Issue link: https://nbm.uberflip.com/i/1451382
G R A P H I C S - P R O. C O M S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 • G R A P H I C S P R O 2 3 trays," Jack says. "We are able to produce those at a lot higher volume, so the price per unit goes down, and efficiencies go up. It was an impactful business decision for us to bolt that onto our existing business and not affect our existing business." Rapid also offers full design and 3D rendering capabilities on the front end. e company is operating out of three different facilities now, its 25,000-square-foot corporate headquarters, where it handles all of its prototyping and short-run manufac- turing, and the new 22,000-square-foot facility, which opened in January and is dedicated to short-run manufacturing and some inventory control. In the past two months, Rapid added a 60,000-square-foot warehouse that it uses for the pack-out and distribution side of its business. Now companies can hire Rapid to handle project design, printing, and production of packaging. e company will receive the goods that need to go into the boxes, pack them, and ship them out. SUPPLY CHAIN PROBLEMS Supply chain problems have plagued the printing industry since the pandemic began, but Jack says that the materials Rapid needs are not necessarily hard to find; it's just hard to plan and ensure they don't run out. "at was the biggest challenge for us when lead times went from four or five days to five or six weeks to get material," he says. His solution was to increase inventory control in-house, so Rapid bulked up its orders. It tries to keep 3,000 sheets on hand. When inventory drops to 2,000 sheets, Rapid will reorder 3,000 more. Learn about sustainability in the packaging and printing industry at https://gpro.link/pack Large Format Laser Cutter & Engraver Cut | Engrave | Etch www.KernLasers.com 1-888-660-2755 Acrylic/Plastics Wood Metals Foam & More