Inkjet & Digital Printing

Fairstep Expands Its Digital Print Business with an HP Indigo 5600 Digital Press

Friday 31. August 2012 - Contract signed at Africa Print 2012.

HP today announced that Fairstep CC (www.fairstep.com), of Cape Town, Republic of South Africa, has invested in an HP Indigo 5600 Digital Press to offer an extended selection of products, including new applications printed on a wide range of media such as PVC, plastics and paperboard.
Fairstep will be able to add new services thanks to the press’ printing speed of up to 136 pages per minute (ppm) in two-colour mode and up to 90ppm in full-colour using Enhanced Productivity Mode. In addition, the new press can improve the company’s balance sheet, as personalised and short-run jobs can be produced cost-effectively.
“The beauty of the HP Indigo is that you can print smaller quantities without sacrificing quality,” said Brian Fairbanks, managing director at Fairstep CC. “Our expectations for the new press are high, and following our previous experience with HP, I am convinced that our business will benefit highly from the installation.”
Initially founded as a graphic design company in 1984, Fairstep added print services to its product range in 2003 and now employs 70 people. The company offers conventional offset litho printing up to A2 format, as well as digital print solutions for short-run, fast-turnaround value-adding services. These include personalised greeting cards, business cards and soft-cover books for individual consumers, local agencies, and corporate customers worldwide.
With an eye on the future, Fairbanks sees big potential in these services:
“We want to increase our services and therefore, we require a press that can support us with some great features, high-quality prints and fast turnarounds. HP offers a fantastic range of digital products, and we decided on the new Indigo press because it met all our criteria,” he explained.
The seven-colour mode of the HP Indigo 5600 Digital Press allows print service providers (PSPs) to be more flexible, to better react to customers’ special needs and to deliver tailor-made applications. The optional HP Indigo ElectroInk White enables PSPs to expand into new markets with unique products printed on dark and fully transparent substrates.
The HP Indigo 5600 Digital Press will be the company’s third Indigo press, after replacing an Indigo TurboStream with the current HP Indigo press 3050 in 2006. The existing press is still running, but it will be replaced by the new press this autumn.
“We have a good and long-standing relationship with HP, and we have always been satisfied with our previous HP presses. The HP Indigo press 3050 has enabled us to achieve the position we are in now,” Fairbanks said. “However, we decided to upgrade our technology because we want to be at the cutting-edge and offer our customers the best possible services and solutions.”
The press was purchased through Kemtek Imaging Systems, a reseller for HP Indigo Presses, with branches in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria and Port Elizabeth.