Durban-based printing and production company CDR Repro has doubled its digital printing output since the purchase of a Xerox Colour J75 Press from Xerox Digital Print Specialists and Bytes Document Solutions.
Founded in 1995 by owner Peter Duckitt, CDR Repro supplies independent graphic designers, small-to-medium design agencies, larger corporates and a number of franchised restaurants and hospitality customers with high-quality design and print services, from small-format stationery to large format, high-end products such as wall art, signage and wallpaper.
“Colour accuracy and print quality are not negotiable in our business,” says Duckitt. “This was true even before we switched from a purely scanning and repro business to full service digital printing in the late 1990s.”
Duckitt says the J75 is the latest in a long line of Xerox printers the company has purchased, having been a Xerox shop since day one.
“The J75 replaced an end-of-line Xerox DocuColor 5000 that had served us amazingly well up to that point, further improving quality and consistency while upping capacity and lowering click cost,” he says. “It continues our long association with Xerox, which we chose based on its reputation as the industry standard in copying and printing, and has doubled our monthly digital printing output since we put it to work.
Designed with flexibility in mind, The Xerox Colour J75 is the centerpiece of a scalable digital production centre boasting some of the industry’s most advanced printing and media handling features. It is built to lower cost and improve turnaround time for demanding customers that require optimal print quality and colour accuracy from every job.
With a built-in Automated Color Quality Suite (ACQS) inline spectrophotometer, the Xerox Colour J75 color delivers management tools that improve color stability, accuracy and repeatability out the box. The spectrophotometer is placed strategically within the paper path, so processes like color calibration and destination profiling automatically streamline workflow, further boosting productivity.
“The J75 doesn’t compromise quality for additional functionality, and in fact lowers the cost per print for the operator,” says Xerox Digital Print Specialists sales director Mervin Achary.
“For example it includes Xerox’s unique HD engine, capable of printing the heaviest paper stock at full speed and highest resolution (2400 x 2400 dpi),” he says. “It also features a self-cleaning assembly and Xerox’s low melt EA (Emulsion Aggregation) Dry Ink technology.”
Duckitt says the J75 has changed the way CDR Repro assigns print jobs that would otherwise be sent to its onsite litho press.
“Previously if we got a job for 2 000 A5 or 1 000 A4 flyers we would have sent it to the litho press, because the cost-per-click of digital made it prohibitive at the time,” he says. “Nowadays these and even larger jobs go through the J75 without skipping a beat. The quality is on par, colour accuracy perfect and cost significantly lower. We haven’t had a single customer complaining about quality or turnaround time, which is the most important metric of all.”
Achary says that in a competitive market and a struggling economy, being able to consistently deliver quality products faster and more cost effectively is the main differentiator for companies like CDR Repro.
“Marketing and printing budgets aren’t increasing, so even established companies like CDR Repro have to stay well ahead of the curve to compete,” he says. “That’s where the reliability of a Xerox press comes into play, because downtime in this business can be fatal.”
Duckitt concurs: “The J75 is the most reliable Xerox machine we’ve had,” he says. “Technology has improved to the point where we’re seeing the technicians less and less, even for standard maintenance work. Fortunately, the relationship with our suppliers is such that we get immediate service as and when we need it, which you’d expect from the companies charged with upholding the reputation and status of the Xerox brand.”
