The strength of the Impika, apart from its quality of print, lies in the controller.
The press can be supplied with two controller digital front-end options. The
iController supports IPDS workflow for high speed, variable data jobs in the
transaction and personalised direct mail markets. This is the option installed
at Tunleys. The iFlow PC-based RIP and spool solution for PDF and PostScript
workflow solutions is aimed at the book printing and other static print
applications market. The iController allows the full production speed of 127
metres per minute to be achieved. This equates to 1024 A4 pages per minute
with full variability in full-colour on both sides. Image integrity is verified by
a camera capturing every single page.
Even for a company with a specific and clear vision for the future such as
Tunleys, an investment of R30 million is no small decision, and is not made
lightly or quickly. The team at Tunleys first started talking to Xerox at Ipex
in 2010 but at the time found the technology was not sophisticated enough
to meet its requirements. At Drupa in 2012, Xerox announced that it had
purchased the French company Impika and showed how the technology had
developed. In mid-2013 Tunleys first started looking at the financial models,
but it was not until the third quarter of 2014 that all the elements finally came
together and the order was placed. The first major financial client – Standard
Bank – went on-stream in mid-November.
What is it about the Impika that made it so attractive to Tunleys?
Jeff responded, ‘The Impika Compact is a production machine, it can
handle 25 million A4 pages per month. Our strategy is to convert 80% of our
current monochrome printed images, which are printed onto litho pre-printed
templates, onto the Impika over the next year. This will mean that we will be
looking to buy a further Impika or two in the not too distant future. Our data
processing and management capabilities through Business Genetics and
the client base that we have acquired through Lasercom will add to the
short-term growth in full-colour, personalised print volumes. Our unique
Customer Communication Solution, whereby all data is processed, managed,
stored and distributed from a single iCommunicate platform, is attracting
much attention from existing and target clients alike. They are particularly
interested in the fact that we are have done away with the typical silo
approach of distributing data – we are able to switch automatically between
print, email, SMS, MMS and web services by way of our rules engine, which
is an integral part of the iCommunicate platform.’
At the end of February, Tunleys presented the Impika to its clients with a
launch hosted jointly with Bytes Document Solutions, the local distributor
for Xerox. Jeff stated that the relationship with Bytes and Xerox was much
more than that of a supplier and customer, it is a true partnership. He added,
‘Bytes has been a solid partner every step of the way. It has been proactive
and helped us through every phase of the process. With the assistance we
received from Bytes it was actually an easy decision.’
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