Harare-based commercial printer, The PrintWorks Group, plans a nationwide launch of six express print centres and two state-of-the-art digital print presses, features the firm says are increasingly in high demand.

The flagship PrintWorks Xpress centre, in Harare’s northern suburb of Mount Pleasant, was the third of the six express print centres to open, followed by branches in Harare, Kwe Kwe, Mutare and Bulawayo.

The expansion comes soon after PrintWorks was invited to join elite Xerox Premier Partners Global Network, making history as the first African print company outside of South Africa to be awarded this status.

“Since the launch of PrintWorks 10 years ago, we have always driven a market leading culture with an eye on continuous improvement in a shrinking market, a philosophy that has also made us the first Bytes Document Solutions Premier Partner on the African continent (outside of South Africa),” said PrintWorks chief executive Ross Conlon.

“Due to the closed market that Zimbabwe was under, we did not have capital expenditure for as long as 15 years. With an open market, our customers are now expecting the absolute best service 24 hours a day, six days a week – and we have to deliver or they will turn to countries such as South Africa to fulfil their needs.

He went on to say that digital print is a “significant opportunity” for the company.

Olivier Merven, Africa regional manager at Bytes Document Solutions, says the digital print market both in Zimbabwe and Africa is opening up significantly.

"We have actively focused on increasing the awareness of our Digital Colour Presses throughout Africa,” he said.