Australian Visual Solutions (AVS)

Australian Visual Solutions (AVS) at Visual Impact housed its best-selling press the Flora 2512 flatbed printer as the vanguard of its stand. As a major supplier of Flora presses, AVS flaunted the flatbed digital printer, alongside a number of other Flora series, as its crown jewel for the three day show. AVS director Cameron Sutherland says Flora is Australia’s biggest seller of flatbeds, and the Vic supplier is proud to demonstrate its capabilities at the wide format show. With the capacity to churn out 36sqm per hour, Sutherland says Flora is the perfect press for the traditional sign company entering the flatbed market.

Canon

Flown in directly from Vancouver just hours before Visual Impact began, the fresh inkjet press Oce Arizona 2200 was centre stage at the Canon stand. The 2200 prints at a speed of up to 63.4sqm per hour, utilises Océ VariaDot ink quality and offers Roll Media Option for unattended overnight printing. Daniel Jackson, Daniel Jackson, Business Development Manager at Canon told ProPrint the Océ Arizona series has hit some 5800 installations worldwide since its release eight years ago. Also on the Canon stand was the Océ ColorWave 700, a high production large format printer which Jackson describes as the ‘Swiss army knife’ of printers.

Currie Group

Bringing its famed Currie truck back to Visual Impact this year, Currie’s presence at tradeshows, according to the group, is chiefly to support the industry that supports them. Travelling all over Australia and across the Tasman, Currie is not afraid to flaunt its powerful line of HP machines, its HP 7800 and 7900 the most popular. 2016 has been an impressive year for the group, according to NSW manager Richard Watson. Watson says, “We are doing well, bigger and better every year. We aren’t here for wide format specifically, but there is a lot of crossover with wide format and digital and we want to emphasise our offering in offset, ink, finishing, UV, labels and packaging too.” Speaking with ProPrint, Currie sales and marketing director Phil Rennell says the Currie truck has been to two Visual Impact shows now, and the group generates a significant amount of its own marketing from the exhibition. “We wanted to show customers what was released at drupa in a bit more depth, and it’s a wonderful hands-on experience for buyers,” says Rennell.

DES/Starleaton

In its first tradeshow since merging with DES last month, Starleaton and its new business partner emphasised its partnership at Visual Impact with its theme ‘better together’. Speaking with ProPrint, industrial sales manager Ian Clearly says show was a key opportunity to demonstrate the natural meshing of Starleaton and DES. “Starleaton has a long history in the sign and display market, and DES is an expert on colour management so there was little crossover in customers and expertise,” says Cleary. Sitting at the stand were two OKI ColorPainter presses and a variety of its Epson machines – which Cleary says are doing well this year.

Epson

Epson’s wide format champion was its new SureColor SC-S60600 model, also hot off the press from drupa 2016. According to Nathan Fulcher, communications manager for Epson the S60600 has garnered significant interest from printers due to its fast production and throughput, paired with its simple operation and maintenance demand. Fulcher says the SureColor 59200, released last year has been doing well for niche applications. “Visual Impact is one of the most important shows of the year, it’s a great opportunity to show customers we are the colour expects,” adds Fulcher. Its t-shirt printing press SureColor F2000 also on display – distributed also by Kiwo– is Epson’s dark horse in the textile printing market.

Graphic Art Mart

Speaking with ProPrint, Graphic Art Mart marketing manager Jessica Tailby says the supplier’s ASLAN new range of true visual films and tint, which were released only a week before the show kicked off was the stand’s highlight. Also on display were products from Avery Dennison, Arlon, Roland DG, Mimaki, CWT, Sihl and Chemica. Tailby says Graphic Art Mart’s focus at Visual Impact is to ‘show off’ their latest offerings, every show gauging more and more interest from printers. Sparking the most customer interest was the supplier’s Supreme Wrapping Film ColorFlow Series from Avery Dennison, light shifting vehicle wraps which Tailby says has a portfolio of five iridescent shades to transform any vehicle.

HP

Partnering with local reseller Celmac and setting up shop in the middle of the Visual Impact hall, HP’s stand was a sight to be envied. With its exhibition mantra dubbed as ‘application inspiration’, HP had its two new Latex presses centre stage; the brand new HP Latex 1500 and HP Latex 560. Visual Impact Sydney was the first public showing for both machines, demonstrating the latest applications of its latex ink, used as an alternative to eco-solvent based inks. “HP likes to give every one of our resellers the chance to have a HP-style exhibition stand. We have a huge focus on customer ideas, our theme is application inspiration this year,” says sign and display application specialist Jeremy Brew.

Jetmark

Jetmark’s stand at Visual Impact housed two brand new presses, its Verve ColorJet and Polo Turbo ColorJet. Verve, a true flatbed UV printer is marketed as having the capacity to print in any rigid service – and is offered at the lowest price of any UV printer on the market. The Polo, capable of printing 263sqm per hour, is Roland DG’s key high speed, high production industrial grade machine. Jetmark itself made quite the impression at this year’s Visual Impact – its stand actually the biggest in show. Derek Andrew, sales manager for Jetmark told ProPrint Jetmark is pushing brand awareness and customer connections in NSW, and a show like Visual Impact is the ideal platform to demonstrate the company’s capabilities and latest solutions.

Kiwo

Kiwo Australia made its presence known at Visual Impact this year with the debut of its brand new Burkle coating machine which utilises a UV roller to apply of gloss, matte or anti graffiti coating fluids for the POS signage and display market. Martin Stacher, managing director of Kiwo says the machine has already generated customer interest, but shows like Visual Impact are invaluable as ‘no one wants to spend thousands on a machine based only on a brochure’. Kiwo also had on display the Kornit Storm II, touted as its best seller and its first mass production industrial printer with 8 print heads printing 5 colour plus white.

Mimaki

On display at Mimaki’s stand sat the fresh UJF-6042MkII inkjet flatbed, a newborn press only months old, succeeding its predecessor the UJF-6042. The second generation printer, according to sales rep John Bryson, is around 120 per cent faster in production speed compared to conventional models, and the flatbed’s advanced maintenance mechanisms allows constant printing without interruption.  Making its debut at Visual Impact Sydney was also its grand format Mimaki UJV 55-320, marketed for super wide format printing with high speed production up to 110m² per hour and LUS-120 high performance UV curing ink including white. Last but not least, Mimaki also had its ‘bread and butter’ flatbed JFX200 machine, which has hit the ground running in Australia with over 60 installations.

Multicam

Multicam’s green and gold emblazoned stand wanted to make one thing clear to Visual Impact visitors – all of its machines and products are 100 per cent Australian made. The two models on display were its Multicam SR4018Vi, with a dual head machine for cutting foam and insulation products, and the Multicam M-I, exhibited as a solution for customers needing a small format machine for general and sign production. Stephen Heusz, technical support leader for Multicam told ProPrint the group prides itself on being Aussie made. “We don’t deal with distributers we deal directly with our end user so they know exactly who they are working with and can trust us because we are 100 per cent Australian,” says Heusz.

Mutoh

Mutoh’s stand demonstrated the latest in object printing with its ValueJet 426UF 19" tabletop, UV-LED printer. Heading the stand was national sales manager Elizabeth Cerbelli, who says Mutoh’s 426UF has seen great success in the promotional printing sector, with its ability to print on a ‘limitless’ range of promotional items including pens, golf balls and iPhone cases. Mutoh’s most exciting development however, according to Cerbelli, is its ValueJet 1938TX set for debut at PacPrint/Visual Impact next May. Released everywhere but Australia, the direct to textile press can print on closed, open non-stretch and limited stretch fabrics due to the incorporated ink gutter and a newly engineered high-end fabric feeding. Sold already to a printer in NZ, Cerbelli says the 1937TX will be a focal point at PacPrint 2017.

Neopost

Neopost focused on education, bringing a host of market analysis to the show enabling printers to see where new opportunities lay. Neopost also showed its wide format hardware from manufacturers including HP and Epson, as well as a host of media. Marketing manager Phyaebe Leonog says, “Our booth is all about education. We can all sell a printer, but they key to success for any business in this sector is knowledge. Neopost is presenting market data in an accessible format on our infographic displays, for instance printers can see where the fastest gorwing sectors of wide format are, which is currently headed by decorative wall coverings. On the hardware Neopost was showing the latest HP Latex roll to roll printer and the HP PageWide sheetfed wide format printer. In addition it had an HP Scitex FB750, and an Epson SureColor 406000 on the stand. Leong says, “Neopost provides the total solution with hardware, software, media and business intelligence.

Pozitive

Screen print specialist Pozitive managing director Phillip Trumble says the group ‘cherry picks’ the best presses on the market and its focus at the stand was its swissQprint models, one of the major brands Pozitive supplies. The Nyala and Impala series, according to Trumble, offer new high resolution modes for clear photographic work, dubbed as a ‘whole other level’ in clarity and picture. “Sales and orders are often hard at shows like these, so we use the opportunity to build brand exposure and put everything on the table for our customers,” adds Trumble. “We have a diversity of solutions, but we aren’t an out-of-the-box provider because we are very careful with picking products that have that quality and demand.”

Roland DG

Roland’s latest press on stand was its SG540, equipped with a fresh ink set, flexo print heads and rip software, this entry level wide format machine is an impressive first machine for printers wanting to venture into the WF market. It can produce indoor and outdoor advertising, vehicle graphics, banners, posters and displays, as well as labels, decals and apparel heat transfers. Director for Roland DG Australia John Wall told ProPrint its ‘print for purpose’ charity this year was for Black Dog Institute, and all of the jobs it churned out during the three day show were specifically for the institute. Roland’s brand new finance program called Roland Rental was introduced at the show too, offering printers an end-to-end support system for any machine purchased through the supplier including service, insurance, training and inks.

SAS

Signage accessories supplier (SAS) exhibited its latest pop-up-wall and Alco-Panel material to the sign and display customers milling around Visual Impact this year. The pop-up-wall textile – only several months old – is expected to be a big seller for SAS, the framework marketed as collapsible, easily cut and sized and available as straight or curved, corflute or fabric. Speaking with ProPrint, SAS marketing manager and designer Diego Cordero says Visual Impact is a great opportunity to establish face-to-face contact with SAS customers who ordinarily deal exclusively with the online ordering system.

Spicers

Spicers has its new Elitron Kombo TH dual gantry cutting table as the centrepiece of its stand, which sales manager Jason Hay says makes it super productive. Spicers is now one of the biggest wide format hardware and media suppliers in the country. Hay says, “Due to its leather making heritage Elitron has designed machines that minimise errors and waste and maximise output and productivity. The results are remarkable.’ Spicers’ offering to includes the Kombo SD range, the Kombo TH, and the Kombo TAV. The systems can be equipped with the Elitron-patented Seeker System, the intelligent digital eye for the automatic recognition of images and reference points, and the Video Projection feature, to ensure what Spicers says is the best possible material yield. Hay says, “It is accurate enough to kiss-cut vinyl decals, yet robust enough to cut through 20mm acrylic. It can owork with a host of media including Vinyls, Corflute, dtec Acrylic, Ace Screenboard, Komaprint PVC, Vanity Board. Spicers was also highlighting its range of LED signage, which it is supplying to enable printers to work in the booming digital signage sector.

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