Starleaton has turned 40 and to celebrate the 100 per cent Australian family owned supplier of print consumables and equipment is turning its sizeable PrintEx stand into a delight for all the senses.

The stand (I28) is located where PrintEx and the Label and Packaging Expo meet and will serve as the Australian launch pad for the EFI Pro 32r wide format press during the show which runs from August 13 to 16 at the Sydney Showgrounds.

The production level press offers print speeds of up to 207 square metres per hour in four colour CMYK plus the white ink option for greater profit opportunity.

It also features a seven pL UltraDrop Technology for high definition print quality.

The EFI has up to 635 dpi true resolution and uses LED for lower power consumption and the use of thinner substrates.

Other features of the stand include a fully immersive media application experience and the provision of a complimentary colour health check. There will also be full textile, personalisation and signage workflow demonstrations.

All of Starleaton’s key brands including Zünd, Epson, EFI, Neschen, Impulsa, Flexa, Roland and more will be represented.

1978 was a big year for Starleaton’s founders Peter and Lea Eaton.

Not only did they welcome their first child but they also began their foray into wholesale print supplies after Peter Eaton saw a gap in the market to provide next day delivery for laminating film and ran with it.

Peter Eaton saw an opportunity in importing and distributing laminating films and embarked on a trip to the UK to find a supplier and have a few pallets shipped to Australia.

From there, the family, including a young Ben, who would later become the chief executive officer of the business, would cut the rolls into 100m lengths, roll them up and wrap them in brown paper for distribution.

For Ben Eaton, the smell of the solvent adhesive will never leave him.

“The smell of the adhesive just embedded in my brain,” Ben Eaton said.

“When Dad first started he was bringing in 100 metre rolls of material and selling them in 10 metre rolls. He had this set up in the living room where he would roll it out on the floor and with a three metre measuring tape he would measure the lengths out.”

“The smell is something that I certainly remember and we have lots of photos of that time.”

Twenty years later Ben Eaton joined the business as a member of the warehouse team and was followed in 2003 with sister Melissa and finally brother Joshua came on board in 2012 with each bringing their own individual strengths to the business.

Between 2000 and 2004 the business broadened out from its Sydney base to also include Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Then in 2016 Ben Eaton took over the reins of the company from his father and this was followed by a series of acquisitions in Adelaide, Newcastle and Canberra. This expansion brought an overnight doubling of Starleaton’s reach in both customers and industry sectors.

In 2017 Peter Eaton officially retired with the business in the solid hands of the next generation with Ben the chief executive officer, Joshua the chief operating officer and Melissa in charge of human resource management.

This year also brought about the first ever dedicated Starleaton site in Auckland.

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