Welcome to Synchron Markings

Synchron is an Africa-based, family-owned company that has selected suppliers who are all world leaders in their respective areas of expertise. Synchron, having begun our journey 50 years ago, has become a leader by:

Relentlessly sourcing innovative products that differentiate the end-users’ brands
Providing tailor-made solutions
Never compromising on quality
Offering consistently excellent service to our customers
Operating with integrity in everything we do
Being a committed Synchronised Team

Architectural

Synchron represent Serge Ferrari, who has become synonymous with designing tensile structures. In addition to this, Serge Ferrari’s unique range of products provide solutions for interior and exterior walls, ceilings and windows, as well as industrial and marine applications.
Solar Protection

Serge Ferrari provides a full range of fabrics for commercial and domestic blinds. Soltis® is the name given to the range of perforated fabric which can be used internally or externally. External blinds made of Soltis fabrics have exceptional strength and dimensional stability. This allows for the creation of large size blinds, which keep their shape without curling on the sides. The lifespan of Soltis blinds is by far the longest on the market. Internally it will provide thermal comfort, as well as translucency and visibility.

Interior Architecture

Batyline® is the name given to the product used for tensioned ceilings, acoustic panels, walls, fittings, and decoration. The lightness and flexibility of Batyline® composite fabric offers freedom in terms of shapes and dimensions for ceilings, wall acoustic absorption, and decorative paneling. Batyline® is a woven fabric with a matte appearance, and has 13 unique colours in its palette. Freely tensioned Batyline® with an air gap is a solution that sets itself apart through its saving in absorbent foam, wool or felt, thereby limiting its spatial requirement.

Tensile Architecture

Textile architecture allows extensive architectual freedom as well as internal natural light, and highlights both the roof and facade. Natural light is an integral part of textile architecture. Ferrari Précontraint® membranes have considerable extended lifespan because of their top protective layer. The Précontraint® technology also gives the structure exceptional dimensional stability.

Facade & Wall Cladding

The facade of the building is the most expressive component of a building. Serge Ferrari has several suitable membranes that offer unique innovative solutions. There are a number of features which make it an ideal solution. It has dimensional stability, as it does not deform. There are lots of beautiful colours to choose from. It is totally wind resistant. The membranes are fire retardant and comply with European standards. Lastly, the membrane is easy to maintain as it has an anti-fungal treatment which protects against natural elements.

Industrial Applications

Serge Ferrari offers truck tarpaulin material that can be supplied with or without the patented Defender® security textile. Serge Ferrari produced Defender® as an efficient solution to vandalism and cutting of truck tarpaulins. Defender® has built-in, high resistance multi-strand steel cables only 4cm apart, weaving all the way along in both directions, and it is virtually impossible to get a hand between them.

Marine

Professional and pleasure boat skippers the world over appreciate the Serge Ferrari range for its exceptional service life, its UV and mould resistance, its lightweight design, and its easy care and cleaning. The Serge Ferrari Group produces innovative composite textiles drawing on its expertise as a provider of unique technical textile solutions.

Visual Media and Branding

Synchron’s Self Adhesive Vinyls allows you to transform any surface into an advert or creative space. Representing one of the world leaders, MACtac, we are able to offer a quality solution. MACtac are innovative and are always developing new products and upgrading existing products to allow better print quality, easier applications, and variety of choice.

Moving Media

The key to success with floor branding is to use the right quality products. Better quality vinyls not only last longer but also look better for longer. With floor graphics, a large image that fills the entire space works well. Floor vinyl can lead and entice you to a product in-store. It can be a very effective marketing tool if done creatively

Floor Branding

The key to success with floor branding is to use the right quality products. Better quality vinyls not only last longer but also look better for longer. With floor graphics, a large image that fills the entire space works well. Floor vinyl can lead and entice you to a product in-store. It can be a very effective marketing tool if done creatively

Wall Branding

Synchron offer a full range of vinyls for interior and exterior walls: from short term, easy-apply wall vinyls, to long term textured wall vinyls. Wall decals are also very popular and effective amongst interior designers. MACtac offer a wonderful range of unique colours for cut-out wall decals which will meet the needs of most corporate or home owners’ needs.

Point of Purchase & Truck Tarpaulin Branding Media

Our star product in this category is the Serge Ferrari Expolit 456, with Précontraint® technology. It is a multi-purpose textile for all Point of Purchase situations; including event promotions, streamers, roll-up and hanging banners, wall décor, and billboards. It is printable on both sides, with both a glossy and a matte side, making it especially versatile. The patented Précontraint® technology guarantees no edge-curling or roll-up on hanging banners, thanks to the textile’s exceptional dimensional stability and flatness. The treatment applied to the PVC allows for an excellent print quality that cannot be matched.

Graphic Foils

Why use foil on your application?

In today’s competitive market, brand and product perception is key to survival. The use of foil on a product’s packaging or exterior will elevate this perception in the mind of the consumer, and increase product visibility. Synchron represents the Leonhard Kurz range of hot and cold stamping foils allowing you to achieve brilliant visual effects on a vast range of products.

Hot Stamping Foil versus Cold Foil Transfer

Throughout the years of print, hot stamping foil has been used by designers, brand and product managers to achieve visual effects on their packaging that no other print medium has afforded them. The brilliance of hot stamping foil creates high impact attention. Hot stamped foil offers a superior lustre and brilliance.

On the other hand, cold foil transfer is a foiling process relatively new to South Africa, whereby a UV adhesive is applied to specifically developed stamping foils, and cured through the carrier by means of a UV light (no expensive dies are used). Cold foil transfer cannot be compared to hotstamping and cannot be used “instead of” – the two foil processes serve different applications, yield different results, and satisfy varying needs.

Hot stamped foil offers you an incomparable lustre and brilliance in your result while cold foil offers a wider range of metallic shade possibilities via overprinting, faster turnaround times, and a more cost-effective option (no tooling requirements). The properties, grades and qualities of all Kurz foils regarding release, edge definition, surface stamping properties, adhesion characteristics, temperature resistance, abrasion or scratch resistance, and chemical and physical resistance are harmonised for the respective applications.

Decorative Foils

Kurz Decorative Foils can be applied on the following substrates:

• Graphic applications: various smooth/rough paper & board; coated/uncoated paper & board; acetate laminates; PE/PP laminates
• Plastic applications: Polystyrene; ABS; PVC; SAN; PP & PE; PETG
• Textile & Bookbinding applications
• Wood / Furniture applications: Touchwood®
• Picture Frame applications.

LIGHT LINE® Holographic FoilKurz’s range of decorative foil is visually exciting with diffractive (holographic) structures. LIGHT LINE® foil can be used on its own, or as a complement to our traditional product line. It is available in various designs to suit every need. Kurz recently unveiled their new and exciting range of LIGHT LINE® designs at the 2012 Drupa show. COLORIT® Pigmented Foil

COLORIT® is an extensive and coordinated range of different grades and colours for use in the graphics and plastics industry. The COLORIT 900 series covers matte coloured foils while the COLORIT 800 series covers brilliant enamel colours. These colours are generally only brought in against specific customer orders.

Coding Foil & Thermal Transfer Ribbon (TTR) Coding foils are used to stamp various markings onto product packaging, providing the consumer with important production information such as the expiration date, the production date, the weight, or the price. We have a wide range of grades and colours. Kurz Coding Foils are developed using non-harmful raw materials. Kurz does not use ozone-endangering substances commonly used in today’s market. This is of significant benefit to both processors and consumers.

Thermal Transfer Ribbon (TTR) came about from the need for a non-impact print method. TTR printing differs from the hot stamping process in that the ink is Thermal Transfer Ink and thus is activated by using only heat energy – no pressure – to bond the ink to the substrate using various conventional computerised printing methods. TTR is most commonly used for printing barcodes.

There are three types of Thermal Transfer Ribbon that vary in quality and scratch resistance:

• Wax: least expensive; most suitable for short-term & disposable products; works best on paper and labels
• Wax / Resin: premium/hybrid ribbon; good smudge resistance; works best on smooth papers & plastic labels
• Resin: high-end ribbon; high scratch & smudge resistance; very durable ribbon; most commonly used on plastics.

New Developments at Leonard Kurz

Digital MetalDigital printing can produce very refined results. Kurz has developed a finishing process that can conjure the most subtle metallic sheen onto digital print products. Previously, it was only possible to apply a true metallic gloss to paper or card stock using one of three finishing technologies: full-surface metal deposition, hot stamping, or cold foil transfer integrated into offset printing. Now there is a new way: a process Kurz call Digital Metal®.

Digital Metal® was unveiled at the 2012 Drupa show with overwhelming success! Synchron sells the consumables and machine as a complete system only and can supply you with pre-printed samples to gauge the brilliance of this new technology.

Brand Protection and High Security

High Security

Over 100 countries are placing their trust in the KINEGRAM® technology to protect their documents and banknotes. OVD Kinegram, a company based in Switzerland, is a member of the Kurz Group and is the competence center for government documents and bank notes. Their experience dates back to the early 80s when they first protected the Saudi Arabian passport with a KINEGRAM®. This experience of over 20 years has been complemented by maintaining close contacts with police forces, customs authorities, and internationally-reputed security specialists – translating into an excellent return on investment for our customers.

The KINEGRAM® technology is based on a unique core process that allows a range of security levels to be implemented. It is also modular and extensible which means it can be combined with a wide variety of technologies to achieve an optimal level of security and robustness. Synchron represents OVD Kinegram and Leonhard Kurz who are the world leaders in the supply of high security products for government document protection and unique brand security solutions. This has made KINEGRAM® the most highly regarded security element in the world, meeting ICAO standards and greatly assisting control agencies in their daily fight against all forms of forgery and falsification.

Brand Protection

Energy … Time … Passion … Money … Brainpower …
These are the investments we make in creating a story around a brand and to breathe life into it. The result is brand credibility and brand integrity that create healthy brand perceptions that reassure customers that the product you produced is the one that ends up in their hands. Partner with Kurz and Synchron to protect what is yours against counterfeiting and tampering, giving you peace of mind.

Scratch-Off & Signature Foil

Scratch-Off Foils have two functions: they act as a visual barrier mask, and as a validation seal. Only after the hot stamped foil has been scratched off does the secured information become visible. Kurz Scratch-Off Foils serve as a tamper-evident layer for personal authorisation data (i.e. passwords, PIN numbers, lottery ticket numbers, etc.) on paper and plastic cards.

Synchron has access to an unmatched variety of foil patterns to enable you to create individual designs that can be tailored to specific target groups. We can also request customised designs from Kurz according to client specifications. There are also a series of striking foils available with holographic designs, including one with luminescent colours.

We offer three groups of Scratch Off Foils for PVC cards:

• Scratch-Off foils with overprint
• Scratch-Off foils without overprint
• Scratch-Off foils with Diffractive (holographic) patterns.

Synchron supplies a range of Kurz foil that can be effectively signed on by means of biros, ballpoint pens, and fibre-tip pens. The ink forms a permanent bond with the card after it is stamped and makes the card counterfeit-proof.

“Counterfeit-Proof” Signature Foil prevents:

• Mechanical tampering: when rubbed-off or scratched, the foil will turn blue
• Solvent tampering: when coming in contact with liquids e.g. alcohol, either the foil logo or the entire foil smears.
• Oxidating agent tampering: ink killers, correction fluids, and brake fluids cause the logo to fade and the signature panel to discolour.

Three groups of Signature Foil to choose from:

• Neutral generic designs available to any customer: white transparent, spider web, Valid.
• Customised wallpaper designs which can be produced for authorised manufacturers e.g. VISA and Mastercard.
• Customised single image designs that can include UV-visible inks in various colours and that can be produced for authorised manufacturers e.g. AMEX, Maestro.

Magnetic Stripe

Synchron can supply the following Kurz magnetic foils (Mag stripes):

• Coloured foils
• Foils with overprints
• Customised colours and patterns on request.

Three types of Mag Stripe:

• Magnetic hot stamping foil: used for small volume or single card applications
• Tape layer transfer foil: used for overlay applications suitable for mass production.
• Magnetic total laminating foil/cold bonding: this is not a common method as it requires a tape layer-type machine.

Industrial Applications

Defender

Defender is a patented, innovative Ferrari mesh textile incorporating very high strength steel cables. This provides effective security for many textile systems without changing the inherent flexibility.

Serge Ferrari offers truck tarpaulin material that can be supplied with or without the patented Defender® security textile. Serge Ferrari produced Defender® as an efficient solution to vandalism and cutting of truck tarpaulins. Defender® has built-in, high resistance multi-strand steel cables only 4cm apart, weaving all the way along in both directions, and it is virtually impossible to get a hand between them.

Polycarbonate Film and Technical Tapes

Makrofol® DE is the brand of polycarbonate films which we sell for nameplates, panels and displays. The transparent and translucent films demonstrate excellent graphic quality during printing and are available in various finishes, from gloss on both sides to fine matte or velvet. Synchron represents Bayer, who manufacture a range of polycarbonate films called Makrofol®. Its particular strengths include high heat resistance, impressive toughness and elasticity over a wide temperature range, good stiffness and excellent electrical insulation properties. Makrofol® can be formed either hot or cold, and enables top quality printing with standard inks using screen or digital printing.

Most of our Makrofol® is used in the membrane switch industry and for light diffusion in the lighting industry. Synchron also sell high performance membrane switch spacer components and laminating adhesives for the membrane switch industry.