Denis Ty, Norde marketing and business development manager, explains the features of their digital printers. (CDN PHOTO / MARITES VILLAMOR-ILANO)
With more commercial printers expected to go digital, printing solutions provider Norde International Distributors has decided to expand its operations to Cebu.
Steve Venn, Norde general manager, said commercial printers that are still doing offset are considering to shift to digital printing technology.
“Long print runs are going down. Customers want shorter print runs the fastest way possible. Can offset continue to do that? It will become harder for them to compete in that area,” he said during the open house at the Norde office and showroom at Square One in Barangay Tipolo, Mandaue City on Wednesday.
He was optimistic that demand for digital printing services will further go up, especially with the proliferation of social media.
“The Philippines is a huge adaptor of social media. When people see something in social media, they also go, ‘Oh I want this, I want that.’ We are very optimistic,” Venn said.
Venn said they are in talks with a couple of Manila-based commercial printers that are looking at setting up operations in Cebu. Norde has also sold some of its industrial digital printers to some Cebu clients, including a known commercial printer.
Venn said they have been considering expansion to Cebu in the last three years.
“We believe that Cebu is now ready. Part of the rationalization for that is we’ve been speaking to a lot of printers in Manila. They’re saying that they think it’s time also to possibly consider setting up in Cebu as well,” he said.
The company will initially focus on the commercial and industrial sectors, but Venn said they also want to cater to the digital printing needs of individual businesses.
“Not that we’d do the production for them, but at least we can show them the applications. With digital, there are so many more applications than what you can do with offset,” Venn added.
Norde distributes digital printing equipment for the labels, packaging, sign and display, direct-to-garment and three-dimensional (3D) sectors.
Laurence Cueto, account manager for Universal Laser Systems, said he sees a huge untapped market for desktop laser printers in the fashion accessories and corporate giveaways segments as well as among makers of leather-based products. Desktop lasers can cut, engrave, mark and produce photo images on metal, glass, leather, wood and other materials.
Norde also distributes the Kornit Breeze direct-to-garment printers, which can print on at least 30 shirts and other kinds of cloth an hour, and the Stratasys 3D printers, which offer prototyping solutions.