Building a UV Customization Business

SOMETIMES, YOU NEED to follow your passion — even if it doesn’t match your college degree. Jensen Bradfield, owner of Notes in Knots in Burlington, Ontario, Canada, knows the feeling well. Five years ago, she made her first hand-painted sign as a favor for a friend. Soon, she was using her sign-making skills to help pay for her degree to become a teacher. After graduation, she realized she was more interested in her business than the teaching career she had planned on. Fast forward, and her company Notes in Knots became her full-time job.

How did she decide to make her business her career and why did she eventually bring in digital production capability? Having a versatile benchtop UV printer has helped her grow her product lines — and profitability.

Jensen Bradfield, owner of Notes in Knots says she loves bringing clients’ visions to life. Her laser engraver and UV printer help her produce high-quality custom products with quick turnaround time.

In 2019, one of Bradfield’s coworkers at her job in autism services couldn’t find a print shop that could create a custom sign for her. The artist says she’s always been creative, so decided to give it a try.

From there, she launched Notes in Knots and started producing more hand-painted signs, and then used that income to pay for her college education in teaching. When the pandemic hit, she began getting many more orders and knew she needed to find a more efficient way to create her products.

“I have always run my business out of my parents’ basement,” says Bradfield. “I looked at expanding into a commercial space during the COVID pandemic, but decided it wasn’t the right move. For now, I have all the space I need.”

She decided to invest in UV production capability when business with her retail partners began to pick up. She decided she needed a more efficient method of production. That’s when she purchased her first digital printer — a Roland DG VersaUV LEF2 series benchtop flatbed. At the time, UV printing was not very common, so using this advanced technology helped her differentiate her business, she says. “In addition, transitioning to UV printing allowed me to produce full-color products with fine details, and do it faster and with consistently high quality.”

She selected a device based on the size, speed, and special-effect options with the gloss inks that made the flatbed printer a “no-brainer” choice. “I was impressed by its performance during a live demo at my local dealer, Daly Digital. I wanted to be close to a distributor for service, and I also wanted to have the capability to add unique dimensional and textural effects into my prints.”

The entrepreneur primarily uses painted MDF and acrylic, but her printer can print on a wide variety of substrates. This season she’ll be introducing more colorful, kid-style Christmas signs that are really fun, she says.

Bradfield says she always is trying out new products. “I primarily use painted MDF and acrylic, but my printer can print on a wide variety of substrates. If you think of a product, I’ve probably made it. My current product line includes vintage signs, framed signs, magnets, bookmarks, hockey pucks, wedding decor, pens, books, and many kinds of ornaments. This season I’ll be introducing more colorful, kid-style Christmas signs that are really fun.”

As far as exploring new markets, Bradfield says she has worked on quite a few wedding/bachelorette items this year. This included foamcore giant head cutouts of the bride and groom for the wedding party to use as photobooth props. The entrepreneur also made table numbers, wedding guestbooks, and signage to be placed around the venues. She says she’s interested in expanding her wedding/bachelorette category and has begun doing logos and signage for other small businesses.

Bradfield sells her products directly to customers through her website and on Etsy. Her largest in-store retailer is The Barntique in a local town named Simcoe and she says she’s also expanded her wholesale sales. Some of Notes in Knots best sellers are ornaments, vintage signs, custom signs, and seasonal tags. This season Bradfield is hoping to have at least 150 different options for custom ornaments. This will include wedding, engagement, first home, pets, teachers, family photos, baby, and memorial ornaments.

As far as or graphic trends go, Bradfield says the vintage public domain prints are a quite a hit. “Customers have been loving the moody prints with lighter frames,” she says. “I also sell a lot of products with bright, fun colors and fonts.”

The factors that set her shop apart in a crowded marketplace are the appeal of her designs and the personalized customer service she provides, she notes. “I love bringing clients’ visions to life. My laser engraver and UV printer help me produce high-quality custom products with quick turnaround time. I’ve also been fortunate to have a very loyal customer base that knows that I stand behind my work.”

Finally, the future for Notes in Knots looks bright. “I’ve recently expanded my wholesale operations and now am focused on providing printing for other businesses that are similar to mine, but don’t yet have their own printing equipment” she says. “Beyond that, I’m going to continue building Notes in Knots’ online presence and growing my product line. The versatility and capability of my desktop printer has been instrumental in helping me take my business to the next level.”