Adopting new technology early has helped provide Quality Press with an edge in the Western Australia print market for more than half a century.

Atish Shah, managing director at the company, believes that in a competitive environment, you need to stay one step ahead. He says, “We are a progressive company, a market leader in WA, especially for new tech. We adopted CTP early and we started our own digital division in 2006. As our customers’ requirements change, we need to be flexible and ready to adapt. Early adopters get the benefits of new solutions before the rest catch up.”

Last year, when Quality Press found its digital presses getting old, it looked around for replacements. He says, “We researched what was out there, looking at all the options. We felt the Ricoh solution made a good fit for our business.”

The company installed two Ricoh digital production presses in May, being the Pro C7100 and the Pro C9100, which came with a Plockmatic saddle stitcher. Shah continues, “We tested the Ricoh printers in Sydney. We really put them through their paces before making that decision to purchase.

“We believe the colour reproduction is excellent and we are able to transition jobs from our other presses on to the Ricoh quite easily. That is mainly the general commercial work that comes along. We have transitioned that work to the Ricoh machines because the quality coming off them is really good.

“The machines have settled in nicely. They are reliable and they offer real ease of use. We have had no issues apart from the normal teething problems you get with anything. When the Ricoh printers were installed, their engineers responded really quickly.”

Ricoh prides itself in its support and service. Shah adds, “We have fantastic support from the Ricoh team here, whether they are sales people or maintenance staff. Ricoh has also given sales training to our sales people showing them how they can sell specific products to our clients.”

Fifth option adds value

THE Ricoh Pro C7110 offers a fifth colour option.

Shah says, “This is something new for the market. Using this option, we have already completed quite a few jobs on coloured paper. We can offer the ability print on coloured stock and white flood and print on top of that. What this option does, it helps us to retain a reasonable margin and to retain the customer loyalty that every business needs.

“We have done work for customers for their window signage using clear foils and white ink and we have got a few shopping centres and retail franchises that are giving us jobs that put the clear toner on black stock to good. It delivers an impressive effect.

“We have also printed laminated sheets for that spot UV effect. It allows us to upsell the general product. We try and identify the customers that will benefit from these options. We haven’t yet pushed the possibilities with the security features such as adding a varnish.

“We have different customers, like agencies and designers, looking at what the Ricoh machines can offer. Some of them have changed their designs to incorporate the features the machines have. It mainly depends on the kind of work they need to do.”

Digital growth continues

Like other print businesses, Quality Press has seen margins slide for offset printing but digital growth can compensate for some of that.

Shah says, “As time has gone by, our digital business has grown about 10 per cent year on year. Toner has come a long way from the old toner based machines. The technology has really advanced and the quality is so good. We don’t get the old issues like banding. The majority of cases we can get close to the Pantone colours.”

The Ricoh digital production presses arrive at an affordable price. He says, “The investment, compared to the other main digital players, was much more favourable for us. But they work like the big machines and our operators love working on the Ricoh machines”

Quality Press employs around 65 staff over a number of printing disciplines. Shah says, “We have large format signage, business forms and offset as well. Basically, we need to be a one stop print shop for all our customers. As times change we need to offer our customers more than just a few types of products.

“A big strength for us is that we have such an excellent team, a great mix of experience and keen young people. We have an ongoing apprentice programme. We generally have about three to four apprentices at any one time.”

Quality Press will continue to adapt when it needs to. Shah concludes, “We are here for the long-term. We are flexible and we adapt to changes and adopt changes for our customers’ sake. We have now made Ricoh a part of that.”

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