Page 27 - Print21 November-December 2022

Inkjet Printing
So along with the name change came a change in focus, with digital printing and finishing inhouse,
at first with a pre-owned digital press, purchasing more equipment
as the work and opportunity to expand arose. Customers came mainly through word of mouth – Toowoomba is a self-contained city, satisfied customers would send contacts to Serengeti. The work was mainly business to business, with some still walking in off the street. It was a constant dynamic of managing the increasing workload with the limited production equipment.
Always aware of the customers Games bought a wide format latex printer, coupled with a die cutter, a major investment at the time, into a new market, so representing a real challenge, but courage won out. The investment was made and within 18 months it was generating 40 per cent of the company’s revenue, producing everything from signage, stickers, and window graphics.
Today the company is located within the grounds of the University of Southern Queensland, as that
is where Ellipsis was based when Serengeti bought much of its kit, including the Fujifilm Jetpress. The location doesn’t mean the Uni print jobs automatically come to Serengeti though, the work all goes out to open tender. It was fortunate to get onto the tender board, with selected other print operators. All work is quoted on, as per the tender agreement.
The acquisition was a major
step, but one that the growth of
the business had been heading towards. Warren Games says, “It wasn't a big decision to make, the numbers stacked up, the rationale was there, we were ready. What we were doing was working out, but
we knew without something like
this we would never be big enough.
It was an opportunity to go from a small printer to more of a medium sized printer or a more commercially viable printer, especially with all the commercial finishing equipment
we managed to secure as well. We were able to step into a fully set up, running, commercial print business.” Finance came from private backers, with the banks baulking at print.
Games says, “If we had not had the amazing team that we did with us,
it would have been a much harder and more daunting prospect. We have also been fortunate in sourcing equally brilliant new members, with team numbers having doubled since the acquisition.”
B2 inkjet Jetpress
The centrepiece of the company
now is the Fujifilm JetPress, the
B2 sheetfed inkjet print system. Backed by Fujifilm, one of the largest suppliers in the graphic
arts space, the JetPress represents advanced technology, and a new way of printing, with only a handful of B2 inkjet presses running in ANZ. Games says, “When the tender was launched and with us having no knowledge of the JetPress and its capabilities, it being the only one in Australia, there was limited access to someone running one of these machines. We did a global search of who had one, making contact with
a printer in England, who was and continues to be very helpful.”
The prospect of taking on the JetPress was not daunting to the Games’, they put the process through the same matrix of logic that they apply to all their decisions. Games says, “We could see the quality was superb, with no makeready the
short run and on demand work becomes viable, as does work with variable data. The JetPress gives us
a lot to take to the market – as has been proven, the quality of print
is phenomenal. The clarity of very fine print, small font sizes and when we look at the vignettes, it is way ahead. The big sheet size has made
a huge difference, because now we can do everything inhouse,
or just about everything.
For instance, presentation
folders with variable data, if someone is having an event,
we can do 100 presentation
folder packs fully customised
with each person's name on
the presentation folder.”
Serengeti is also venturing into packaging with the JetPress, printing boxes, which highlights the flexibility of the press, with short run boxes for bespoke food and craft manufacturers proving popular. Other heavier stock products include custom shaped cards. The finishing equipment is
Below
Quality and consistency: (l-r) Warren and Richard Games with the sheetfed Fujifilm Jetpress B2 inkjet press
helping drive the JetPress printing;
a cutting system, which will cut any shape, means the company is going well in the stickers market, able to print any number on the JetPress, and with variable data if required. Serengeti is also printing onto canvas with the JetPress, for local artists.
PET material also goes through the press. Games says, “We did
some prints for a client on double sided PET, their plastic seed packet material, and the result is incredible. The print on the synthetic material was so clear and vibrant.”
One of the benefits of JetPress inkjet is that the finished image is true to the media, it does not have the uniform ‘baked-on’ look. Warren Games says, “It keeps the look and feel, brands often choose the stock carefully, the JetPress works with that.”
Attributes
Making a major step up, and investing in advanced print technology, is for the faint-hearted, but then neither
is running a farm in Zimbabwe or starting again on a new continent. Richard Games says, “We know
that if we serve the market with quality, commitment, reliability, and flexibility that business will go well. Those attributes are all found in the JetPress, which is why it fits so well into our ethos.”
The Garden City of Toowoomba is clearly a happening place. Industrial developments abound, it has a new airport, privately built in just 18 months by a local family, and in Serengeti one of the country’s most advanced printshops. All redolent
of a can-do attitude that saw the Games family move across the ocean, find a new home, and recognise opportunities. 21
“The JetPress gives us a lot to take to the market, as has been proven, the quality of print is phenomenal.”
– Richard Games, Serengeti
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