The software provider overhauled the pre-press operations at the Port Moresby head office of 200-staff Moore Printing, which claims to be “the largest manufacturer and supplier of business forms and general printing in Papua New Guinea”.

It was formerly a branch of Moore Business Systems before being taken over in a management buyout in 1999.

G2 installed seven iMac computers and a bevy of software such as Adobe Creative Suite, PitStop Professional v10 as well as an upgrade to Moore’s Xitron Navigator RIP.

Bernie Hockings, director of G2 Solutions, said PNG’s printing industry was becoming increasingly sophisticated, but added that installations in the region could pose extraordinary difficulties.

“We planned ahead and pre-staged all of the equipment, because you have to be conscious of the fact that they don’t have a lot of the services that we take for granted in PNG,” he said.

“Their whole print operation is based on an internet service that would only provide for one Australian home, but the biggest drama up there is consistency of power. They have to have their own generators because you never know when the power will cut out and for how long.”

Hocking added that G2 had worked with other printers in Port Moresby and also the city of Lae where company representatives are picked up from the airport in armoured vehicles and print facilities are heavily guarded compounds.

“It is a very different culture up there. They are lovely people, but… you wouldn’t catch me walking around town after dark,” he said.

“It might not be the most glamorous place in the world, but once you get inside those four walls, it’s exactly the same as back home, teething problems and all,” added Hockings.

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