2012 has continued the successes of the past few years for Cielab. It’s already signed an agreement to be a Hewlett-Packard Scitex partner, plus, new RIP
HP Scitex FB500
software from its partnership with SAi means Cielab can now run entire workflow solutions for larger PSPs, resolving a common problem. And it all comes on top of strong staff growth.
Australian colour-management specialist Cielab has been announced as an HP Scitex channel partner. The agreement will see Cielab become a specialist dealer in HP’s FB-series UV curable flat bed hybrid printers. It is only HP’s third such partnership.
Michael Rooney, head of Cielab, says the company is “more than pleased” with the signing.
“It’s a terrific achievement, and certainly builds on our success with HP technology — particularly so in the past couple of years. Cielab has now become one of the largest HP dealers, by volume, for the new Designjet Latex ink printer technology.
“We add a lot of value to HP by being able to offer a host of solutions, which is unique.”
Shane Lucas, HP’s director of graphic arts, South Pacific, says, “HP is very proud to expand the partnership with Cielab to cover HP large format flat bed devices, Scitex FB500 and FB700.
“HP is very confident in Cielab’s ability, based on their success to date selling the Designjet Latex range and their focus on the large format printing market. As part of this partnership, Cielab will focus on offering the complete HP package across hardware, colour management, workflow and services.”
Michael Rooney says, “It’s a neat fit: the FB-series UV curable flat bed hybrid — which is well suited to industrial, high-volume requirements — goes hand in hand with the Designjet Latex printers with which we have had such enormous success.”
SAi’s PixelBlaster to add further value
Cielab, which has grown to seven staff, is the Oceania region value added reseller (VAR) for RIP software manufacturer SA International (SAi).
Michael says this strategic partnership has been part of Cielab’s success with the Designjet Latex technology, to date.
“Every latex printer Cielab sells is driven by that SAi software. Their exciting new release, ‘PixelBlaster’ print production software, was released at FESPA Digital 2012 in late February. As their VAR, we will showcase and represent that in this region.”
Michael says the PixelBlaster launch is very relevant to the HP flatbed announcement because the software is intended for the same higher-end market.
“We will be looking to drive the Scitex FB500 and FB700 models in a package with PixelBlaster. This will enable us to run the entire workflow of larger PSPs [print service providers], thus solving a major problem that is typical in companies of that size, and one for which no solution has been offered before.”
Andy Wauters, sales manager for SAi, says, “In multi-printing device environments, PixelBlaster ensures each printer automatically generates exactly the same predictable and reproducible output quality and colour — regardless of the brand of hardware, the type of inks or the substrates used.
“Cielab’s unique approach to the market, where end-user focus is central in the day-to-day business, provides a solid base for recurrent business — as software upgrades for example.
“SAi believes that Cielab will be a key factor in the introduction, success and growth of PixelBlaster software.”
Michael says, “One of the problems in the printing industry is that when you reach a certain size, you often end up with lots of different types of printers, and, therefore, lots of different printer software. What Cielab does is offer a resolved solution: we make every device work flawlessly together. It’s the level above workflow, we solve a PSP’s entire workshop flow.”
Cielab Australia
