Business

Saturday April 4, 2009

The story behind Storybook

By RACHAEL KAM


The current challenging times prompted graphic designer Bobby Chuah to think out of the box and go ahead with his plan to open a photobook digital printing shop a few months ago.

His reasoning is simple – the trend nowadays is different. People, especially the younger group, who use digital gadgets like cameras and mobile phones do not just print their photos and keep them in an album.

Thus, Chuah and his wife Enya Goh, who is also a graphic designer, formed a company – Storybook Sdn Bhd – in January with an initial capital of RM500,000. They intend to provide a unique digital printing service so that their customers can print their photos in a book, calendar, diary, notebook, poster or even on greetings and name cards.

Enya Goh (left) and Bobby Chuah

Before they started the business, Chuah and his wife spent a year on research and development. They travelled to Taiwan to study the digital printing business and turned to the Internet for updates.

“The future for digital printing is bright as the game is just beginning,” Chuah tells StarBizWeek in his shop at Tropicana City Mall in Petaling Jaya.

Flipping through a photobook that is printed with a couple’s wedding photos, he says: “This is the new trend of how people like to keep their sweet memories.”

Goh says people nowadays actually like to use photos to tell stories about themselves, their families and friends.

Their customers, she says, range from students and people in their 20s to the elderly.

“It gives us satisfaction when we see our customers smiling and enjoying their ‘personal life story book’ at our outlet,” Goh says.

Chuah and Goh, together with their three staff, hope to come out with some creative designs for their range of Storybook brand products.

Goh says the company also prints invitation and wedding cards, brochures, postcards as well as gift products like mugs and T-shirts.

He says although many people are tightening their belts due to the economic downturn, demand for its products remains strong.

“We plan to open two more outlets next year, mainly in shopping malls.”

Chuah also owns an advertising firm and two computer game software and hardware shops in Petaling Jaya.

He says that after having spent 20 years in the advertising business, he finds the new diversified digital printing business, a real challenge.

Chuah says to boost its photobook digital printing business, he is distributing brochures through some restaurants and fitness centres, as well as going online.

“We are in the midst of developing an online system,” he says, adding that in today’s digital world, the online order concept is well accepted by the IT-savvy younger generation.

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