Bytes Document Solutions, a platinum sponsor for the 2014 Africa Print Expo, showcased the IJP 2000 wide format printer, as well as the Xerox J75 colour press at the Africa Print Regional Expo, held on 12 February 2014 at Emnotweni Arena in Nelspruit.

The expo, which was attended by 294 visitors, was a platform for the entire digital print process and featured printing solutions from sheetfed A3 machines up to grand format digital equipment, and also included suppliers and manufacturers of commercial and digital printers, finishing equipment, software, media and consumables.

“Visitors got to see some of the latest digital printing equipment, including wide format and production cut sheet printers and various finishing solutions,” says Paul Haglich, marketing manager for production systems at Bytes Document Solutions. “They also had the chance to meet vendors, discuss their requirements and seek advice on effective solutions for their businesses.”

Piet Potgieter and his team from Lowveld Office Automation, a Xerox business partner to Bytes Document Solutions, concluded a sale of the J75 to White River Printers, which was announced at a press conference at the expo. The company, one of the largest printing shops in the Lowveld, offers digital and litho printing services as well as UV varnishing, die-cutting, foiling, embossing and laminating.

“In addition to our own experience with Xerox, we had heard only good reviews about Xerox’s products, which is why we decided to buy the J75 to take our business to the next level,” says Lyle Robinson, owner of White River Printers.

“EFI’s colour management is one of the major reasons we purchased the machine because customers are very picky about colour. The speed of the machine will also help us to keep up with market and customer demands.”

“We have had a long-standing relationship with White River Printers and we believe the Xerox J75 colour press is an excellent choice for a company that is seeking to grow its business,” says Haglich.

“The J75 features superb image quality and finishing capabilities, and also helps to reduce production costs. For commercial print shops producing high-volume, high-value applications, the J75 offers additional productivity, running all paper stocks at full rated speed. The press comes with advanced technology, ensuring that the J75 maintains consistent image quality automatically, no matter the length of the print runs.”

In addition to this sale, Bytes Document Solutions collected numerous qualified leads to follow up for the sale of both XJ75 and IJP2000.

“The IJP2000 astounded visitors as they could not believe that it could print a high-quality A0 poster in just five seconds for point of sale applications,” says Haglich. “The production rate of other wide format presses on exhibit was much slower by comparison, and it was amazing to see the IJP2000 in action.”

He says the Africa Print Show organisers were pleased that the expo was well attended for the region, and that it actually attracted more visitors than they forecasted.

“There were many visitors from Maputo and Swaziland and even some from Pretoria, who did not want to wait until July e to see the show in Johannesburg,” Haglich adds.

Forthcoming Africa Print events include:
* Cape Town, 12 to 13 March, CTICC;
* Polokwane, 8 May, Meropa Casino, Polokwane;
* Johannesburg, 2 to 4 July 2014, Gallagher Convention Centre; and
* Durban, 26 to 27 August, ICC Durban.