Pinnacle Print Group, a leading Melbourne commercial offset printer, decided to add a digital press to its press fleet to shorten production and turnaround times. To be feasible, it was critical that output quality and colour consistency was maintained across the offset and digital presses so client work could be switched easily between the devices, whilst maintaining their commitment to high quality and the environment.
The company chose a Fuji Xerox solution comprising the DocuColor 5000AP digital press, FreeFlow Print Server and the Colour Managed Workflow Solution, powered by ORIS. Pinnacle has greater flexibility in determining workflow and can now do in-house jobs that were previously outsourced. Pinnacle now prepares a large proportion of client proofs on the DocuColor 5000AP, reducing both turnaround time and costs.
Pinnacle Print Group is a leading commercial printer in Melbourne, with over 25 years’ experience and 50 employees. Working for both national and international brands, Pinnacle produces high quality brochures, packaging, point of sale materials, stationery and swing tags. The company’s principal service is high quality offset production, which is managed through its Fujifilm XMF workflow system. Pinnacle Print Group prides itself on environmental accreditation and commitment to its clients’ satisfaction.
Over time, Pinnacle had experienced a noticeable change in clients’ requirements. With production run lengths and turnaround times shortening, it became increasingly clear that the company needed a digital production solution to complement its current offset production offerings. Such an approach would also allow the company to reduce the number of digital production jobs it outsourced.
The loss in revenue and profit was not the only reason why outsourcing was unsatisfactory, according to Pedro Carlus, director of Pinnacle Print Group. “We no longer have full control once a job is outsourced. Substantial staff time can be lost managing an external supplier to ensure that the job meets the standards we and our clients expect.”
Adding digital production to its offset production capabilities also offered Pinnacle increased flexibility, new revenue opportunities and ability to lower costs. However, it was crucial that these systems were fully integrated into the Fujifilm XMF workflow, and the highest standards of colour management and consistency had to be maintained across the various presses.
“Ensuring identical colour output from a digital and an offset press is a significant technical challenge,” says Vic Petroniyevich, prepress manager at Pinnacle. “Unless you can solve this challenge it would be impossible to use both presses for printing a single job – the client will notice the inconsistency of output. That means that the digital press would likely be under-utilised and one would have little flexibility about which device to send jobs to. In short, much of the benefits of the new press would be lost.”
“We’ve been wanting to get digital into the mix for a while,” says Pedro Carlus. “But we were looking for a solution with proven colour management capabilities and, of course, high quality digital output.”
Pinnacle Print Group chose a solution from Fuji Xerox comprising three key elements: the DocuColor 5000AP digital colour press, the FreeFlow Print Server, and the Colour Managed Workflow Solution, powered by ORIS, which allows Pinnacle to have complete control over colour.
“We chose the Fuji Xerox solution because it ticked all the boxes,” says Pedro Carlus. “Our decision was made even easier when we visited Fuji Xerox’s technical support facilities in Sydney and realised the team would support our needs long after implementation of the solution.
Pedro Carlus explains the solution has achieved Pinnacle’s objectives and more. After a smooth installation process, Pinnacle Print Group quickly began to realise the benefits of complementing their offset workflow with digital production equipment.
“Our offset print operators are delighted that they do not have to set up the offset press for smaller jobs, and I’m pleased we can maintain margins by completing this type of work on the digital press.”
Bringing digital production in-house, Pinnacle now has complete control over the quality and colour of their digital print work. Using the production capabilities and colour accuracy of the Fuji Xerox solution, Pinnacle can now readily allocate jobs between offset and digital to meet customer demands.
“I feel like I am in control with the ORIS system,” says Vic Petroniyevich. “I know I’m going to get the same result between presses even on different days. This is critical in a business where consistency is as important as quality.”
The new setup has banished any reservations Pinnacle once had about printing jobs on a digital device. “With the DocuColor 5000AP and ORIS solution in place, we do not feel at all hesitant about proposing a digital production run,” says Pedro Carlus. “The quality speaks for itself.”
There have been additional benefits. Before the introduction of the solution, client proofs were prepared on inkjet printers. It became apparent that the standard of the proofs are as good on the ORIS-calibrated DocuColor 5000AP as on the inkjet machines, but with a much faster turnaround time.
“Using the digital press, we can now deliver high quality proofs in less than ten per cent of the time it took on the inkjet. We do this with complete confidence that the proof replicates the colours and layout that the client will see in the final job,” adds Vic Petroniyevich.
Pinnacle Print Group is confident that there will be further benefits from their investment. “So far it has been about fitting digital to meet our current needs and we are very happy with the results,” says Pedro. “But in time, I expect we will look to evolve our business and pitch for a greater share of the ever growing digital print business out there.”
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