Avita Resort goes all-in for inkjet

Bad Tatzmannsdorf, in the borderlands between Austria, Hungary and Slovenia, is rich in hot thermal springs and is one of the most important spa locations in the Austrian state of Burgenland. It's home to the Avita Resort, which meets the needs of even the most demanding of guests, as is demonstrated by its Wellness Spa of the Year awards

In 2011 the resort was extended, increasing demands on its IT systems. "Our establishment is currently equipped with 14 printers, although at the moment we still operate a combination of laser and inkjet devices depending on the site," explains Andreas Osztovits, responsible for F&B Control and IT Administration at the resort. "But in the medium term, we're planning to move completely to inkjet printers". The company has made the first step in this direction by acquiring two WorkForce Pro WF-R5690DTWF RIPS machines for the hotel and spa.

The main requirement for the new printing systems was that they should ensure the lowest possible costs during operation. The resort chose Epson's WorkForce Pro RIPS inkjet printers, which can print up to 75,000 pages in black and white and up to 50,000 in colour, without changing cartridges. "With the Epson inkjets we’ve solved two problems at once," says Oszotovits. "We purchased these printers for a lifespan of five years, firstly so that we have very transparent and low running costs, and secondly so that we have printing systems that no longer need any special attention – and that's exactly what we want."

The WorkForce Pro printers need to be able to cope with a wealth of different tasks. In addition to printing documents such as invoices, programme cards and guests' post, the scanning and copying functions also play an important role. It is vital that prints are water-resistant because the guests sometimes collect their documents when coming directly from the baths or spa. 

"We need very reliable technology especially in places where there are a lot of guests. This means that the printers and copiers simply have to do their job. For example, it wouldn't meet the standards of our establishment if guests were kept waiting while their programme cards were printed out, just because the ink or toner cartridge needed to be changed yet again. The Epson printers, with their enormous yield and low maintenance costs, were just the ticket here," says Osztovits.

In line with the nature of the company, the subject of sustainability is also taken very seriously. For example, the switch to an inkjet printing infrastructure will continue as existing laser printers are replaced. The print costs for some of the older systems are very high, so the efficiency of the Epson WorkForce devices is extremely welcome in the resort. "In addition to their reliability and the simple interface, the low electricity consumption in comparison to laser printers makes the Epson WorkForce even more attractive for us," concludes Osztovits.