The Brief From Century City
The client was an admin-led office in Century City, Cape Town, with steady colour printing across reception, finance and management. They wanted one shared machine that could handle everyday colour work without the constant call for fresh cartridges, paper mismatches and someone hunting for the right driver on a busy morning.
On paper the requirement looked straightforward, but the office needed the setup to hold up under daily use: decent colour, sensible running cost, and a machine that could be used by several staff members without creating a queue at the printer. They also needed support that fit a Cape Town office pace, with quick help available when a setting changed or a consumable ran low.
What Was Getting In The Way
The office had been splitting colour work across smaller printers and it was costing time. One device would run out of ink first, another would pull the wrong paper type, and a third would sit unused until somebody remembered the login. That kind of setup looks fine until month end, then it slows everyone down.
There were also space and power concerns. The print point had to sit comfortably in a shared admin area, not take over the room, and keep working through the usual South African interruptions, including load-shedding and the occasional voltage wobble. In Cape Town, humidity can also affect paper handling and output if stock is left open too long, so the office wanted a tidy, controlled setup.
- Too many small printers for one office workflow
- Inconsistent colour from one machine to the next
- Space limits in a shared admin area
- Need for practical support during power interruptions
The Colour Setup We Supplied
We supplied and installed one shared office colour printer sized for regular admin use, with duplex printing, network sharing and straightforward tray loading. The machine was chosen for reliable day to day output rather than showy speed claims, because the office needed something staff could trust every day. It was paired with matching consumables and a clear reordering plan so they would not be caught short mid week.
We also checked media choices for the sort of work they produce most often. That included standard office paper for letters and reports, a slightly heavier stock for presentations, and a simple guide on when to use coated paper for cleaner colour work. The aim was to give staff a useful print range without overcomplicating the shelf stock.
- Shared office colour printer with duplex printing
- Network setup for multiple users
- Matching inks and a consumable reorder plan
- Paper guidance for standard, heavier and coated media
Installation And Handover In Two Weeks
The project ran over two weeks. Week one covered site assessment, print volume checks and the final machine choice. We also looked at where the printer would sit, how staff would collect output and what supplies should be kept near the unit. Week two covered delivery, installation, network connection, print quality checks and user handover.
The handover was kept practical. We showed the office team how to load paper correctly, where to check ink levels and what to do if a tray setting changed after someone used a different paper size. We also left them with a short maintenance routine that could be handled in-house without waiting for a technician for every small issue.
- Week 1: assessment, volumes and machine selection
- Week 2: delivery, setup, testing and handover
- Simple in-house routine for paper and ink checks
Keeping It Working Month After Month
After the install, we stayed available for remote help and consumable planning. That mattered because office print use changes quickly when deadlines pile up or a new staff member joins. We also did a follow-up print quality check to make sure colour held steady and that the office was not wasting ink on repeated test pages. It is often the small things, like a tray guide or wrong paper type, that cause the biggest mess.
The consumables side was handled by one contact point, so the team did not have to chase different people for the same order. If a cartridge was nearing the end of its useful life, the office had enough lead time to reorder. That reduced interruptions and kept the printer from sitting idle while everyone waited for stock.
- Remote help for quick questions
- Follow-up print quality check after go-live
- Single-contact consumable reordering
Results For The Office Team
The biggest result was control. Instead of several small printers each doing a little bit of colour work, the office now had one clear print point for everyday jobs. Staff spent less time switching devices, colour output became more consistent and the admin team had a better idea of what was being spent each month. The office also had a calmer setup, which matters when people are moving in and out of the same shared space all day.
For future print decisions, the team now has a simple rule: keep daily office colour on the shared machine and move to wider format only when the work needs larger proofing or presentation output. That keeps costs sensible and stops the office from buying more printer than it actually needs.
- Cleaner workflow with one shared colour printer
- More consistent output across everyday print jobs
- Better visibility on ink and paper use
- Clear rule for when to step up to wide-format
What We Would Do Again
We would approach the next office project the same way: start with print volumes, match the machine to the daily job mix and keep the supply plan simple. For a Cape Town office, that also means planning for load-shedding, keeping spare consumables on hand and making sure the handover is easy enough for any staff member to follow.
That approach saves time later. It avoids over-specifying the machine, keeps support practical and gives the client a print setup that works in real office conditions, not just on paper.
MyColour continues to support offices, sign shops and design teams from Ndabeni, with courier supply nationwide and service support across Cape Town including Montague Gardens, Woodstock, Claremont, Bellville and Somerset West.
Key facts
| Project type | Shared office colour consolidation |
|---|---|
| Town | Century City, Cape Town |
| Timeline | 2 weeks |
| Machine class | Desktop office colour printer |
| Key functions | Colour printing, duplex, network sharing |
| Support included | Installation, handover, quality checks, remote help |
