DuoTone Perfection recently installed a Xerox 3100 colour production press. The Versant 3100 features Ultra-HD Resolution, which combines 2400 x 2400dpi printing with 10-bit RIP rendering to achieve high-quality prints and sharp vivid colours from the four-colours. This provides output with four times more pixels on the sheet resulting in sharper halftones, smoother gradations and crisper resolution.
The company was founded by Shaun Schutte and wife Kathy in 1994 as a repro house. Changes within the industry saw the addition of computer-to-plate, and the company shifted focus to providing a full prepress service to larger printers. With this change, many of the jobs that existed at the turn of the century were no longer relevant, and gradually short-run digital printing was introduced in 2012.
The skills and knowledge that Shaun had acquired as a photolithographer and colour separations specialist and Kathy as a DTP operator and proof reader, have stood them in good stead in the industry, paving the way for the company’s success in the modern digital printing arena over the past 23 years
Shaun Schutte commented, ‘The introduction of digital printing was a very successful move for us, but with time we realised that the technology we bought back then was no longer able to offer the quality our customers needed. We needed a digital press which was capable of the highest quality colour with even toner distribution across the entire sheet, and without any trace of banding. We needed the best for our customers, as they themselves are also printers who insist on the highest possible quality for their customers.’
Following an evaluation of the solutions available on the market, Schutte opted for the Xerox Versant 3100 from Bytes Document Solutions and its channel partner XBC-IT. For him, the most important features of the Xerox Versant 3100 Press were its ability to produce consistent quality across the full sheet width, as well as from sheet to sheet without banding or colour variance.
The Versant 3100 achieves consistent quality through its Full Width Array inline scanning assembly and Automated Colour Quality Suite. Working together, they safeguard colour consistency throughout the run. These solutions also automate time-consuming tasks including calibrating the press, image-to-media alignment, front-to-back registration, density uniformity, colour management and profiling.
The Versant 3100 is capable of printing onto a wide range of stocks ranging in weight from 52 to 350gsm. Stock is managed via the Stock Library, which allows for extremely fast changes from one stock to another or management of the print consistency in mixed stock print runs. It can handle a wide range of sheet sizes from 98 x 146mm up to 330,2 x 488mm for standard sizes and 330,2mm x 660,4mm for banner prints. The Versant is capable of printing at full production speed of 100 sheets per minute even on the heaviest substrates.
The press can be configured with a wide array of finishing options allowing for finished products to be produced.
Schutte commented, ‘The Versant 3100 fits in perfectly with the other solutions we have in production and ties in with our company philosophy of 100 percent in and 100 percent out, meaning that we ensure products of the highest quality.’
James Carruthers of XBC-IT added, ‘Meeting the exacting demands of a dedicated trade printer meant that DuoTone Perfection needed a solution capable of the highest quality from a supplier dedicated to meeting the needs of its clients and ensuring exceptional service. The Versant 3100 from Xerox meets all those criteria. We are proud to have Shaun, Kathy and the team join the Xerox family.’
