Sydney printer Allcraft Printing has bought a Konica Minolta AccurioPress C3080 at PrintEx19 with plans underway to expand into bespoke wedding invitation production combining old and new printing processes.
The owners of the Lakemba print shop, Bilal and Emma Kayal, made the decision to upgrade to the C3080 from the C1070 so they can expand their print offering on different substrates and longer sheets.
They have also taken up the optional IQ-501 intelligence optimiser which further simplifies the process and added a Horizon offline finishing unit to accompany a PUR perfect binder making it possible to make foolscap books.
The business has been in operation for 25 years with the Kayals taking over nine years ago. They also have a Heidelberg SM74 five colour and two Heidelberg platens for foiling and debossing so are set up to deliver a more individual bespoke products combining older style printing operations with new ones.
“You always have to find something new to get people to come,” Bilal told Sprinter.
“I think these days the small jobs make more money so a big run is just not making much money, just wasting time for us so we are trying to find something small with more margin.”
Emma Kayal said the path is now clear to move into the wedding invitation market, an idea conceived by the prepress operator Eleni Parisis.
“So we are now trying to specialise in wedding invitations so we’ve got the letterpress to do the foiling. I find that people are now going back to the old ways of doing their cards and invites so they have something that is interesting and unique,” Emma Kayal said.
“Brides will go anywhere and do anything to get the perfect wedding invitation so we want to offer more customised products and our pricing is quite competitive.
“We are set up and we already have everything there.”
Devan Nair, master agent, Konica Minolta, says, “He already had a Konica, he is happy with our service. The IQ unit will save him an hour and a half a day. IT will automate his workflow, and this is part of that.
“The longsheet allows him to duplex to 762mm sheet size, the longest in the industry. You can do three-up A4 for folders, and 350gsm stocks.
“He has done his due diligence, the C1070 is good quality. He tested the one stock and file over two machines and Konica gave the better result.”
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter