Printer invests in Océ flatbed and cutter, moves into short-run packaging

Gateway Printing landed a $100,000 client on the same day it made its second installation in three months.

Owner Richard King said the Perth firm won the alcohol client due to the quality of its new Océ Arizona 480 GT flatbed.

He told ProPrint the client had been impressed by the vibrancy of the colours, the detail and the absence of banding – and that the ongoing partnership could be worth $100,000 per year.

The Arizona was installed in July and was followed by the arrival of Western Australia’s first Océ ProCut 2500L cutter on 23 September.

[Gallery #1: Gateway installs the ProCut]

“I see it as a positive that we have this equipment and no one else does, because we can provide the quality that nobody else can,” he said.

King said one of the cutter’s most attractive features was that it could be integrated with the flatbed.

He said the two Océ machines would allow the 20-staff operation to diversify into short-run packaging, which he said would offer higher margins than its core business.

“There’s quite a few dollars in these pieces of equipment, so we’re actively marketing it to the 4,000 clients we’ve got on our database along with Google optimisation,” he said.

[Gallery #2: Gateway installs the Arizona]

Gateway’s fleet includes a Konika Minolta Bizhub C650, Mimaki CJV30 printer-cutter, five-colour Shinohara, two-colour Shinohara, two-colour Sakurai perfector and two-colour Itek, he said.

King told ProPrint that Gateway had made big strides since he bought the business in January 2012.

“I’ve worked the business very hard and we’re having double-digit growth, not just because of the new equipment,” he said.

Meanwhile, Canon’s Southern Region manager, Dale Hawkins, said the ProCut could reduce printers’ labour costs and help them enter new markets.

“Walk into most wide-format print businesses without a digital cutter and you will see an entourage of staff with steel rulers and Stanley knives cutting through coreflute, foamboard, banners material and stickers,” he told ProPrint.

“That’s hugely labour-intensive and can also be dangerous. The Procut will take this manual labour and innovate it to an automated digital process that integrates seamlessly into the wide-format product creation process.”

Hawkins said the ProCut would also allow printers to cut acrylic, metals, medium-density fibreboard and X-board into display stands.

[Industry Insider: How to get installs right]

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