Digital Express, one of the largest commercial printers based in Cape Town, has purchased just about every Mimaki printing machines to date from Graphix Supply World.

Winning several national retail and hospitality printing accounts, as well as walk-ins to fastidiousness printing for a large portion of South Africa’s top brands, Digital Express has grown in leaps and bounds since opening their doors eleven years ago.

We Are the Fast Lane

Clay says they have come a long way from when they first opened shop in Rondebosh, moving to Cape Town’s Long street gave them a much-needed boost and forced them to consider increasing their sophisticated printing equipment from Mimaki.

While Digital Express continue servicing a large number of walk-ins, looking for standard corporate stationery and low-volume digital printing, the bulk of their business is to the higher-end promotional, textile, large format and point of sale printing therefore permitting services beginning to end.

Digital Express’s ability to meet the demands of time-constraint  projects for example sales or weekly in-store promotions is absolutely crucial to the company’s survival.

Full Speed Ahead

When determining which printers would best meet his new company’s growing needs, Clay visited Mimaki showroom at GSW and was impressed by the extensive Mimaki product portfolio, including cutters and plotters. “We knew we would be calling on Mimaki, and their only African dealer GSW, when we were ready to take the next step,” he said. “We’ve always felt very comfortable with both Mimaki and GSW, and the full range of support they offer and deliver. While most of our customers learn about us via word of mouth, you have to be able to meet their expectations. Delivering a good job is the best sales strategy.”

Undeniable Quality

The goal at Digital Express was to be a frontrunner. Clay believed that the way to differentiate himself and gain more market share was to find a roll-to-roll printer/cutter with UV curing, which he could not find on the market. Rob Franco, MD of GSW kept in touch with Dale Clay and was thrilled to finally be able to reveal Mimaki’s big news on the special printer Clay was seeking, the UCJV300-160.

“While I believed UV LED curable printing was the best approach,” Clay admits, “I still had concerns. I was quite skeptical about UV curing on the flexible substrates required for vehicle wraps because UV curing tends to deliver a hard result that breaks upon molding. We tested extensively, including wrapping of doors, bumpers, you name it. It was amazing. We could even remove the film, roughen it up, heat it up again and apply it once more. It still looked brand-new! This, combined with Mimaki’s print quality, convinced me to move ahead with acquiring the UCJV300-160.” Clay confirms.

With its new printer, the company can offer full print coverage and has more flexibility in terms of the types of materials that can be used. Clay explains, “we now work with neon yellow film with added white that delivers stunning results. The Clearview film enables us to create a day and night effect. Possibilities are ever-increasing, which only boosts our reach as a printing company. We can go overboard creatively and still rely on in-house resources only. We are also excited about our ability to print raised inks, which produce a 3D effect. We’ve barely scratched the surface on the new business opportunities this printer will bring us.”

A Job Well Done

The increased possibilities with the Mimaki printer also enable more opportunities for the people operating the printer. The company spends a great deal of time and resources training and guiding young people. And since its installation, Digital Express has encountered zero problems with the Mimaki UCJV300-160. “We turn it on in the evening, and the next morning everything is done. I check the camera log regularly; but so far, I haven’t had to intervene once,” a satisfied Clay states.

Clay concludes, “Our forte is creating uniqueness. We never create the same thing twice. Our new Mimaki printing/cutting system gives us the flexibility to be as creative as we want, and our customers are loving it! And that’s what’s most important to us.”