Brian Pretorius, director of operations at Sign-A-Rama – which has 88 franchises in Australia and 23 in New Zealand – says, “It is important that Sign-A-Rama employs the latest technology to provide a fast, high quality service that meets the instant signage platform. In this environment speed is critical.
“With shifts in the marketplace in relation to environmental options, having a green offering has also become commercially necessary. Factoring all these aspects, the HP Designjet L25500 proved to be the best option available.
“A growing number of local government councils, as well as large corporations, are going green. We see the HP Designjet Latex ink printer as the right solution to enable our franchises to meet the changing needs of the market and to show leadership.”
Sign-A-Rama locates its franchises in prime retail areas. Pretorius says, “We can’t put a solvent printer, which is highly toxic, into an environment like a storefront without a lot of safeguards. We’ve been working with eco-solvent printers, but there are still issues with VOCs. With the HP Latex inks, we’ve removed these concerns. This means we can provide a better working environment for Sign-A-Rama staff, and for its customers.”
The company trialled the HP Designjet L25500 for a six-month period in Perth. Pretorius says, “We put the printer through its paces producing a broad range of signage including vehicle wraps. The outcome was sensational. We currently have eight franchises with the latex machine and all are thrilled with the printer. The sign business is labour intensive, so anything we can do to reduce the time to market is a tangible benefit.
“The speed at which signs can be made, finished and dispatched is impressive. With the latex inks there is no need to de-gas, as there is with solvent and eco-solvent prints. This means we can deliver products much faster. And by reducing the time to print and install, we reduce the overall cost of the signs, a savings we can pass onto customers.”
Also commenting, Shane Lucas, director HP Graphic Arts South Pacific says, “The agreement with HP and Sign-A-Rama demonstrates the Group’s commitment to working with leading edge technology that is commercially viable and provides a sound environmental platform.
“Sign-A-Rama needed a printer that was fast, green and fitted a storefront model – the HP Designjet L25500 was the ideal solution to meet Sign-A-Rama’s high volume, quick turnaround proposition.”
Pretorius concludes, “HP’s reputation was important to us. We’ve watched HP and the company’s approach to digital printing and advancing technology in this market. They’ve achieved fantastic results and brilliant quality.”
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