Floato Photo-Balloon hits the market

The Floato has been invented by Philip Lang, CEO of Magic International. Lang, who has a background in engineering, has been granted patents worldwide for a 24in balloon with a flexible waterproof coating. Its patented packaging allows the Floato to be fed easily through a range of large-format Epson inkjet printers for bespoke text and image application. 

Lang has linked up with specialist distributor Citipost which is providing an online print-on-demand production and fulfilment service. Images are uploaded, a message added and one of five styles selected via the Internet. Orders are received at Citipost’s main London depot and printed on site via a range of Epson Stylus Pro 3880, 4880, 4900 and 7890 inkjet printers using the Epson UltraChrome K3 Vivid Magenta or UltraChrome HDR inkset. The Floato is inflated with helium, gift boxed with ribbon and weight, and despatched on the same day.

Lang has tested the Floato service thoroughly: “We sold 10,000 for the Royal Wedding and, in an online trial for Father’s Day, up to 500 personalised balloons were sold per day, clearly demonstrating the appeal of such a quality personalised gift.”  

To provide balloon customers with a more permanent memento, Lang has also added a super high quality framed photo canvas print to his product range. “Our aim is to continuously expand and develop our range of innovative photo gifts delivering outstanding quality at exceptional prices. However, it’s not simply a matter of producing quality products. We have now been able to put a highly efficient production and fulfilment workflow in place which ensures customers will have the very best experience and retailers are able to offer a top quality range of photo-gifts at affordable prices. “