Colemans Printing in Darwin will host a launch event on Friday February 17 to celebrate another milestone in the 57-year history of the company: the installation of the first HP Indigo digital presses for the Northern Territory.
At the launch, Colemans Printing will open its doors to clients, competitors and the Territory’s creative professionals who will be given the opportunity to see the company’s two new HP Indigo 5500 digital presses in operation. This is the first time the HP Indigo technology will be demonstrated in Darwin.
Established in 1955, Colemans Printing was the first commercial print company in Darwin. Since that time Colemans Printing has developed into a leading commercial printer employing 52 people and servicing the Top End from its head office in Darwin and its facility in Alice Springs.
Managing director Tony Coleman says the company’s investment in the HP Indigo technology is demonstrative of its belief that there are substantial growth opportunities in the Northern Territory driven by investment in industry and the ripple effect of major projects such as the Inpex LNG venture.
Established as an offset printing house, Colemans has offered a basic digital printing service in the past, but Coleman says the investment in the HP Indigos signals its commitment to position itself as a high-end digital print provider. In addition to servicing the short-run, high quality digital print market, the HP Indigo digital presses will also enable the company to provide new services to its clients such as variable data.
“The HP Indigo presses deliver enormous flexibility in the types of jobs we can take on and the substrates we can use, the speed at which we can go to market and the range of products we will be able to develop,” says Coleman. “We’ve thought about making this move for some time now, and after extensive research and speaking with other HP Indigo users at the Dscoop event in Singapore last year, we are convinced that the HP Indigo technology is the platform on which to drive growth well into the future.”
Currie Group, HP Indigo’s channel partner in Australia, has provided comprehensive training on site, which Tony Coleman says has helped the company get up and running very quickly. “It was just too disruptive to send my team to Singapore or Melbourne for training, so the trainers, equipment, ink lab and knowledge came to Darwin. We were running our old system and the new machines side by side for a week or so, but as soon as our team was up to speed we moved everything to the new machines without hesitation. Everyone is excited about the quality of print we can achieve with the HP Indigos and the opportunities ahead.”
HP Indigo’s Print Care, which enables the operator to seek assistance at the push of a button, was another deciding factor in the purchase of the presses. “Being located in a remote city like Darwin there are always issues around service and support, but Print Care removes any concerns we have in that respect and we are confident with the backup provided by HP and the Currie Group,” Coleman notes.
“The quality of the print achievable on the HP Indigos combined with the speed and flexibility of these machines may well render our A3 offset presses redundant. Offset is not a growing market for us, in fact I would say we are treading water. The way the industry is going if you don’t get on board now with a quality digital print offering you are going to be left behind with the dinosaurs.”
Colemans Printing Launch event will take place on Friday February 17 at 3pm. For more information contact Colemans Printing 08 8982 4000.