Innovative Christchurch printer CQ, made an investment in quality recently, when it took custody of one of the new Océ ColorWave 600 presses from Konica Minolta
AFTER almost 20 years within the copying and print industry, David and Nicolette Parsons stepped out and started their own business in 2001. CQ (previously Copy Quality) formed with just three staff, and has now grown to 18. Digital print and wide format digital print forms most of its work, running a variety of digital presses.
The company was running an Océ TCS500 wide format colour copying, printing and scanning system, and a Canon wide format printer, but looked to upgrade its machines and grow its business. David Parsons, founder and director of CQ, jokes that he likes buying new toys but, on a more serious note, he says, “It’s an opportunity to grow that area of the business more. It was a market we were looking to fill for our customers. Having been to drupa last year and more recently PacPrint, we could see the Océ ColorWave was a standout piece of equipment delivering something new and innovative.”
Paul Thomas, market development manager for production systems at Konica Minolta, says, “The Océ ColorWave is based on technology developed by Océ using solid toner pearls. During the printing process, the toner converts into a gel, which then jets onto plain paper or other media surfaces. This jetting technique produces crisp, high quality prints, which are direct dry, water fast and robust enough for outdoor use. The printer prints these images with a speed of up to half a minute for an A0-print, making it one of the fastest wide format colour printers on the market.”
The technology impresses Parsons. He says, “It is a whole new way of putting print onto paper. The toner pearls look like jaffas or balls, and they are melted onto the media. It delivers a waterproof toner product with no ozone or odour issues. I believe this technology will flow through to other Oce products.”
Quality matters most
THE installation went smoothly and CQ found its staff required minimal training to understand the press. Reliability and ease of use matter greatly in printing, but the importance of quality rates highest at CQ. Though it’s early days yet, the machine is delivering on these attributes and living up to its promise. Parsons says, “We have had it about a month and it is performing really well. Customer feedback is excellent. They love the quality, look, feel and the ability to deliver fine lines and detail.”
This comes as no surprise to Josh Byers, national marketing manager for Konica Minolta, who comments on a host of wards the ColorWave 600 has garnered. He says “Its award list includes an iF product design award in 2008, from the International Forum Design institute; the editor’s choice award from Business Info, a UK-based business equipment magazine and website; a must see ‘em award from last year’s at Graph Expo USA; and a good design award in Japan. Add to that, the Bertl five plus star rating and you have a machine that’s impressed some stern critics.
The ColorWave is a machine for commercial printers, but we get interest from print for pay, advertising agencies, architects, engineers and even local government.”
Excellent service and trust
SUCCESSFUL printing companies make it look easy, but Parsons warns that you can’t get into digital printing in five minutes. He says, “There is a lot to learn, however the gap between digital and offset is getting smaller all the time.”
Even so, Parsons expresses an optimistic vision for the industry and says, “The Océ ColorWave 600 represents something new, giving an opportunity to lead the way and grow our business. It also fits with our aim to be a leader within the print industry.”
He has been around long enough to widen his perspective on the world’s economic situation. He says, “In the current marketplace there are both challenges and opportunities. Some customers are sitting on their hands and some are making the most of opportunities. We are the latter with the Océ ColorWave 600 opening doors with new and existing customers.”
As a customer itself, CQ looks to Konica Minolta for support in moving forward. Parsons adds, “We have a good relationship at multi levels within the Konica Minolta organisation. We have a close partner type relationship with excellent service and trust.”
