Tali celebrates 10 years in operation

on 27 February 2018

Tali Digital Displays was established in June 2004 with a staff count of two. What started as a CD and DVD silkscreen printing and duplication service evolved into a fully-fledged digital printing company. A new logo and corporate identity have been launched to reflect the changes that the company has experienced.

Orlando de Abreu commented, ‘I did an obscene amount of cold calling to grow our client base and as we grew, we managed to acquire more machinery for the screen, digital printing and duplication output of the business. We then added digital printing to the mix and bought our first indoor

dye-based digital roll to roll printer with a laminator. This was in 2006 and I’ve never looked back.’

‘The first few months were quite challenging but there’s nothing like the deep end to learn how to swim. It was something special for me to watch a machine all of a sudden start to print a colour image by the simple click of a mouse,’ he continued.

In November 2006, a few months after the purchase of Tali’s first dye-based machine, the company bought their second eco-solvent machine. This was the turning point for Tali and from then on Orlando and his team ploughed all their energy into the digital print solutions market.

In 2007 the company moved to an office space and with the move came very welcomed growth and a renewed energy for the direction the company was headed in. The staff count grew to five and de Abreu’s wife, Carla, also joined the business.

‘I have been very blessed to have a very supportive wife who had so much faith in me that she joined me in late 2006. Neither of us have looked back, well maybe once or twice to make sure the object being thrown at me was not too sharp!’ said de Abreu.

By 2008 Tali had outgrown the 72 square metre office, so the company moved to a new mini factory of 240 square metres. To keep up with demand, Orlando employed more staff members.

Then in 2009 Tali bought its first 3.2m billboard printer. De Abreu wanted the company to be prepared for, and take advantage of, the excessive amounts of print volumes that would need to be met in preparation for the FIFA World Cup 2010. It also installed a high frequency welding machine enabling it to convert all banners in house and an automated eyelet machine to meet the required short deadlines.

In 2010 Tali moved to bigger premises and then moved again into what is now its current state-of-the-art facilities, complete with printing environment requirements, including liquid thrown self-levelling floors to specialised extraction, air-conditioning and back-up generator.

With the extra space available de Abreu was able to acquire more machines and employed more staff to further increase their service and product offerings, enabling Tali to work within shorter lead-times on the completion of all soft signage requirements such as flags, banners, media walls, telescopics, sharkfin banners and gazebos. Tali also launched its very own in-house brand of Alutex Textile tensioning systems.

The company then acquired a flatbed machine that allows for printing directly to almost any flat surface, which widens the scope of branding options for clients.

With the installation of the flatbed came the necessity to put in an automated cutting table, which allows for work to be manufactured and cut according to accurate specifications consistently, with virtually no errors. The benefit of a cutting table is that finished product is always consistent. It also makes it possible to meet tight deadlines and convert orders faster.

‘Over the years we have perfected what we do and have given our business greater focus. With the need to communicate this to our new and existing clients, we have launched a new CI and Brand Identity which we revealed at Markex 2014.

The new logo was devised to reflect the fact that Tali is now a full-service digital print and display solutions provider. De Abreu commented, ‘There have been significant growth and changes to the displays market. When I first started, all my printing was done using silkscreen printing. Now it is all digital and there are so many different technologies which are used, it requires a great deal of knowledge and attention to detail. I have spent a lot of time learning about the different types of printing and which one works for which application.’

The new name and logo – Tali Print Display Solutions – reflects the changes that the company has experienced in the past ten years. According to Orlando, the focus is no longer on simply printing banners, displays or point of sale material for clients on a once-off basis but rather, in finding the perfect solution for the client, based on the specific needs of the individual customer for each application.

He added, ‘Gone are the days of making one print fit all applications, we have the technology and know-how to create the perfect printed result for the client for each application and this is where our expertise comes into play.’

De Abreu concluded, ‘We are a solutions driven company, we ask the right questions, lots of questions, but most of the time we think of challenges that the clients themselves have not picked up on – giving them the most suitable solution for their particular requirements. We are extremely passionate about what we do and we look forward to even more growth in the future.’