Litho, Web and digital printing company Sisonke Printers and Signage Company has bought several production digital colour presses from Bytes Document Solutions, the authorised Xerox distributor in 26 sub-Saharan countries.
These include two Xerox 1000’s, a Xerox iGen 3, a Xerox iGen 4, and the first IJP2000 Wide Format printer in South Africa. The purchase, which coincided with the company’s move to new premises in Selby, Johannesburg, has effectively made Sisonke the biggest digital print shop in South Africa.
Founded in 1997, Sisonke provides a broad range of printing services and allied products, including general litho and digital printing services such as point of sale products, stationery, packaging and promotional material, and finishing.
As part of its end-to-end service the company also offers data management, customer relationship management and the installation of efficient B2B online platforms. In addition, Sisonke develops database solutions, such as media or stock administration and also offers media bases to generate print products automatically via the internet.
“The growth of digital printing technology has brought technical advancements, more options, and exciting new features to today’s commercial printing,” says Clive Slack, CEO of Sisonke. “Digital has taken the industry by storm and it’s only going to grow even more. We bought the new Xerox presses to ensure we can meet our clients’ demand for digital products.”
“The spike in demand has largely been driven by our clients in marketing. Companies need to communicate effectively with their customers and digital printing provides them with a way of doing this quickly and efficiently. We can print 30 posters in a matter of minutes,” notes Slack.
Digital printing offers a quicker response time because minimal setup is required. There are fewer steps and people involved in the printing process, and the product can be delivered quicker. It is also more cost-effective. Traditional printing services have a minimum order requirement, but digital printing gives customers the option to choose the amount they need.
This makes it ideal for producing short and medium runs. Digital data is easily stored and updated, making it easy to make changes, either prior to printing or in the following batch. There’s no need for bulk stock or to dump stock that’s out of date.
“The short runs offered by digital print allow companies to tailor their message as they need for their audience,” says Slack. “It cuts costs and time. Then there’s also variable data printing, which allows for text and graphics to be changed without stopping or slowing down the press. For example, personalised letters can be printed, to be used for direct marketing, customer relationship development and advertising.
“The reality is that Sisonke is no longer just a print company,” he adds. “We offer a one-stop shop for clients, including design, above and below the line advertising, and marketing services, making us a strategic partner for many of them. Traditional print companies that do not evolve in this way will find it difficult to remain competitive in the future as the industry is changing rapidly. We want to be sure that our business evolves in line with client needs.”
The two high-speed Xerox 1000 presses deliver sharp, rich, digitally mastered image quality, with a clear dry ink station adding impact to documents. With automated colour quality tools, the presses enable Sisonke to drive more high-quality jobs through the shop at reduced costs.
The Xerox iGen3 digital production press is an invaluable tool in providing great colour output and increased productivity, while the Xerox iGen4 brings powerful benefits to the business, including image quality, automation and productivity.
“These presses have helped Sisonke to expand its product offerings, create stronger relationships and achieve levels of success that weren’t possible even a short time ago,” says Paul Haglich, marketing manager for production systems at Bytes Document Solutions.
“Sisonke has also bought the first Xerox Wide Format IJP 2000 in the country, allowing the company to take full advantage of the growth in the wide format point of sale (POS) printing market,” he adds.
“With the IJP 2000 big and fast are no longer a problem. For example, it can print an A0 page in full colour with a resolution of 1600 x 1600dpi in just seven seconds and with Xerox FreeFlow VI Design Express software, versioned or personalised posters can be printed at rated speed which means that images and messages can be changed on the fly to target specific retail, event, regional or demographic needs.”