Printacom has extended its channel relationship with Printronix, a heavy duty printing solutions manufacturer, to establish a printing division focused on OKI line printers and radio frequency identification (RFID) bar code and label printers.
The deal sees Printacom adding the Printronix range of RFID bar code and label printers to its product offering. Printacom is the sole importer and distributor of the OKI range of printing solutions to the South African reseller channel.
Printacom's newly appointed printing product division manager, Libby Ballardin, will drive the printer solutions into the niche market of RFID printing. Printacom will now sell the Printronix thermal product line, which includes the T4M and T5000r thermal bar code printers and the SL4M and SL5000r RFID printers, as well as online data validation products.
Neil Rom, MD of Printacom, says the partnership allows Printacom to expand its business by adding its new industrial printing division: “We see a lot of potential in offering this kind of dedicated solution to a market that is moving towards an integrated logistics supply chain environment. I think the market is desperately looking for a reputable brand that they can look forward to with a strong service backup.”
Printing potential
There are huge opportunities in the South African market for RFID label printing, Rom says. Printacom will keep an eye on potential opportunities for the 2010 Fifa World Cup. In addition, the Department of Transport is looking to RFID for its toll projects. “There are multiple RFID applications that will be coming into fruition in SA very soon. And international companies are looking to bring RFID goods to SA.”
The RFID bar code printers encode a microchip within the label that can be used for tracking goods through a supply chain, from the factory floor through to the retail till point, without the need to physically read the bar code.
Rom says this drive for the line-printer business is supported by OKI, and includes a trade-in on older machines, irrespective of the brand name, when purchasing a new OKI line printer.
Holder Steer, Printronix area sales manager for Central Europe and SA, says thermal and bar code printing is growing, and the strength of Printacom's distribution system attracted Printacom to target the southern African market. According to Steer, the South African thermal RFID market has an estimated value of $23 million, while on a global scale it is around $1.8 billion.
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