As the leading distributor of Roland DG printers, signage solutions, inks and media for the graphics and sign industry in The Netherlands, Man Print & Sign has established an enviable reputation for offering high quality products backed by the very best in knowledge, expertise and customer service. So when the company extended its consumables offering to include Sun Chemical's Streamline range of alternative solvent inkjet inks, it had to be 110% confident of their results.
Explains Rene Man, Managing Director of Man Print & Sign: "When investing in upwards of 25,000 euros for the latest generation Roland Pro 4 sign and graphic production printers, selecting the right inks to use is a key decision for our customers, not only to ensure the highest level of print performance, but also for the maximum return on their substantial investment."
Traditionally, Rene's customers tended to play safe and select Roland's own manufactured inks, as they were concerned that alternative inks may damage their printer, resulting in costly downtime. They were also worried it would not deliver the desired quality output and performance compared to that achieved using the manufacturer's own ink.
With so many companies claiming to offer fully compatible alternative inks, Sun Chemical's Regional Sales Manager, Guillaume Vignon, faced some concerns from Rene during their first few meetings, who was initially reluctant to test Sun Chemical's Streamline inks range. However, with Sun Chemical's credentials for product quality and service, which mirrored those of Man Print & Sign, and considering the high level of R&D commitment at Sun Chemical for inkjet innovation, Rene agreed to trial the Streamline inks.
Sun Chemical's streamline inks are formulated specifically to match the quality, performance and colour of the original manufacturer's ink, to eliminate the need for re-profiling and to enable the inks to be matched and mixed in with OEM solvent inks, offering maximum flexibility and efficiency for the customer.
"It soon become apparent during our first round of tests that Sun Chemical's Streamline range of ESL High Print Quality (HPQ) alternative inks was a significantly better proposition than some of the less reputable ink vendors in the market," said Rene.
The outcome of the trials clearly demonstrated that the Streamline inks range fully matched Roland's OEM inks in terms of characteristics, colour, print performance and reliability, as well as delivering some compelling price advantages. As a result, Rene and his team have since migrated over 50% of their Roland customers to the Streamline range, who are benefitting from excellent performance with significant cost savings – an important consideration when handling increasingly high-volume, high print-speed production workflows.
The ongoing mutual trust and partnership between Sun Chemical and Man Print & Sign has benefitted both parties, to better serve Rene's customers. The team at Man Print & Sign played a key role in the testing of Sun Chemical's new low odour Streamline ESL HPQ LO eco solvent ink, following feedback from customers looking for a reduced odour product. "This new ink, which we have been selling for a few months now, also has the added benefit of clearer printed resolution, allowing for more realistic colour and image reproduction," adds Rene.
Having worked closely with Man Print & Sign, Sun Chemical is extending its new low odour chemistry platform with the release of the Streamline ESL 2 series of inks. These new Streamline ESL 2 inks, which are fully colour matched for the latest Roland Pro4 generation of eco-solvent printers, will be available later in 2015.
"We are very happy with our working partnership with Sun Chemical," concludes Rene. "We are confident that we have a partner that we can rely on and is on hand to support us with our customers' demands."
www.sunchemical.com
