About Solitaire Press

our DNA

Solitaire’s core business since 1992 has been to provide high quality full colour offset commercial print to all sectors of the Namibian economy using only the very latest printing technologies available anywhere in the world. The company operates a modern purpose built facility specifically designed to optimise print work flows and logistics to meet the high quality and delivery expectations of our clients throughout the country. The key print functions of graphic design, computer to plate (CtP) imaging, press and bindery are all located at this secure one-stop facility in Windhoek. Clients are assured of print solutions that are both cost effective and optimally produced by a team of dedicated, sincere and experienced sales, creative and production staff.

print ecologically

Success in the printing business and eco-friendly production are not diametrically opposed. In fact, the contrary is true - environmentally friendly production minimises waste, energy consumption and emissions. Solitaire supports the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Therefore carefully sourced FSC certified substrates and high recycled content paper are always recommended for our printed products whenever possible.

studio + pre-press

Professional designs are created in close collaboration with our clients at our inhouse studio and then checked, and checked again, before being packaged and submitted to the CtP department for page imposition and imaging to plate. Leading technology Heidelberg Suprasetter 106 laser platesetters guarantee excellent image quality plates are produced and accurately punched for printing. These fully automated precision devices ensure top-level productivity around the clock with very little manual intervention. Prinect Prepress Interface allows the press operator to import relevant parameters directly from CtP, to precisely set the ink
zones on the press and ensure accurate colour reproduction with reduced makeready time and waste.

document compilation

Solitaire, together with a team of trusted and highly experienced professionals, can produce with integrity and full confidentiality high level documents and reports for large corporate and state owned enterprises. Reports are compiled to conform with best practice prescribed by the Corporate Governance Code for Namibia (NamCode) and the International Integrated Reporting Framework (IIRF). The service
includes the development of corporate identity manuals, annual reports, professional photography, copy writing, editing and final proofreading.

commercial print

In the rapidly changing commercial print market, it is only those companies which can deliver the highest quality at the best prices that will survive. This is possible only when the whole production process is kept lean by means of process optimisation through technology and speed. Solitaire’s peak performance class Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 75-5 LX and SM 102-2P presses are used to meet the most demanding quality and delivery standards set by our clients in commercial, label, security and packaging printing.

digital + mailing

Digital printing shines when it comes to short-runs. Any quantity that can be printed on less than 200 A3 size images should be printed on a digital press. Set-up costs are lower for short-runs, exact quantities can be printed without waste, and with improved technologies, digital quality is getting closer to offset. Digital colour prints are produced on two high end devices, a Canon Océ imagePRESS C7010 and a Ricoh Pro C7200X with five colours, both designed for commercial printers. True 1200 x 1200 dpi with 256 levels of grey on the devices makes it very difficult to tell the difference between digital and offset.

Digital’s other strong point is its variable data capability where each product receives a unique code, image, name or address. Two Richo PRO1357 EXPS high volume devices are used to deliver single colour variable data prints in our mailroom. Data downloaded from corporate databases is processed to cost effectively print client statements, invoices and general notifications on pre-printed colour stationery.

The intelligent MB autoSET 18 envelope feeding system, with a high throughput of 18000 inserts per hour, is used to complete the mailing process. Additional preprinted promotional material can be selectively inserted into the same envelope using the four insert stations without any compromise on speed.

wet-gum labels

Solitaire supplies high quality square and die-cut wet-gum labels to the fish and meat canning industries in Namibia. Metal effects such as gold, copper, silver and bronze can be applied for special effect. Labels are coated in-line for durability, immediate turn around and handling. Precision high speed Polar 137 cutting systems with automatic Transomat unloading are used to guarantee square-cut labels are trimmed to the finest tolerances, delivered in precisely counted and
banded stacks and with minimal handling. A zero tolerance Polar DC-M die-cutter is used to obtain a variety of die-cut shapes for bottle neck and body labels.

bookbinding

Strong finishing can help mitigate delays at the pre-press and press stages of production and bring back on track jobs with tight delivery deadlines. High speed saddle stitchers, thread sewing machines, perfect binders, guillotines and threeknife trimmers are used to ensure all jobs are finished to impeccable standards and dispatched on time.

However, it is in the bindery that one can witness the true craft of the bookbinder. Complex digital printing equipment may allow for the production of high quality jobs in ever smaller quantities, but it’s precisely because of this decline in quantities that old-fashioned bindery skills can outperform production equipment - a fine balance between old and new. Collating, pad glueing, embossing and hard cover case binding are still hand crafted by our highly skilled and experienced
team in the bindery.

signage + digital die-cutting

Solitaire’s Océ Arizona 360 GT and 440 GT award winning UV flat-bed printers are ideally equipped for creating high-quality, large format signage, banners, light boxes and exhibit displays directly onto PVC, ABS, Chromadek, Correx, wood, tile, aluminium - virtually any rigid or flexible substrate. The fitted white ink option enables printing full colour on glass, perspex or leather. Canvas and vinyl can also be printed using the roll-media option.

UV curable inks allow us to guarantee outdoor colour fidelity for as much as two years. The Arizonas handle 50 mm thick rigid media up to 2500 mm x 1250 mm printed to full bleed. For creative professionals, the flat-bed printers use Océ VariaDot imaging technology to achieve smoother near-photographic image quality and perfect text as small as 2-pt in size, for fine art reproduction and high definition applications in architecture, photography, interior decoration and kitchen design.

The Zünd G3 is an advanced Swiss made flat-bed digital cutter and router designed for maximum productivity. The cutter eliminates bottlenecks in the Signage department by automating all trimming and cutting functions. The Zünd G3 accurately cuts materials up to 50 mm thick. The machine can crease, kiss cut, route and V-cut a wide range of substrates. The fitted V-cut tool produces angled cuts in thick, rigid materials, essentially scoring them, so they can be folded into light structural and other three-dimensional designs in the production of POS/POP displays.

Looking Good on Paper