Changes are inevitable and it brings with it new beginnings and hope. With the printing business climbing the upward curve in the Middle East region, companies are putting their best foot forward to catch the action.
ME Printer talks with Enis Kraiem, Regional Sales Manager, Graphic System Division of Fujifilm Middle East to know the latest developments in the company and their forecasts for the year ahead.
There has been some restructuring recently in Fujifilm Dubai.
Could you explain the nature of restructuring and the changes that have been made?
There were no restructuring but new investments were made within Fujifilm Middle East FZE. Wide Format Inkjet is one of the company’s priority business and expanding it to the Middle East is in line with the Fujifilm policy. The regional business will be managed by the Dubai based office through the appointment of a new sales manager and a new team to promote and develop the sales of Fujifilm digital portfolio in the region.
Canon and Heliozid Ocè are offering similar flatbed printing technology as Fujifilm, don’t you think this makes confusion in the market?
It is true that we are talking about the same product. What makes the difference is the added value that Fujifilm can bring to its customers. We stand for ‘A global presence with a local service’. Fujifilm’s duty is not only to sell machines and consumables but also to provide its customers with solutions that help them in bringing new print revenues, controlling printing cost and delivering new applications.
Offset printing is in decline and many commercial printers in our region are thinking to enter digital printing as well as wide format printing market to create new revenue stream, what is your suggestion to them?
Offset printing is in a slow decline and the print runs are reducing, which makes offset printing expensive. Entering the digital wide format inkjet technology will help offset printers to reduce their cost and fulfil their customers’ requirements in terms of price and delivery.
Do you think a printer who is entering the wide format printing should specialize in certain applications or accept all the orders as diverse as possible and how can he choose the right equipment, or substrate? Does it all come down to experience or there are clear guidelines?
Each customer is unique in his approach to the sign and graphic market. We study every printer case by case and we give the relevant advice on the type of printer to choose (roll to roll UV LED1600 or the Acuity Advance flatbed printer, etc) depending on the type of required applications and the volume. Some of the customers invest in digital to be different, unique, and inventive. Some of them shift to the flatbed technology to save time and money. At the end of the day, it is all about the return on investment.
For commercial-printing companies accustomed to presses running full bore, inkjet technology may seem slow. In fact, among some commercial printers, there is a perception that wide-format inkjet technology is too slow to be profitable. What is your answer to them?
I fully agree that for commercial printing companies, the inkjet technology remains slow for long runs. As for short runs, I invite the printers to evaluate the printing cost and I am sure that their perception of digital will immediately change. Of course, offset quality is still higher but digital is improving and can deliver the required quality.
What are the new trends in wide format printing and what are the new developments in Fujifilm as far as the wide format printing technology is concerned?
As regards to the high end digital equipments, the trend is towards the development of higher speed higher quality machines. The market demand of this range of printers is limited especially in the Middle East. The focus will be in the mid-range and the entry level printers, which perfectly fit with the customers’ needs. At Drupa 2012, Fujifilm officially launched the Acuity LED 1600 UV hybrid printer, a new standard in creative print, fully designed and powered by Fujifilm in Japan. The SGIA 2012 was also marked by the launch of the Acuity Advance Select inkjet flatbed printer which, on the top of the high image quality, the performance and the reliability brought by the Acuity Advance range, offers increased flexibility with a wider selection of colour options (white and clear ink). It exists in 8, 6 and 4 channels.
When it comes to wide format printing there has always been a trade-off between speed and quality, do you think Fujifilm has been able to solve this problem?
Have a look at the Acuity Advance Series, a mid range inkjet printer with high speed (up to 60 m²/hour on express mode) providing the highest quality in the market for its category with a variable droplet sizes from 6 to 42 picolitres. I am sure there will be major changes in the high end equipments (high value, high speed printers) towards increasing the printing speed and delivering high quality prints.
How many installations you have so far in the Middle East? What about the after sale service?
We have 11 flatbed machines (Acuity Advance and Inca Spyder) and 1 Inca Onset S20. The installations are mainly in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait.
Fujifilm Middle East FZE operates in the region through local business partners covering major territories. The new distribution channel was announced during the SGI show in January, and each of our partners will deliver high quality local service and consumables. Although Euromedia products from Fujifilm Germany are popular in Europe, they will not be our priority focus in the short term for the Middle East.
How did the company perform at the recently concluded SGI?
The SGI show was really good for us. We were able to seal many deals during the show and sold the machines that were on the stand. Our major deals done at the show include: The Acuity Advance 3545 W HS was sold to X Plus in Dubai. X Plus is one of our valuable offset customers who wanted to convert some of their business into digital. The deal was signed by our new UAE distributor System Middle East on the second day of the show. Then the Acuity LED1600 was sold to Newtech, a company based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Three more hot deals from Qatar, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia are to come and we will follow up closely on the leads collected.
Do you think printers in our region are becoming more environmentally conscience to prefer UV technology or they still prefer solvent printers and how can this mindset be changed?
The environmentally friendly attitude depends on self consciousness. I do think that the shift to UV will be driven by the market trend rather than the environmental issues unless the government policies in the region changes towards ecological products. The UAE is a perfect example of this change.
