Page 16 - Print 21 Magazine Sep-Oct 2021

Printer Profile
Avon powers up with
new high speed Durst
Five years after becoming Australia’s first trade-only wide format operation, Avon Graphics is significantly boosting its production power, with the new Durst P5 350 HS. Wayne Robinson reports.
The growing demand for display graphics shows no signs of abating, we see them everyday in all kinds of places, their power
to connect proven, and combining with their cost effectiveness making them a communication channel of choice in an increasing number of applications.
From boats to buses, billboards to banners, floors, walls and windows, shops, churches and casinos, there
are virtually no areas of Australian life that wide format graphics are
not impacting. And while some
major customer sectors are currently closed – exhibitions, sports grounds, conferences, concerts and events – the demand continues, and when those sectors are back next year it will surge.
The local industry has a significant number of sign and display print businesses, and an increasing number of printers who are putting in wide format printers for themselves. It also has, in Avon Graphics, a trade only wide format supplier. Tate Hone, managing director of Avon says, “We became the first trade-only wide format operation five years ago. We saw that there was a need, both for print businesses that had not installed their own wide format printer, and for those that needed extra capacity when demand peaked.”
Avon of course is best known for its trade embellishing service, it is the biggest company of its type in Australia, with extensive production facilities in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. It also has it’s own die making business which also serves the trade. It has a reputation for innovation, and its success is built on delivering quality product on time. Hone says, “As we looked at growth opportunities we had to have one that did not put us in competition with any of our clients, and we wanted to go into an area where we felt we could offer a real benefit to
customers. We saw the demand for wide format printing, we saw that print businesses could really use a trade supplier that operates to the Avon standard. Print businesses that had no wide format printing
of their own could use our services, either before they bought their own equipment, or instead of buying their own, and those that had some in-house capability could use us to manage the peaks and troughs of their workflow, meaning they didn’t have to have equipment sitting idle.”
So Avon invested, in a roll-to-roll Mimaki printer, and the conviction of Tate and his father, company founder Trevor, proved correct. Over the next five years the company installed no less than 17 new printers, roll-to- rolls and flatbeds, locating them in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, and became a trusted supplier to the trade, giving print business owners around the country the option of on- demand wide format print, and one that they evidently responded to in great numbers.
“We feel with the new high capacity Durst we have moved from operating at the shallow end of the pool to being in the deep end.” – Tate Hone, Avon Graphics
Now Avon has made its biggest investment to date, in Australia’s first Durst P5 350 HS system, which is a major step up in production power. Capable of pumping out 700sqm
of high quality print an hour, the
new Durst is a hungry beast, and gives Avon a significant step up in both its capacity and its turnaround time. Tate Hone said, “We invested
in the Durst because of its speed of production and quality of print. We live in an on-demand world, and post- Covid that demand will only increase. The new Durst is a huge uptick in capacity for Avon, and for the trade, we know it will serve the industry well. We are confident it is the right
choice for us and for the trade. We feel with the new high capacity Durst we have moved from operating at the shallow end of the pool to being in the deep end, we will be able to handle anything required of us.”
The new Durst P5 350 HS is one
of the first three to be installed anywhere in the world, and runs at twice the speed of the P5 350. Avon didn’t get the chance to see the printer in person, due to Covid restrictions there was no chance of going over
to Italy, however Tate Hone says,
“We knew the credentials of Durst technology, there is a fair amount
of it in Australia, and at printers we know around the world. Its local CEO Matt Ashman talked us through the specifications and capabilities, which added up for our requirements. We sent demo files to Italy, which knocked us out when they came back.
“Durst Oceania of course has its own service centre in Australia, which we have only heard good things about, so we had no qualms at all about installing one of the
16 Print21 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021