The show preparation inside the Sydney Showground might have had the team from Océ Australia working into the night, but it’s been worth the effort, with the company taking out Best Stand at the Visual Impact exhibition and visitors flocking to stand D17 from the show’s opening this morning.
The stand is easy to spot, dominated by a custom-built tunnel, replicating the company’s popular mobile ‘pop-up- showroom. On the outside, it features a simple concrete look graphic, but on the inside it’s a vibrant, tactile print experience emblazoned with graffiti graphics – all custom-produced on the company’s Arizona and Colorado printers.
The revolutionary Océ Colorado 1640 64” roll-to-roll printer and new, Touchstone ‘2.5D’ printing on an Océ Arizona 2280, are the show drawcards for Océ in Sydney and visitor response is already proving that the combination is a winner.
“There’s one advantage to print that the online experience simply can’t replicate – and that’s the physical dimension which allows viewers to interact with a product not only visually, but with touch,” said Dale Hawkins, Senior Marketing Manager from Océ Australia, when we caught up with him on stand today.
“On one wall of the tunnel we have a Colorado media gallery with images printed on 12 different media, showcasing the versatility and quality this revolutionary printer. It’s quite extraordinary, even more so when you consider that it’s arguably the fastest roll-to-roll printer on the market, and it really demonstrates the different impacts you can achieve by using different media,” he says.
On another wall, as visitors will quickly work out, is printed on the Arizona, using Océ’s exciting new Touchstone workflow software, which opens the door to textured, dimensional print – or what Océ is calling ‘2.5D’ printing.”
“Touchstone itself is a set of extensions to the Adobe toolset which allow designers to build dimensional features into their print jobs, for output to Océ Arizona printers,” Hawkins explains.
“Not only do the results look good, with a range of exciting metallic and varnish effects and image quality which holds its precision regardless of the dimensional element, it feels amazing with areas that can be built up, creating an unique dimensional effect.”
The number of people running their hands over the wall at the show today bear testament to the novelty value, certainly, but Hawkins points out that for these VI visitors, Touchstone is an important tool which could enable them to leverage the demand for the added interest and tactile engagement that dimensional print provides, and create exciting new products which command a high margin.
“All these initiatives are part of our quest to help our customers build more flexible, more profitable businesses which put more money in their pockets,” Hawkins says, perhaps deliberately turning attention to another show stealer: A treasure hunt involving lost wallets hidden throughout the show, which finders can return to the Océ stand and redeem a $50 movie voucher after learning about the Colorado.
If that’s not enough to get you down to the Sydney Showground between now and Friday, Océ is also showcasing it’s FASTtrack Toolbox, a competitive finance offer which promises qualifying businesses no repayments for three months, an extra 20 litres of ink to get going, and a $7,500 credit for media supplies from Ball & Dogget – as well as applications consultancy and ‘How To’ guide, and professional business and ROI assistance.
Visual Impact Sydney runs for the rest of this week at the Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park. Doors open tomorrow from 10am until 6pm and on Friday from 10am until 4pm. With queues likely to lengthen as the week progresses, those intending to visit are encouraged to register online to ensure they make the most of their time at the show.
Océ Australia Pty Ltd
www.@oce.com.au
