Four Australian businesses have been awarded by Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific at its Printing Innovation with Xerox Imaging (Pixi) Awards for 2017.
Pronto Direct was the standout business, taking three awards, including two first-place, in the Brochures and Catalogue categories. Direct Mail and Marketing took home two awards, winning the Direct Marketing category, and tying for second in Self Promotion.
Blue Star Print Victoria took second place in Books and Manuals while Enviro Print Group came second in Point of Sale Materials.
Pronto Direct has been recognised at the Pixi awards for three years running now. Geoff Davey, general manager, Pronto Direct says, “We do refer people to our website, where we feature the awards. When selling, we can show the materials that have won awards in APAC. From there we hopefully gain a better level of acceptance and trust with the customer.
“We have 100 per cent Fuji Xerox print room. Two iGen150s, and the 1000i press with a fifth colour. That does the bulk of our production for printed material.
“We also have Fuji Xerox wide format equipment.
“We have been going for 25 years. The business was traditionally a fulfillment company which evolved into direct mail, with the advent of colour it has evolved into digital print and direct mail company. We specialise in high quality digital print, and highly personalised direct mail in the text and image.
“I think historically, direct mail, or personalisation was getting a name and matching with a standard letter. Today, people who engage in multi-level direct communication have higher demands.
“We use the real estate of the envelope to personalise it, helping the letters to be opened.
“Then once its opened, we can customise things based on the organisations data. We specialise in data mining, so that each communication is directed at that customer, not a group of customers.
“We might send a letter out for automotive around service. Instead of saying we have a special, we will say, “Hi Paul, we notice your SUV is …” so that is specifically around you and your car.”
“We have adopted a strategy of layering our services for our customers. It is not uncommon to do a banner, then the next day do some small packaging, a wine box or POS piece. We see a $5000 and $5 customer with the same value. We bring them on board. There is no typical job for us, it could a financial report, or a pillow box, or direct mail. The products are a consequence of the relationship not the purpose of the call.
“We really like the output of the products me use. It enables us to be flexible and aggressive in the marketplace.”
Steve Green, executive general manager, Sales, Fuji Xerox Australia says, “This year’s PIXI Awards have been a great opportunity for our Australian customers to showcase their commitment to innovation by presenting work that demonstrates how they have been pushing the boundaries in print.
“For Pronto Direct to be awarded second place in the newly added 5th Colour Award simply proves how our partners are looking at the industry with innovative eyes. We are thrilled with the seven wins and congratulate all the winners and participants at this year’s Pixi Awards.”
Fuji Xerox says, “The 10th anniversary of this annual competition recognised innovation and excellence in digitally-printed work from users of Fuji Xerox solutions across the region – with entries from the countries and areas: Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.”
“PIXI Awards 2017 attracted 236 entries in 26 categories, with the introduction of two new categories -the 5th Colour Award and the Digital Label and Packaging Award. In line with current digital-printing trends for image quality value-add, the 5th Colour Award evolved from the innovative use of 5th colour toner such as gold and silver. The Digital Label and Packaging Award category was introduced to recognise the remarkable work in this growing segment.
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