Melbourne wide format printer Mezographic has installed the country’s third super-high productivity HP FB10000, and a new Latex 7600 to update its technology and expand its point of sale offering.
The 21-year-old family business, which mostly does trade work and jobs for agencies and print managers, has added a HP Scitex FB10000 and a HP Latex 3000, to replace a HP Scitex FB7600 and two smaller latex printers.
Director Frank Mezo says he had originally planned to buy another HP printer until he found out about the FB10000 at drupa 2012 and was flown to Israel by the manufacturer to see it in development. The company then bought the FB7600 to tide it over in the meantime.
Mezographic is the third printer in Australia to install a FB10000 after Sumo Visual Group in March and Active Display recently.
[Related: More kit installs]
The company moved into a new site in Dandenong three times the size of its old one 18 months ago to prepare for the extra production of the FB10000, which has doubled the company’s output in the past two months since it was installed, and increased its staff by a third to 24.
Mezo says his company will utilise the machine’s production speeds of up to 625sqm an hour to complete mass produced jobs at fast turnaround times needed for retail jobs, while being able to maintain high image quality.
“Deadlines for point of purchase materials are tight. A two or three-day turnaround time is average as marketing collateral for retail is updated so often,” he says.
“The combination of speed and quality the HP Scitex FB10000 offers has empowered us to bring in more business by pushing into areas that would traditionally be handled by analogue printers.
“The technology is unlike anything I have ever seen before, especially in its varying drop size.”
The Latex 3000 will be used for fine detail work, producing high-end graphic prints for close viewing, such as light boxes for the retail environment, making use of its 1200 dpi capability.
Mezo says it will print seven times faster than the two smaller Latex printers it replaced, and be significantly more cost-efficient to run with its greater power efficiency and cheaper consumables.
Mezo says the investments are driven by increased sales, opportunities to get deeper into the point of sale market and the need to stay on top of technological change.
He says Mezographic never keeps its kit for more than four years and upgrades something every two years to stay on top.
“The industry is changing so quickly so you have to invest in the newest technology or be left behind,” he says.
“Our runs are getting longer as we add new business and the price of jobs goes down each year so you need faster speeds to keep up with orders while maintaining the expected high quality expectations.
“These new printers will also save us money on labour and consumables, making us more efficient and profitable, and be able to handle larger format sizes.”
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