Johannesburg, 23 Jan 2024
Print remains a growing business across the African continent. Print provider Altron Document Solutions has recognised that this is a strategic territory and is putting a lot of energy into serving its customers and partners in this region.
Altron Document Solutions, the world’s largest Xerox distributor and Africa’s leading technology and service company, currently operates in 26 countries across southern, central and eastern Africa, including the Indian Ocean islands of Madagascar, Seychelles and Mauritius.
According to James Carruthers, Altron Document Solutions’ Business Development Manager for Africa Operations, key to this growth has been the massive increase in print-on-demand, with clients more likely to only print what they need – as opposed to large and costly printing runs. Africa, he says, is grasping its own destiny here, by taking printing in-house and gaining better control over its costs.
“In addition, Xerox technology offers unique applications to customers in areas as diverse as business and education – this makes the printing of marketing collateral and on-demand book printing, to the secure end-to-end printing of school and university examinations, simple and easy,” he says.
“More than this, Xerox technology offers clients both vivid and traditional CMYK colours, which enhances the colour gamut. Coupled with its extensive African footprint and vast expertise, this positions it to take printing on the continent to a whole new level.”
He notes that growth has been rapid, due to the improved support to the partner network and the company focusing on specific verticals with high growth potential. This has led to a more energised approach towards partnership, particularly in central and Eastern Africa.
“Things are certainly on the right track, as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts that 10 African countries will be among the top 20 fastest growing economies in 2024, and we have already witnessed double-digit growth within certain countries.”
“What is needed now is to leverage the strong Xerox technology, together with the existing extensive footprint and the vast array of skills and knowledge within the company, as an enabler to further stimulate business growth opportunities on the continent,” he adds.
Noting that the organisation has recently launched additional production units that offer expansion beyond the traditional primary CMYK colours, he explains that customers can now also print in gold, silver, clear, white and florescent colours, which enables customers to diversify into new markets.
“By utilising the additional colours, the colour gamut is increased, which in turn offers customers the chance to print a whole new range of colours. In addition, our Vivid range, which includes fluorescent colours, really makes our customers’ printing pop, and provides them with a genuine ‘wow factor’,” explains Carruthers.
“Having this wow factor enhances and makes a business stand out, while allowing our customers to expand their options and product offerings to their clients.”
Carruthers notes that given that the state of the global economy has many businesses attempting to increase productivity and reduce costs, he is excited to see the increasing adoption of the additional colours in print.
“Despite this, the printing industry has witnessed continuous transformation and evolution over recent years, with colour increasingly becoming the de facto standard. This has led to it being adopted in Africa at a faster rate than expected.”
“Altron Document Solutions, the world's largest Xerox distributor, aims to further expand the Xerox footprint on the African continent through continued support of our distribution channel network and collaborating with the right partners. Thanks to new offerings like our enhanced colour gamut and the various unique applications, we anticipate continuous expansion of our market presence and footprint in the region,” he concludes.
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