Panda Visuals threw open the doors of its production facility in Auckland to showcase the installation of the first HP Scitex FB7500 for New Zealand with an open house event that attracted more than 100 guests.
The event also heralded a name change for the company, from Panda Graphic Imaging, to the more contemporary Panda Visuals.
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| L-R Bruce Caldwell (HP), Rajan Naicker, Martin Carballo (HP), Bruce Lees, Chris Brooke (the rest are the directors of Panda) |
Rajan Naicker, one of the company’s three directors along with Bruce Lees and Chris Brooke, said the name change was reflective of the markets Panda Visuals is now doing business with. “We’ve been in business since 1988. We started as a wholesale screenprinting company, but today our client base comprises mainly advertising agencies and corporate customers. The change of name to Panda Visuals enables us to refresh the image of the company to reflect our positioning as a solutions-based business that is able to meet customers’ visual communication requirements across a range of applications”.
As part of the company’s repositioning Panda Visuals has invested in a suite of HP Scitex printers – the HP Scitex FB7500, HP Scitex LX800 and HP Scitex FB500 – that will enable it to meet market demands for shorter turnaround times, high quality and competitive pricing. The company also operates a 3.2 metre dye sublimation HP Scitex XL1500 DS, the only one in New Zealand, as well as a number of HP Designjet printers.
Director Chris Brooke said, “The reality is that traditional screenprinting methods just aren’t fast enough in today’s marketplace. Turnaround times have contracted and it is no longer viable to produce jobs the old-fashioned way. We’ve been working with an HP digital platform for some time with our banner and poster work and customers expect to be able to get the same fast delivery and high quality for their signage jobs as they do with the other work we produce for them”.
Bruce Lees commented that the company had been looking for the “right digital flatbed machine for the last couple of years, a machine that would allow us to make the transition from traditional screenprinting without losing the ability to print on a variety of substrates and in full colour. We believe the HP Scitex FB7500 is that machine”.
Complementing the HP Scitex FB7500 is the smaller HP Scitex FB500. Together these machines will allow Panda Visuals to cost effectively produce both small and large format signage jobs.
The HP Scitex LX800 with Latex inks provides Panda Visuals with an environmentally friendly platform on which to produce a range of signage that isn’t suited to UV or solvent printing such as vehicle graphics said Naicker. “Having a green option is very important to us. Many of our customers are looking to reduce their environmental footprint and the Latex inks give us another option to go to market with”.
In conclusion Brooke said, “The reason we bought this kit is to make sure we have the ability to meet our customers’ demands now and in the future. Our business philosophy is sustainability and HP Scitex is our partner of choice”.
Panda Visuals
www.pandavisuals.co.nz
HP New Zealand
www.hp.co.nz
