Honolulu print shop HONBLUE is the first company in Hawaii to use the latest $1 million-plus high-speed Fujifilm inkjet press — only the third such press currently in use in the U.S., HONBLUE officials announced Monday.
The press "bridges the gap between off-set and digital printing," and can "accommodate a cultural change" of less advance notice for commercial printing projects, according to officials. The inkjet press also "uses Fujifilm’s leading color technologies to match, hold and reproduce color for consistency previously unseen with digital printing," the company said.
This reduces paper wastage and production time.
“Our newest Fujifilm press prints the client’s file accurately each and every time, completely eliminating the need for a client to visit us in-person for ‘press checks’ to confirm colors,” Matt Heim, chief operating brother at HONBLUE, a locally-owned print solutions company operated by the third-generation of Heim brothers. “There are now no variables in the Fuji system that can cause color shifts, which greatly streamlines the whole printing process.”
The Fujifilm inkjet press – J Press 750S Inkjet – has a speed of 5,400 sheets per hour, which triples the output of the previous generation, and now prints up to 22-by-28 inches, while the standard is only 13-by-19 inches.
“We invest in the latest technical capabilities before our clients know they need that capability,” Heim said. “We are proud of a longstanding history as a partner in the success of many of the state’s industry leaders because we anticipate their needs; this investment is a continuation of that philosophy.”
Hein told Pacific Business News that HONBLUE will be able to print jobs more cost-efficiently.
"For example, HONBLUE prints posters for display inside of bank branches," he said. "With the Fuji press, the cost of those jobs per poster will be reduced by more than 50%."
Overall, though, the new machine is a cost-saving device.
"While HONBLUE has multiple options when deciding how best to print a project for a client — we could go with the off-set press, for example, or a smaller digital press — the new Fuji press gives us an additional arrow in the quiver," Heim said. "We will use it when we can see cost savings because that will translate into cost savings for our clients.
"We believe that as a result, we will then grow revenue by being more cost-effective."
According to Heim, the company anticipates the new press will help grow HONBLUE’s revenues up to 30% over the next two years.
