Page 66 - Print21 Magazine May-June 2022

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Inkjet partners
brand experience
Lockdowns have changed the way printers buy capital equipment. Even as travel and trade shows were curtailed, online and virtual demonstrations took centre stage, altering the customer/sales equation. Epson is ahead of the curve in developing its Experience Centre in Western Sydney where the borders between the physical and virtual are under pressure. Patrick Howard went along to see what’s in store.
Supply side partnerships
are the foundation of the industry. While global brands have the technology and the products, they often need on-
the-ground, local, sales and service connections and expertise. Linking up with the right reseller can often be the difference between mediocre sales and cut-through performance. The ingredients for a successful partnership involve culture, trust and complementary expertise. People have to get along too.
Epson’s long-term relationship with Starleaton ticks all the boxes. As a world leading inkjet technology brand, Epson has held pole position in the quality of its output ever
since inkjet began to make serious inroads into printing at the turn of the century. Starleaton approaches from a different angle, in touch with the majority of signage companies in Australia, its business model ensures constant customer contact in order to meet requirements in substrates or in capital equipment.
Together the two promote cutting edge technology and leading customer service. Long regarded as the quality benchmark for inkjet, the strength of the Epson brand
has followed the development of
its revolutionary PrecisionCore inkjet heads, which sets it apart. Leveraging the ability of the piezo heads to operate across numerous widths, while outputting a wide range of inks and varnishes, it continues to refine the technology with new Si MEMs-based systems.
It has expanded into areas other than its original proofing and
poster market. This was always to
be expected, but a tour of the Epson Experience Centre at Yagoona in Sydney’s west still reveals a surprising breadth of SureColor printers, for a
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wide range of purposes and products. Now venturing into the flexible packaging and signage market
with its first flatbed machine, the SureColor V7000, the range extends all the way down to its market leading, entry level, SureColor F2160 direct-to-garment (DTG) t-shirt printer. In between there’s the brand’s new resin machines, SureColor R5000 and R5000L to take on the point-of- sale and decor ‘latex’ market. There
is also a 1.6 metre dye-sublimation machine, F9460 and F9460H, running UltraChrome DS ink that the brand claims produces better results with four colours than competitive machines can do with six.
Co-starring partners
The technology is only part of the story. The industry as a whole has battled with capital equipment sales over the past couple of years. With printers unable to travel and trade shows cancelled, the importance of Starleaton to the Epson wide-format strategy has never been greater. The substrate material supplier is a supply partner of long standing. With a national network of warehouses and
a strong cohort of representatives in daily contact with the sign and display industry, it has helped maintain a steady level of sales interest.
According to Ines Eaton, marketing manager, the Epson brand is a key element in Starleaton’s go-to- market offering.
““For many years, Epson has been a key part of our product portfolio. It’s a high quality brand that’s very attractive to our clients. We have a very good partnership,” she said.
Making the journey out to Yagoona to meet invited Starleaton customers in a showroom setting, she admits to a challenging time in recent years trying to get buyers in
front of equipment. “But business is picking up. This new series of open houses is a great way to encourage our customers to get in front of the latest technology, and meet with our product specialists face-to-face.
“Anyone who is interested in discussing the Epson range should get in touch with us to discuss some of our great deals.”
“Rather than going for the big fanfare and talking about how many people you get, I want this place to be open all the time.” – Ryan Warby, Epson
Above Inkjet partners at the Epson Experience Centre: Ines Eaton and Ryan Warby
Visionary
On the day, the Experience Centre was still a work in progress under the eye of Ryan Warby, Epson business development manager, who speaks with a true visionary’s enthusiasm. He sees the Centre as the future of capital equipment sales, a stage for ongoing product demonstrations as well as
for introducing new technology, not just a typical showroom hosting a few events during the year.
“It’s like an open door policy. Rather than going for the big fanfare and talking about how many people you get, I want this place to be open all the time. We want people to come who are genuinely interested, the quality not the quantity. And so far, that’s what I’ve found; the people coming here are very interested.
“It’s also important for Ines and Starleaton to know they’re welcome to bring people here any time. It’s