The Sytech Supplies Blog » Digital Printing

First GCC UV printer in South Africa installed

Sytech Supplies — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:32:54 +0000

It was in August 2009 at Sign Africa in Johannesburg that we managed the mean feat of seling every machine on their exhibition floor and transporting them directly from Sandton Convention Centre to their new owners’ premises. One of those machines, the GCC K72UV had to wait a while due to the Sytech Supplies technical team not having had training on it themselves yet. The Taiwanese technical team that represented the manufacturer at Sign Africa 2009 stayed on a while longer after the exhibition to train our technicians.

By December 2009 the our guys were finally ready and the Durban-based owner of the GCC K72UV, Finish Factory, had their UV printer installed. Our technical Manager Richard Haarhoff and technician Norman Khuzwayo spent 3 days at the client’s premises, during which they installed, calibrated, profiled and thoroughly tested every aspect of the printer, specifically geared towards how Finish Factory will be using the printer. Both Richard and Norman were happy to conclude and report that the client is very happy with the purchase and look forward to use it to maximise not only the amount of work they can now get done but also the type of work that this printer enables one to do.

Some of the remarkable features of this machines are that it has dedicated white ink that can be used as a top coat or an undercoat. It has a clear coating that can also be used as a base or a topcoat.. and can literally print on anything. The guys at Finish Factory were so elated, they agreed to let us record video footage of the printer at work. Have a look at the video footage below:

10 reasons to buy CorelDraw X4.

Sytech Supplies — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:01:51 +0000

CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite X4 has been one of our best software sellers since late in 2008, and we continue to get enquiries for the product. If you don’t own CorelDraw X4 yet ad you have been pondering whether to but it or not, here’s 10 Reasons why you should to Buy:

CorelDraw X4 is a powerfully versatile graphics suite that contain everything you need for professional graphics illustration, DTP layouts and digital imaging.
It has innovative design tools, advanced layout tables, mindblowing text formatting and multiple page layers to maximise your efforts and save you time.
A really easy to use interface supported by training videos that comes on the installation DVD, along with tutorials and intelligent docking windows with hints galore.
The import/export file compatibility spans over a wide variety of formats, including Illustrator®, PhotoShop®, Paint Shop Pro®, Microsoft® Office and PDF.
Custom built-in ConceptShare functionality that enables uploading and reviewing of designs by peers, colleagues or clients.

It comes with Corel® PowerTRACE™ X4, powerful bitmap-to-vector tracing functionalty that turns bitmaps into editable and scalable vectors.
Corel® PHOTO-PAINT® X4 has powerful image-editing built in for retouching and enhancing photos.
The DVD contains high quality clipart, fonts, digital images and professionally designed templates, to help you get started instanty.
You can now join the CorelDRAW community website for ideas and tips from fellow users
The best reason of all. CorelDraw X4 is now certified for use on Windows Vista™ and Windows 7.

So make your move today and get your copy of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 at the unbelievable price of under R4000. Log on to this website and speak to one of our Sales Executives anytime during office hours.

New Roland wide format kid on the block

Sytech Supplies — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:27:18 +0000

Last month Roland Digital Group released a wide format machine that we guess was a good few months in the making and then a number of months in testing as well. The new Soljet III XC-540 MT with metallic ink.
The The fact that the machine was not launched at some big expo also says that the timing was off – whether it was production or testing delays – and the company needed to bring this machine to market quickly.

With the competition heating up for wide format printers, especially here in South Africa, and Roland’s last unique offering having been the Versa UV, the company had to get this printer into showrooms very soon.

You can read the press release HERE.

What fascinates us most about this printer is:

The vibrant silver printing is a technological first, i.e. it has never been done before.
The Silver ink can be combined with CMYK to produce an entire spectrum of metallic hues including gold and bronze
The metallic Silver ink is available exclusively for the new XC-540MT.
The XC-540MT prints six colors, i.e. CMYK+Metallic Silver+White
The XC-540 MT prints and contour cuts graphics all in one seamless workflow.
Double white ink printing is available for the brightest white graphics.
It prints at a maximum print speed of 441 sqft./hr. and has an image quality up to 1440×1440 dpi resolution in CMYK mode.
To prevent the pigment settling, ink wastage and reduce running costs, the XC-540MT includes the unique, patent-pending automated ink circulation system.
The new VersaWorks 3.3 RIP Software Features a metallic spot colour library

And these features alone should show you how this little number can make your business grow legs and run at lightning speed. Don’t believe me? Check back in a few months and we’ll show you testimonials.

Borderless Printing on the Stellarjet 250UV

Sytech Supplies — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:07:57 +0000

So when we started talking to GCC earlier this year, I knew their products were amazing. I mean how else would they have the no. 1 selling cutting plotters in the United States?
But nothing prepared me for this. I guess it’s the fact that I spent way too many years painting and cutting vinyl by hand with stencils.

So I walk into our new premises, and our Technical Assistant Norman is busy with test prints on our GCC Stellarjet 250UV. I go to have closer look and this is what I saw. Complete borderless printing. I mean printing right up to the edge, and no ink sprayed beyond the borders of the media. WOW !!

I could have typed a beautiful story peppered with flowery words and syllables. but I thought I’d give you proof.. visual proof.. after all.. seeing is believing. Isn’t it?

So much more CorelDraw X4..

Sytech Supplies — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:51:38 +0000

I am really not here to sell anything, but this is too good an opportunity to not let people know about it..

After bringing in CorelDraw X4 Small Business Edition and making it available for under R3000 per license if you buy a box set, the enquiries have come in like a flood. So much so that we sold several units of the Small Business Edition over the last few weeks.
Amidst the enquiries that came in, we found that some people really wanted the software, but the Small Business Edition was just a bit out of their reach financially. So we took it back to the drawing board, done some negotiation and today we are proud to announce that we can once again sell the full CorelDraw X4 Graphics Suite for under R4000. (click here to see the normal retail price).

The idea here is not to make a killing selling the product. We are only too aware not everybody has R3600 lying around. (oh sucks I just revealed the price) What we do know very well is that every business in the signage, graphics and display industry needs well-designed graphics to make a good print job possible. We also know that nobody wants to be saddled with 4 different machines each running its own software.
So what we’re offering is a software application that can be used to design graphics, edit them, resize to your heart’s content and export to any format imaginable. CorelDraw X4 also allows you to send your artwork directly to whatever plotter you have.

And while you pay our price only to get your hands on CorelDraw, you also get 3 additional programs with it, as well as a user manual, 10 000 clipart images, 1000 high resolution photos, 80 templates and more than 1000 fonts. We all know how printers especially struggle with fonts and how designer would rather convert artwork to curves than share their precious font collections. (I have over 40 000 fonts on my home computer that I’ll share with any Sytech Supplies client).

And we have not forgotten those of you who still use CorelDraw 12 and X3.. we have managed to secure a very good price for the CorelDraw X4 Upgrade box set and the Home/Student edition as well.

So at the end of the day we want to empower and build this industry of ours by helping our associates (and even our competition) use the best possible products to do the best possible work. THis we hope will turn our clients into the best at what they do.

So pick up that phone and call us even if you just want to ask how to do something in your version of CorelDraw.. we’re very good at helping people use the software too.

GCC Stellarjet 250UV – prints on anything

Sytech Supplies — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 07:30:37 +0000

With it’s unique ability to print in 6 colours and dedicated white ink, the new Stellarjet 250UV from GCC is the perfect printer for interior and exterior signage, screenprinting, point of purchase displays, vehicle graphics, display graphics, posters, exhibition graphics, backlit displays, rigid boards, construction materials and lots more.

Here’s a video of how extreme one can go with the new GCC Stellarjet 250UV.

Sytech Supplies cleaned out at Sign Africa

Sytech Supplies — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:36:17 +0000

After attending Sign Africa Johannesburg 2008 on Friday 12 September 2008 Arthur Van Wyk, the head of Brand marketing for Sytech Supplies, came back to Durban with a simple message for his management team, ‘We have to go to Sign Africa Johanneburg in 2009 and when we do.. we either go big or go home.’

That advice was well-heeded and was evident in the size of the stand the company booked (144sqm) at Sign Africa Johannesburg 2009.

On display at the Sytech stand was the newest range of digital UV printers and cutting plotters from GCC, a series of CNC routers from Viccam, water-based digital printers from Lecai (pronounced Le-Tai), Solvent and UV digital inks from Triangle, de-identification liquids from Crystaltek, a host of digital print media and colour sign vinyl and the busiest, most enquired about dye sublimation systems.

‘Day one of Sign Africa saw the entire contingent of staff at the Sytech stand run around like ants, helping clients, distributing product samples, answering questions and of course selling. Our range of CNC routers generated loads of enquiries and the brochures (which are slow moving at our business premises) were taken like they contained insulin and everybody that attended were diabetic,’ said Van Wyk.

On day two further buzz was created and attention drawn to the Sytech Supplies stand when Arthur Van Wyk was interviewed at the stand by a television crew from the SABC3 design program “Hatch”. Every member of staff fielded queries from multiple attendees – sometimes simultaneously. There was also a lot of attention given to the water-based Lecai printers after everybody saw the immaculately colourful backlit film print-outs on the exhibition floor.

By approximately 10:00 am on Day 3 a gentleman came by looking for Richard (our Technical Manager). He had a cheque ready to pay for a CNC router and wanted to take it right there and then. Not long after our demo model heat press that was on exhibition was paid for and taken as well.

Eventually this is what happened to every single machine on the Sytech Supplies exhibition stand at Sign Africa. The only machine they had to bring back to Durban was the GCC 250UV digital printer. The reason for that is because it went straight to the exhibition from the boat and nobody locally had been trained on how to use it yet. As soon as training finishes this week, that printer will be shipped to its new owner as well.

‘So in a sense we had been “cleaned out” at Sign Africa 2009.

Sytech Supplies launches the GCC K72UV at Sign Africa 2009

Sytech Supplies — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:02:29 +0000

Sytech Supplies was recently awarded the exclusive Africa-wide distributorship for Taiwanese manufacturer GCC‘s wide format UV digital printers and cutting plotters.

Sytech Supplies will be importing and distributing all GCC’s printers and cutters as well as accessories for these machines.

The first order of stock has just arrived at the Durban harbour and is being delivered to the premises of Sytech Supplies as you read this newsletter. Among these arrivals is the latest GCC breakthrough in wide format UV digital print technology. The K72UV digital printer.

With 8-channel printing and a 2-litre ink capacity, the K72UV is capable of handling both rigid and flexible media, has an output resolution of 720dpi, with an option to increase even further to 1440dpi. It has 3 variable print speeds and supports all popular graphic file formats. The colour gamut includes Light Cyan, Light Magenta and dedicated White ink printing. It also comes equipped with a varnishing top coat solution that can cover entire graphics or be applied as spot highlights. The printer also comes with a pre-coat (for printing on stainless steel, ceramic tiles etc) to enhance ink adhesion. This then enables printing with ink as well as a UV topcoat.

Auto-calibration ensures the distance between print heads and media stays constant. Its dual UV lamps enhances bi-directional and high speed printing, and are equipped with shutters to shield the print heads from the UV rays.

This darling of a printer will be unveiled at the Sign Africa exhibition stand of Sytech Supplies on Level 2 of the Sandton Convention Centre on 2 September 2009. Sytech Supplies’ head of Marketing Arthur Van Wyk claims this printer could easily be the “newest, youngest” printer at the Sign Africa exhibition, having come off the production and testing line less than a month ago. Van Wyk further says the very first unit that GCC’s R&D personnel were happy with was shipped to South Africa – to Sytech Supplies.

To see the colour and creative wizardry that this machine makes possible, make your way to the Sytech Supplies stand at the Sandton Convention Centre between 2 and 4 September 2004.

StripeZe.. De-Indentification made very eZee.

Sytech Supplies — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 08:33:25 +0000

We just received an email from Chasity Childers over at Crystaltek in Georgia, USA about an amazing new product that is so new, it’s not even on Google blog or news search yet. Serious.

Chasity says: “This thing is pretty amazing. One of our users shared this with us. I hate that gives the wrong directions for how to use Vinyl Off in the video, but other than that it’s kinda neat.”

Watch this video in its entirety and add your thoughts in the comment section below. We would liek to know what our readers think.