Page 58 - Print21 Nov-Dec 2020

People in Print
the OVERflow
Excel jumps with new Horizon kit
Excel Australasia has installed a new Horizon perfect binder and three
knife trimmer, both supplied by Currie Group, to meet
the demands of a major new contract win.
Daniel Williams, director
at Excel said, “We were outsourcing all our perfect binding, but then we had The Bindery go down, and at the same time we gained a new contract which required high quality binding within tight time frames. The scheduling requires Excel to receive the files at 3pm on a Tuesday and have the publication printed, bound and ready for delivery across the state by Thursday. That meant we needed inhouse binding.”
Excel had not used Horizon equipment prior to this installation, but an assessment of the solutions available quickly led to the decision to order a Horizon BQ-470 four clamp PUR perfect binder and
the Horizon HT-30 three knife trimmer.
Williams said, “We knew of Horizon and its reputation for quality engineering, and our assessment of the equipment validated that reputation. We track technology and have been keeping aware of the Horizon equipment for the last four or five years, so when the time came, we knew what we were dealing with.
“Currie Group, of course,
has long been known in the trade for its customer service, which appealed to us. The tight scheduling for the job means we needed reliability and back-up we could depend on.”
The installation happened in double quick time, with the new contract signed on a Thursday and the new equipment in
and running on the following Tuesday, enabling Excel to meet the deadline for the new publication.
Williams said, “Currie Group pulled out all the stops, they
New Horizon: (l-r) Matthew Harding, print-specialist; Daniel Williams, director of operations; and Scott Walker, production manager
moved quickly appreciating our situation, and when it came time to bind on that first job, we were ready.
“The service following installation and backup
from Currie Group has been outstanding with a real desire to work with the customer to derive solutions.”
Since the perfect binder
and three knife trimmer have gone in, Excel has seen other work come onto it. Williams said, “The new Horizon perfect binder has certainly been a key
addition to our capability, and is being used for other work now, for instance we were using wire binding on some of our on- demand training industry text books, but now it has gone to perfect bind, which is a better look, a stronger product, and has delighted the client.”
Excel has around 60 staff in Australia and is one of the leading marketing services providers for the real estate industry. It also has teams operating in Bangkok and Manila. 21
CMYKhub ramps up production as Covid eases
The nation’s biggest trade printer, CMYKhub, is seeing a spike in orders as Covid restrictions lift. It has added additional shifts in its major factories and is returning to next-day delivery for some products.
The company says it seems the reduction in daily active Covid cases is providing some optimism in the market, and businesses are beginning to
prepare for re-opening. This is also coupled with local council elections, being held by mail
and due by 23 October, which has meant a greater reliance
on direct mail marketing and printed material for how to vote.
Dayne Nankervis, chief operating officer at CMYKhub, says, “We have been inundated with brochure and flyer orders over the past fortnight that are required urgently.
“We have also seen in an influx in quote requests and orders for larger commercial- sized book orders. This could be a sign that consumers
Covid safe and ramping up: Dayne Nankervis, CMYKhub
and retailers are looking
for reliable locally produced product that won’t be held up in international freight.”
Nankervis says CMYKhub has acknowledged the trends and listened to its trade partners in requiring greater speed to market again. It has added additional production shifts into its Melbourne and Sydney factories to cater for the spike in orders and returned a number of its next-day dispatch products. These include business cards, 150gsm gloss flyers, 100gsm laser stationery, pull-up banners, and corflute signs.
He says, “We appreciate
the patience our resellers
have shown over the past few months. We know things have been taking a little bit longer to be delivered, with heightened Covid restrictions in Victoria
limiting production staff, and causing freight delays, but it’s time we ramped up to help the industry rebuild.”
CMYKhub has used Covid to create a new on-demand subscription design and prepress service, called Design Desk, for its trade customers
Design Desk means that printers only pay for design
on demand, and have access to print trained designers. There are four levels of subscription, ranging from $199 a month up to $1199 a month for design and prepress, or $499 a month for prepress only.
The service has been created to enable smaller printers
and regional printers to have access to design services as and when they need them, and for printers with their own designers to have an outsource facility for overflow work. 21
58 Print21 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020