Page 50 - Print 21 Magazine Sep-Oct 2018

Digital
Sky’s the limit for Soar
Soar Print continues its strategy of investing in innovation with the new Océ B3 VarioPrint i300 inkjet end-to-end print system
books, and even square-bound books, all in a single pass.
“This integrated end-to-end production minimises handling, virtually eliminates errors, and delivers significant productivity improvements and cost savings, so we can deliver more products, more quickly and, with a lower cost per sheet, deliver better value for money without compromising our own profitability,” says Soar.
The media flexibility of inkjet removed the requirement for costly speciality digital stocks, and means Soar Print can mix or change media on the fly, while the Océ iQuarius ink technology delivers what the comany says is consistently exceptional output quality, which Soar says is ‘almost indistinguishable from offset’ and meets stringent ISO 12647-2 colour management standards.
“We also did a detailed analysis
of the machine’s environmental impact, considering paper, energy use, consumables, distribution and post- consumer EOL impacts, and discovered it would deliver us an estimated 60
per cent reduction in emissions over traditional offset and 11 per cent over conventional digital,” Soar adds.
Confidence in the ability of the Océ team to deliver fast and reliable
“Itisawaytostepupinto the high-volume digital market and grow our business, while improving profitability.”
technical support and service was the final clincher for the company, which intends to run the new machine ‘virtually around the clock’.
“The VPi300 really ticks all the boxes,” Soar says. “For our customers, it means they can save money, regardless of run length, and get a wider range of high quality work more quickly. For us, it is
a way to step up into the high-volume digital market and grow our business, while improving profitability and minimising our environmental impact.”
Unsurprisingly, customer feedback has been outstanding, with clients quick to identify applications where they can take advantage of the new machine’s productivity, quality
and versatility.
“They are excited and, frankly, so
are we,” Fred says. “The Océ VPi300 is another big step into the future for Soar Print and, with technology like this, the sky’s the limit.” 21
When Auckland based Soar Print installed the Océ VarioPrint i300 press it marked just the latest customer service innovation for this century-old, future-focused print company.
Established by Lt Colonel Fred Soar in 1920 and then taken over by son Harry in the 1960s, today the business is run by three grandchildren of the founder – Fred, named after his grandfather, and sisters Jenny Carter and Vicki Soar, who joined the company in the 1990s.
This third generation brought sound business skills, and experience in the accounting, auditing and legal fields, and, together, have continued the company’s pioneering approach, overseeing an expansion into digital technologies and leading the industry in sustainability, with initiatives that have earned Soar Print some of the country’s most prestigious awards.
The company’s digital transfor- mation started in 2004 with the installation of an early Indigo press, followed by a digital label press, a digital workflow and web-connected eBusiness print management platform, and, most recently, an Océ VarioPrint i300 press, from Océ New Zealand.
“Print doesn’t stay still for a minute. You have to keep moving to stay ahead of the pack, and the installation of the Océ VarioPrint i300 series digital press is just the latest step for us,” Soar explains.
Built to meet the requirements
of today’s diverse on-demand environment, the Océ VPi300 combines productivity, quality, flexibility and cost-effectiveness with impressive environmental credentials.
“We first saw the VPi300 when we went across to Melbourne for PacPrint 2017 and, right from the start, we could see its potential for our business,” Soar recalls. “It is an impressive machine – in fact, I rate it as the clear best of class for some popular categories, like short-run booklets – and we were so impressed we immediately made plans to travel
to the Océ headquarters in Venlo, to investigate further."
In the Netherlands, Soar and his general manager from Focus Print,
the company’s Hamilton branch, ran exhaustive print tests on everything from carbonless paper, to coated stocks, art stocks and standard uncoated papers, and took the opportunity to visit installations to see it in action.
“What impressed us most was
its speed, running at up to 8,700
A4 sheets an hour, the productivity delivered by its broad range of in-line finishing options, and its media versatility,” Soar recalls.
Soar Print’s VPi300 takes full advantage of these options, with inline finishing and dynamic perforating allowing it to produce everything
from single-colour transactional mail, to short-run, highly-personalised mailers, numbered coupon or NCR
Investing in innovation: (l-r) Graeme Foote, general manager, Fusion; Craig Nethercott, managing director,
Océ Oceania Region;
Kim Conner, CEO, Canon New Zealand; and Fred Soar, CEO, Soar Print.
50 Print21 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018