Wizardz Design & Print choose Epson for expansion plans

Wizardz Design & Print (Wizardz) is well established as a print shop of choice for Cape Town customers who require large format printed collateral. The company was ready to expand to a branch elsewhere in the city, and sought to offer new clients in its new location the same great products and services that had made it so popular.

The new store, located in Constantia Village in Cape Town, was going to be built around a similar product offering to Wizardz’ other two stores. In addition to the regular product range, owner Andrew Pittaway identified that there were many architectural practices in the surrounding area, and that there was likely to be a strong market for printing architectural plans, technical drawings and illustrations, in addition to the posters and other conventional consumer printing that Wizards has built its reputation on.

Pittaway purchased an Epson SureColor SC-S30610 large format printer for his flagship store from John Panton of Digital Distributors, an authorised Epson reseller, in 2013, and the printer had delivered outstanding results for his clients.

The Wizardz team valued the exceptional print quality, low cost of ownership, wide range of print media, print speed, and the printer’s environment-friendly qualities

Furthermore, both the existing Wizardz print shops used various Epson printers, providing great results across a wide range of customer demands.

Having developed a strong relationship with Digital Distributors, Wizardz trusted Panton and his team to suggest the best performing, most cost-efficient solution for their needs. Wizards heeded the advice of Digital Distributors which suggested that Wizardz purchase an Epson SureColor T-5200 MFP medium format printer for its Constantia Village store.

The 36 inch Epson SureColor T-5200 MFP is designed for commercial printing outlets that need to produce large format colour or black and white images. It is compatible with a wide range of media from thin specialist stocks to thick cardboard, and is able to print an A0 in as little as 50 seconds

Suitable for printing maps, plans, drawings diagrams, posters and displays, the Epson SC-T5200 MFP features Epson’s PrecisionCore print head and UltraChrome XD ink chemistry.

UltraChrome XD pigment ink is smudge and water resistant and delivers deep blacks and crisp, dense lines — ideal for technical graphics — and the vibrant colours necessary for high-quality prints and posters.

Ink can be sourced in cartridges of up to 700ml, although the Epson SC-T5200 MFP offers low ink consumption, low power consumption, and a large waste tank, all boosting efficiency.

The printer’s small footprint added to its appeal for the team at Wizardz, as did its orientation, which makes it possible to be installed and operated against a wall.

The Epson SureColor T-5200 MFP can be used with Epson’s LFP accounting tool, which is shipped with the printer.

This useful digital assistant allows the owner of the printer to capture the costs of ink and paper, and it will calculate exact consumables use per job, including the amount of time used to produce it.

Such valuable insights will give the business owner the knowledge to put effective pricing strategies in place, manage their environment’s productivity, and keep a tight control on consumables stock.

“This is a relatively new feature that Epson offers, and the team at Wizardz were so impressed by its performance at the Constantia Village store that they asked us to install it across all their Epson devices at the other two outlets as well,” says Panton.

“We love that the Epson SureColor T-5200 MFP is a scanner and printer combination, and our customers are finding it extremely useful too!” says Christopher Swift, the manager of the Constantia Village Wizardz store. “Once an image is scanned in, we find it really valuable to be able to manipulate sections such as the background tonality.

“It is compact and looks futuristic – almost looking more like medical equipment,” he adds. “What’s more, it’s easy to use, and the instruction monitor is clear and simple, which makes operating it efficient and stress-free.”

Swift continues that his team really values the Epson SureColor T-5200’s dual stock holder, which saves on time and avoids the hassle that would otherwise have been associated with swopping between the two main stocks of media that the company prints on. The printer supports rolls of medium, cut sheets, and thick boards. The media output bin can be set to accept final product in a flat or a folded presentation.

The Epson SureColor T-5200 MFP can be controlled from the desktop, from the large front-panel colour LCD, or remotely via a web-based utility. A built-in email system enables remote job status and error reporting, while an included plug-in utility makes it easy to print from MS Office applications.

Wizards was just the second print shop in South Africa to purchase the Epson SureColor T-5200 MFP, and the company made this choice because of the printer’s outstanding features, small footprint, versatility, and low cost of ownership.

“Epson products are well supported in South Africa when it comes to consumables, parts, and knowledge about its printers’ capabilities,” says Swift. “We also have the utmost respect for John and Digital Distributors, so his recommendations led our purchasing decisions as we established this new branch of our business.