Colour Copy Centre, North Sydney

Colour Copy Centre in North Sydney is using Ricoh technology to drive its business forward.

John chooses to partner with Ricoh because, in his opinion, they have the most reliable and innovative devices and solutions to help him deliver work to the highest of standards. From business cards to photo books, John can always depend on Ricoh for reliable, high performance solutions that produce exceptional quality, on time and on budget.

Employing a stringent set of criteria, John Drake, owner of Colour Copy Centre in North Sydney, has chosen Ricoh digital production presses for his business for the past five years. With 34 years in the industry, Drake carries a wealth of experience and knowledge in print. He commented, "We undertook a significant amount research into which machine solution would work best for our needs. We tested all major brands, giving each product a score out of 100 and gave the Ricoh printer 99 out of 100. The others were nowhere near that mark."

Colour Copy Centre runs a Ricoh Pro C9100 and a Ricoh Pro C7100X. Drake added, "The Ricoh Pro C9100 blew my socks off. It is the best thing I had seen in a long time. Other impressive features include the ability to print sheet size 700 by 330, and printing duplex up to 350gsm and 400gsm.

Ease of use and exceptional output quality

Training on the Ricoh printers does not take long. "Our operator has never been happier. He really enjoys working with the Ricoh printers thanks to its ease of operation, efficiency and exceptional output quality." Drake says.

The white toner option on the Ricoh Pro C7100X is a unique yet practical inclusion. Drake says, "You can throw in the white and clear toner as another point in their favour. It is surprising how much customers get into it and change their methodologies to use it. One of our customers is printing white on black paper and throwing in a splash of colour to show off. We have already seen a fluoro, neon-yellow colour toner with ultra violet for our new Ricoh Pro C7100X, and we have heard of other colour toners coming in the near future. These can be seen under a UV light, which is great for security jobs."

The future looks good for printing

Drake started with a copy shop in 1978. He has steadily grown the business which now employs five full-time staff. Drake reminisces, "We actually had the first five colour photocopiers in Australia. Since then, we have seen major innovations in the industry. These days, we offer nearly every print service you can think of, from small digital right through to wide format."

With a Plockmatic PMB500 on the end of the Ricoh Pro C9100, Colour Copy Centre stays true to its promise of producing as much work as possible in house. Drake says, "The Plockmatic will produce a 50 leaf saddle stitch book. We keep as much as possible in house, especially the finishing. We have two celloglazers and we also do all our own scoring, folding, and slitting - all in house. He enjoys a strong relationship with Ricoh. Ricoh provides excellent servicing but the new printers only require about one tenth of what the old ones needed."

Drake's business philosophy is simple. Drake explains, "Keep your customers satisfied. People will still buy and sell no matter what. Only produce work of the highest standards - do not provide customers with lower quality if you would not be happy to receive it."

Australian Print Awards

Colour Copy Centre recently received a silver medal at the Australian Print Awards. Drake says, "Some design students created a piece and we encouraged them to place it in the Australian Print Awards. It was our only entry this year so we were quite chuffed to have earned such high esteem for it."