Commercial print service provider USS Graphics has become the first company in Africa to invest in an Inca Onset printer. The Onset R40i, which is currently being installed with three-quarter automation at its premises in Epping, Cape Town, will enable the company to expand its service offering and venture into new markets.
The company is one of a very few production houses in South Africa that offers what it calls ‘campaignability’ – the ability to produce all elements of a campaign in one location. This includes small and large format screen, offset and digitally printed applications. With the global shift towards shorter and shorter print runs and the need for variable data, USS Graphics knew it had to adapt its fleet to reflect this market change.
“We didn’t want to invest in another digital device to replace our conventional presses, but rather something that could complement it,” comments Louis Burger, managing director of USS Graphics. “The Onset and its ongoing development has been on our radar since it was launched in 2007, but we started in depth discussions with Fujifilm and other manufacturers offering high end wide-format digital printers at drupa 2012.”
So, after comprehensive testing and being satisfied that Fujifilm’s support base in South Africa was adequate to maintain a digital printer of this magnitude, USS Graphics placed an order for the Inca Onset R40i. Louis continues: “It was important for us to find the best device that could deliver the optimum quality vs speed ratio, and the Onset R40i proved to be the ideal choice.”
Louis is excited about the wealth of benefits that the Onset R40i will bring to the business: “Although this isn’t our first digital large-format device, the Onset R40i will set new quality and productivity standards. Not only will it allow us to expand into new markets, but it will also maximise profitability on certain jobs as it eliminates the need for pre-press and make-readies, as well as certain post-press processes.”