Trade printer Cheque-Mates says its new Xerox® iGen® 150 Press is expected to double the company's print volumes in the next two years.
“The iGen is arguably the best machine in the country, with great throughput and quality, and helps remove 50 percent of the steps of a traditional digital print job," says Rodney Frost, CEO of Cheque-Mates, a member of the Lamson Paragon Group. “This helps reduce delivery times from up to five days to one day, with a job typically on the press within 10 or 15 minutes of us receiving it.”
Cheque-Mates provides trade businesses including copy shops, printers, print management companies, mail houses and advertising businesses with digital print, mailing, fulfilment and distribution services including inkjet and laser overprinting, digital colour printing, warehousing and logistics, imaging and scanning.
The company stepped up its output last year with the acquisition of two Xerox Color 800 presses and soon had its eye on the Xerox® iGen® 150 Press.
"In as short a time frame as 18 months from the investment in our first Color 800, we saw the need to take the step and invest in an iGen," says Frost.
The installation was completed at the company's Sefton plant in Sydney's west in two days, with a Fuji Xerox Australia manager remaining on-site until 1am then returning at 6am to ensure the iGen was up and running. “They were extremely committed to making sure we were successful,” Frost says.
With the iGen now processing sufficient volumes to support nearly two full shifts, Frost is confident of further growth, flagging a move to three eight-hour shifts per day over five days when volume justifies.
"When we get a job here it is typically urgent, so lack of downtime is very important to us," says Frost. "Fuji Xerox equipment tends to be highly resilient and the company makes service technicians available during both of the eight-hour shifts that we currently run five days a week. Whilst we have had some initial challenges bedding the solution in, we are getting on top of those with the determination of both our team and the Fuji Xerox Service team.
"I would expect our volumes to double within two years,” says Frost. "With this is going to come some important decisions around finishing as well, so that’s the next key area for us."
The Lamson Group of businesses - offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and the Philippines - focus on trade services to the traditional commercial print market. Cheque-Mates was established as the digital arm to meet trade requirements of digital print, work flow automation and business process re-engineering.