Daeho had a previous UK agent several years ago but needed a more pro-active partner to represent its kit. The manufacturer initially came across Leeds-based DDJ at Drupa 2016.
David Jarrett, director at DDJ, told Printweek: “I went to see them again at Drupa earlier this year and we just said, ‘let’s stop messing about and let’s start trying to sell your products in the UK and Ireland’.”
The partnership, which came into effect last month, will see DDJ offer kit including Daeho’s three flagship i-Cutter models – the 78, 92 and 115. The 78 has a cutting width of 780mm, while the 92 offers 920mm, and the 115 can cut up to 1.15m wide. The machines feature CIP3 and CIP4 compatibility. Jarrett added: “The reason I went down the South Korean route is because I see it as like the Samsung of guillotines – ultra reliable, the latest technology, and up there with the Japanese and German [competitor machines].
“We had a look at them with all the guards off, to take a good look at the electronics and mechanics, and they are very, very well built.”
DDJ will offer the USP of a five-year guarantee and will provide full installation and training. After-sales service support will be provided by Jarrett’s son, an engineer with 23 years’ experience, including working on Komori equipment.
Market positioning for the machines is said to be in line with Polar. Jarrett said lead times could be around 12 weeks and that he was in negotiations with Daeho to take one of each of the flagship models into stock at DDJ’s Leeds base.
DDJ is also the exclusive UK distributor for colour measurement, control and inspection systems from German company Lithec.
These systems are said to offer dynamic colour control, measurement of each sheet, a clear user-friendly interface, consistent print quality with reduced costs, reduced makeready times, waste sheet reduction, and lower CO2 emissions.
“Lithec have got online, offline, and inline colour control, and it's retrofittable to any machine,” said Jarrett.
“If you’ve got a 10-year-old Komori, KBA [Koenig & Bauer] or Heidelberg six-colour with coater, and now everybody is wanting colour control, what's your choice? Either you go out and you spend £2m to £3m on a new press, or you spend 10% of that on a retrofit inline colour control, which brings your old machine up to current standards.
“Buyers are demanding that you’ve got to have this ISO, and that colour control. What this does is takes an older machine and brings it up to current spec.
“The payback time is about eight months with the paper saving, the quicker makereadies, less waste etc, which is very short.”
Established in 2001, DDJ also supplies quality used printing equipment.
