Altron Bytes Document Solutions has reported the installation of a Xerox Versant 180 to supplement the production capacity of the new Minuteman Press store in Rosslyn, Pretoria, which officially opened on 1 September. The installation was facilitated by Compleo, a Xerox Platinum Partner.
Duncan Diesel, area manager for South Africa, Minuteman Press, said, ‘Xerox equipment is state of the art and features high quality, speed and productivity, which helps increase the capacity of what you can do in your store. The support from Xerox is great, we have good relationships with all of the branch managers, and the head office looks after us as a national account. The training provided was also good and is ongoing. It is a partnership that keeps evolving and developing in an ever-changing print environment.’
Helene Labuschagne, Linda du Preez and Duncan Diesel, Minuteman Press.
The Versant 180 offers automation and quality in a compact footprint, and delivers on speed and productivity, at 80ppm and an average monthly volume of 80,000 pages. It prints on a variety of media types, including coated and uncoated papers, bright papers, labels, business cards, glossy brochures, window decals, durable and synthetic papers, greeting cards, tabs, embossed, polyesters and custom solutions, and it also supports mixed-stock jobs. The press offers variable data printing and in-line numbering, and can print on NCR (no carbon required) carbon sheets for books.
Without replacing their presses, Versant 180 owners can now offer print pieces that grab even more attention with the Xerox Adaptive CMYK+ Kits. The kits add shiny metallics, bold whites, and glowing fluorescent colours to a Versant 180 press, extending the user’s palette to more than a million colours using 11 new toners. That means more opportunity to bring ideas to life, and more ways to get printed pieces noticed. This opens the door to the fast growing, high margin specialty Beyond CMYK printing market and sets businesses apart from the competition.
John De Beer, Altron BDS, with Duncan Diesel, Linda du Preez and Helene Labuschagne, Minuteman Press.
Richard Attwell, Director of Compleo, elaborated on the kits: ‘There are enhancements available that will allow the Minuteman group to do special effects and 12 colour printing with these adaptive kits. It is not a new investment in a new press but rather you can use your existing press. Some business owners have two Xerox presses, so now they can have one specialised press, and one that is not specialised running together.’
Besides these enhancements, the Versant 180 can also print on envelopes and labels, and features high definition printing. John De Beer, National Account Manager for the Minuteman Press Group in South Africa, Altron Bytes Document Solutions, said, ‘You have a really good product, combined with good back up service. If there are any issues, the technicians are very responsive. You need a partner who is going to help you continue printing, because if you are not printing, you are not making money, and that is what Xerox understands. The Minuteman group is not a customer, we are in a partnership with them.’
‘Altron Document Solutions is the largest Xerox distributor in the world and Africa’s leading technology and services company. It markets and services the complete range of Xerox document equipment, software solutions and services to 26 sub-Saharan Africa countries,’ added De Beer.
Minuteman Press Rosslyn owner Linda du Preez left the car rental industry after 19 years to venture into the printing industry. ‘I’d first engaged with Minuteman Press two years ago about owning a store. Then this year, with Covid-19 retrenchments, the rental company I’d worked for offered severance packages and I thought that it was the right opportunity and time to open the store. The support from Minuteman Press has been amazing throughout the whole set up. I’m sure with their support, this business will go far.’
Du Preez said the support she received from Minuteman was important, especially since she had never worked in a print environment before: ‘When you need someone, they are always available, and they are very knowledgable. I also received training on how the business operates, marketing, staff, how the system works and more.’ Minuteman Press store owners encourage and support each other, as shown by two other Minuteman store owners from Pretoria, who were at the Rosslyn branch pre-launch to show their support and welcome du Preez and her team to the area.
Minuteman Press creates a supportive environment for store owners, as well as a networking community. This includes a WhatsApp group, where questions are answered daily, and the launch of ‘lunchtime learning,’ starting this week, where store owners get together on Zoom and discuss what has worked, what hasn’t, and new ideas for marketing going forward.
‘We have a dedicated research and development team in America, which benefits our store owners, who are buying into tried and tested equipment and ideas,’ said Diesel. ‘We are a very flexible franchise – owners can make their own decisions, they are not forced to buy from anyone, and they can sell whatever products they want. Our owners deal directly with our suppliers’.
Diesel elaborated on what makes Minuteman Press unique. ‘We are the largest print franchise in the world. We have close to 1000 stores worldwide, and nearly 50 stores in South Africa, so we have a lot of experience, history and knowledge. We offer all different kinds of services – we are not just a printer, we are also a marketing company, and we can help put your logo on pretty much anything to help build your brand and your business.’
One of the initiatives Minuteman Press launched during Covid-19 was Bounce Back South Africa, which helped local businesses ‘bounce back’ in these unprecedented times by giving them a place to list their businesses for free in local communities to help all businesses recover as quickly as possible and to supply them with free Covid-19 information posters for their place of business.
ALTRON BYTES DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS
(+27 11) 928 9111
hotline.marketing@bdsol.co.za
www.altron.com
www.bytesdocumentsolutions.co.za
