Digital Colour Centre goes uptown with Xerox

Digital Colour Centre, a well-established digital print and design shop in Cape Towns CBD precinct, has purchased a Xerox Versant 80 Press from Cape Office Machines and Bytes Document Solutions.

The new press reinforces Digital Colour Centres focus on delivering optimal quality at competitive rates while using multiple machines to ensure zero downtime and guaranteed turnaround for almost any job type. Founder and managing director Shane Hutchison says the Versant 80 is the ideal complement to the business, with unrivaled print quality compared to other machines from competitive brands. I've been in this business a long time, as my reputation in the industry will attest, and I've used every brand there is to use, and still nothing compares to the quality and reliability I get from Xerox, says Hutchison. What print shop owners sometimes forget and whats even more important than the machines is the support you get from the people behind the brands.

In our case, the relationship I have with Cape Office adds so much value to the deal that I wouldn't consider anything else because of it. I ask a question and get a straight answer, without any upsell, so I know when I need to make a step up in equipment, I get the right machine for the job every time.Hutchison says he first started looking for an upgraded Xerox when he needed to print heavier stock more frequently There was a period where we were getting numerous requests for products printed on heavier 300gsm and 350gsm stock, which my existing machines couldn't handle, he says. We started looking at different options, and while the Versant wasn't top of the list, once we saw the quality especially with solid colours we were sold. Not only can we now print far larger runs on far heavier stock, but we can also look forward to extending the machines capability with oversized prints (330mm x 660mm), something no other printer could offer us.

The Xerox Versant 80 features a robust print engine that supports 350gsm media at speeds of up to 80ppm for faster turnaround, higher efficiency and no slowdowns up to 220 gsm coated and uncoated stocks. A Performance Pack option maintain top speeds on 350gsm media, and an inline spectrophotometer and Automated Color Quality Suite produce stable and accurate color on every job. The press also features Xeroxs compact belt fuser technology, which applies uniform heat and pressure needed to bond Xerox Emulsion Aggregation (EA) dry ink to a wide range of surfaces without slowing production speed, while optimising image quality on solids, tints and halftones.Cape Office Machines consultant Bryn Whithair says independent print shops like Digital Colour Centre rely on the production quality of their machines to attract repeat business, and on flexible pricing models from service providers to stay competitive. Printers must not only be able to produce consistent quality but also have a predictable revenue stream from their equipment, says Whithair. The first part is a factor of the machine itself but the second relies on the partnership with a service provider that understands the market and is able to support the printer with a pricing model that's best suited to the business.

Hutchison concurs: I've always asked for and gotten a fixed per-click cost irrespective of ink coverage, he says. When I run a job for a client I don't want to worry about fluctuating costs due to ink coverage that changes from job to job. It seems like a small issue but it actually makes a big difference to a business like mine, where I don't tolerate any compromises to quality regardless of quantity. In both respects Cape Office and Xerox have set the bar extremely high.   

About Bytes Document SolutionsBytes Document Solutions, a division of the Bytes Technology Group, is Africas leading document management technology and solutions company, offering a comprehensive range of products and services. A wholly-owned division of JSE-listed Altron, Bytes Document Solutions is the authorised Xerox distributor in 26 sub-Saharan countries and has an annual turnover of more than R2 billion. www.xerox.co.za