Insight, the branded business of Prime Midia, and the first company who purchased an Inca Spyder 320 digital flatbed printer in Brazil, has improved quality as well as increasing productivity five-fold with the installation of Brazil's first Inca Onset S20.
Since 1997 Prime Midia, which operates under the Insight brand, has offered visual communications, print services, banners, billboards, building wraps and other POP materials in Brazil. This is significant, because research in Brazil shows that 85% of purchases are decided in-store, and POP is the most effective way to enhance the image of a product. The company strongly supports this philosophy and encourages their customers to recognise that no other media can deliver such a consistent exposure of brands and products.
"A few years ago, I purchased a 5-metre wide printer but, since then, the mayor has prohibited most outdoor POP advertising. I was left with nothing else to do with the printer," said Michele Cavalcanti, managing director of Prime Midia. "I was trained as a technician and had experience fixing and programming different printers, so I decided to buy a flatbed digital inkjet printer, instead."
After researching flatbed printers, Cavalcanti's Prime Midia was the first company in Brazil to buy an Inca Digital Spyder 320 (CMYK+white) wide format flatbed digital inkjet printer. While others believed it was too expensive, he believed in the productivity of the Inca Spyder 320. "Several competitors thought this was a foolish business decision, but I had spent a lot of time comparing printers. I knew it would provide a quick payback. As it turns out, buying the Inca Spyder 320 was the best decision I could have made," says Cavalcanti. "Fujifilm Sericol was very helpful and prompt to respond. Prime Midia grew, almost immediately. We started working 24/7 and never had any problem with the printer. It was very reliable."
With the Inca Spyder 320, Prime Midia was able to print a lot of higher quality materials than was capable in the past. It allowed Prime Midia to print a lot of display work for major consumer goods companies. "My company started taking large accounts with well-known branded product companies to print POP displays—mostly on corrugated, foam board and PS. The Inca Spyder 320 demonstrated that we could deliver better quality, faster than our competitors. In fact, today we are responsible for 80-90 percent of all their jobs."
Six to eight months after installing the Spyder, Prime Midia paid back its investment, while several competitors took note and invested in the same printer. Just two and a half years later, the Spyder 320 could not keep up with demand. About the same time, Inca Digital launched its Onset S20, and Prime Midia was first on FujifilmSericol's list in Brazil. They decided to buy an Inca Onset S20—again, the first in Brazil. It is a much faster machine and is capable of printing six colours: CMYK plus light cyan and light magenta, allowing Prime Midia to reproduce a wide gamut of colours very closely.
Prime Midia installed the Inca Onset S20 in August, and, although it is five times faster than the Spyder 320, they are already running it 24 hours a day. While they expected business to increase, they did not expect it to happen so quickly. It means that the machine will swiftly pay for itself, again. When the Onset S20 was installed, Brazil was in the middle of elections. While outdoor advertising is generally prohibited, it is permitted for political advertising-- and there were many opportunities for indoor and outdoor signs, including boards in the middle of the streets. Prime Midia has done a lot of work for political candidates, who have ordered thousands and thousands of outdoor PVC sheets. "We would never have been able to print them without the Inca Onset S20. If a customer needs 100 sheets in 2 days, we have to deliver. The market is very competitive," said Cavalcanti.
"I like the speed of the Inca Onset S20, along with the unique ability to print gloss and satin at the same time. Many people in Brazil like a gloss finish, and it is a way for me to cost-effectively keep ahead of the market," said Cavalcanti. "The Inca Onset S20 can also print thicker materials, as much as 5 cm. I can print a lot of unique jobs and unusual POP materials."
The lifetime of the UV lamps—1,000 hours—has been a very nice surprise. "That means that not only is the printer faster, but I can save money on the cost of lamps, which can be very expensive in Brazil," said Cavalcanti. "The Fujifilm Sericol inks are also more affordable for us, and they print very well. I cannot see any stepping between colours, caused by the direction of the printer, so can use the fast, bi-directional print modes."
"The Inca Onset S20 has been a very good choice. I am very happy with the Onset S20's speed and productivity. When you show customers what kind of work you can do with it, they think of new, unique displays," said Cavalcanti. "Digital print provides us the opportunity to do much more. The more I do, the more I find I need it."
