, when they come out, see that we're actually printing T-shirts, we're actually doing embroidery, that's been big. Yeah, I know when I came in and they did the, they popped on my logos, I loved it. But at the same time, they were doing a bunch of hats for Jerry Knapp, right? And I was like, well, I'm gonna steal one of these hats because they look awesome. Right. And I actually need, I was gonna talk to you, because I need more hats. And I'm like, okay, well, I saw what Jerry's hats look like, I need to talk to Phil for my hats. And I do think that you have people out there, we can go in different places, we can do different things, but I like to keep a local and I like to keep it with somebody like you, who you trust and know, right? So when you have that big purchase, whether it be bringing in house or whether this big million dollar purchase that you've popped in on your sales or on your big floor, how do you talk to the team about it? Because I know sometimes employees feel leery when they see new equipment come in, like, is this gonna take my job or is this gonna make my job more efficient? So when we went to, not even demo the machine, but we went to an open house and we saw a video of the machine and one of our operators was with us and seeing how excited that she got when she saw it, she's like, Phil, we need this. I would love to have it. And seeing that from an employee who, we think of all of our employees like family, but I mean, at the end of the day, they're just employees. So seeing her eyes light up and how excited she got, that means a lot. So when you see the team getting excited and showing you, hey, this is where we need to go. Yeah, and that kind of leads me to the next question. So what do you see as the biggest impact of all these equipment purchases on your business currently? Because obviously you just started using the big one, right? So financially in the future, where do you hope it can take you, percentage-wise? So with the new one, it's something, it's pretty revolutionary. It's a disruptor in our industry. You know, we had to go to Columbus to see this device. So I don't believe anybody in Cleveland, especially our size, has this kind of technology, but it's completely different. You know, so we've got digital print and we've got offset print. And typically the digital, it uses toner. This is an inkjet printer. So it'll be quicker. So quicker, lower cost, but the quality, the quality is really there. So it's gonna be a workhorse for us. So behind the decisions, is it just that you wanna pick up the speed and the better quality? I mean, I know when I took over my parents' business, you know, we were using an old resume parsing system and an old CRM. And I'm like, we gotta get, we gotta catch up with the times, right? So was it about catching up with the times or was it about, it was just time for you guys to do something different? We wanna be a leader in this space. So instead of, you know, being a follower, we wanna be the ones first to market. And we know we're not. We're not the first ones that are gonna have this piece of equipment, right? But like I said, I think we're one of the first at our size. So being a leader in not only like staying up with the competition, but making sure that someone else doesn't beat us to that. Bomb Image appreciates the opportunity to sponsor this podcast. Bomb Image provides brand firepower, precision targeted brand messaging and visual identities, empowering small teams in the professional services space to attract their most rewarding and profitable customers. We work hand in hand with our client partners, implementing our unique set of processes, focusing on listening, raw objectivity and accountability to help them present a more impactful brand story. Our passion is inspiring clients to create their Bomb Image. So I know you guys focus on local stuff, but you have clients that are all over Ohio and the United States, right? We do. Yeah, we have a few out of state. Yeah, so then this will allow you to maybe even get more out of state with the product. I mean, depending on who it is, right? Sure. Yeah, I mean, every piece of equipment has its specialty and this machine certainly has it. Okay, good. Now, what's next? Do you guys have anything else that needs replaced? That's a good question. What's past this? You know, one of the reasons we went with this machine and not the one we're looking at in Cincinnati, you mentioned, is that machine to get into that would have meant buying probably two or three other pieces of equipment to compliment it. The nice thing about this one, it slides right in. It's doing what we're already doing. It's just doing it better, faster, and more economical. Did you guys throw a party when it showed up? I mean, I saw some videos. It's not here yet. Oh, okay. No, no, no. So what were the videos I saw? It was looking like you guys were cleaning the floor. So that was a teaser video. So you've been to our shop. We don't have any room for new equipment. And with this machine, it didn't necessarily replace anything. It's in addition to. So we didn't make room for it. So we actually, in our digital room, we actually did get rid of a smaller machine and we had a new one coming to replace it. So that was just a teaser video. Teaser videos are good because what's next? You know, that's what people are looking for. And they want to see the behind the scenes. I know you and I have talked and Chris has talked about, you know, your videos and what people like to see. And you guys do a great job of showing the product in motion. How will this one continue that process? I mean, can you record it all as it's coming out like you were before? Yeah. Yeah, so when it comes, November 4th is when the machine will be on site. They'll start installing. It should be up and running in a couple of weeks. We plan on doing an open house. Okay. We'll invite all of our NCBI people. More hot dogs. Yeah, we'll see about that. But yeah, I mean, in terms of video, I mean, we love having equipment on site because it's just so easy to just take your phone out and record something. But like I said, this is going to be pretty special. It's going to be pretty cool to see when it's running. And I do love those videos because you don't know, as people put it, how the donuts are made, basically. When you get something in the mail or you get a book or whatever, a magazine, you look at it and you go, okay, I wonder how this was printed, right? Well, you guys are showing the behind the scenes of what it comes off the press hot and like cutting it. And when you guys were cutting it that day, and I think one of your posts was like, how did somebody said, how do you get the color on the side? And you're like, oh, you just paint it on, right? Yeah. And like, those are awesome. So I can't wait to see something that's similar, for a nicer machine that's going to provide you guys with better quality and better things. So what tips can you offer someone who's considering an expense or scaling up in their equipment or maybe software? I mean, you've gone through this a few times. And you said this one takes a year, you may have to make that decision. What tips can you give somebody that you've gone through that could help them? I think number one is you have to bet on yourself. Now you have to believe in what you can do, what your team can do, and decide like, where do I want to be in five years? If I just want to be in the same spot I am now in five years, what does that mean for my competition? What are those guys doing? Because you know, I mean, every year, it seems like things are changing in every industry. I think it's every six months, if not sooner. But that's good. So what do you see this machine or any of the machines you've added, like what's the shelf life on them? So, I mean, this machine, this can be a long time, something that we have for the next 10, 20 years. This is definitely where print technology is going. So I don't believe this will be our first inkjet printer. I would think if things play right in the next year or two, we'll probably add a second one. The biggest fault, the only downside to this machine is it's slow. It only runs a couple thousand sheets an hour, whereas the bigger offset presses are like 10, 12,000. So that just means you need more of them to keep up with the output. Yeah, but it's better quality. It's better quality, it's a better price point. So it's really impressive. I like the price point. I didn't even think about the price point because I know when you're looking, you know, you gotta throw out there and you're gonna say, look, I'm gonna buy this huge equipment. I think a lot of people say, oh, well, things are gonna cost more for me. But basically what you're kind of saying is some things might cost more, but other things might go down because it's just gonna be a more efficient process. It's more efficient, yeah. So, I mean, the biggest thing is the first sheet off the press is good. So on an offset press, typically you need a couple hundred sheets to get that press up to color. And you're only printing one side. Oh, wow. And then you have to wait for dry time. This machine is gonna print both sides of the sheet and one pass, and that first sheet off the press is a good sheet. And that's where, you know, if somebody wants, say they want 10 pocket folders. Now we can do them. And it only takes 10 sheets to do it. Whereas before, I would probably have to print three, 400 sheets to get to the pocket folders. That's good to know because I know for a long time you did, and you still might, but you didn't want the one-offs, right? You wanted to kind of get a mass quantity as best for sales, right? But if a good client's like, I only need a hundred of these, you don't need to print 400 to get the right color. Right. Okay, awesome, man. Well, hey, I appreciate this has been great. Where can people find Phil Veda? LinkedIn is probably the best way to find me. Yeah. I'm not as active as I should be. I've been slacking a little bit, but I'm on LinkedIn. So come connect with me, shoot me a DM. Yep, awesome. Appreciate it. Thank you so much. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Struggles presented by NCBI, where we navigate challenges together. Don't forget to subscribe, listen, and share this podcast with others who might benefit. We'd love to hear about the struggles you're facing or have overcome, and we'd be thrilled to have you as a guest on a future episode. Let's continue this journey together.