São Paulo, Brazil – With over 6,000 photo shops, most of them equipped with their own laboratories, few countries have a photo market to rival that of Brazil. Here people say there are three things you'll find wherever you go, from large urban centers to the smallest towns: the church, the grocer's and the photo shop.

Supported by a culture that loves visual images, increasingly Brazilian photo shop owners have diversified their businesses to take advantage of new market opportunities. Jonas Chun's shop is one of the best examples of this diversification.

Jonas with the XC-540

Jonas is not only a very successful businessman; he is also among the most sought-after photographers in cosmopolitan São Paulo. Jonas came to Brazil's capital with his family in the 1970s, and at 15 began working in his father's photo shop. "My father was one of the founding members of the Korean Photography Society," he said. "I can truly say that photography runs in my blood. I think only in images."

At 21, Jonas opened InstanColor, now one of the best-known professional photography studios in the region. Jonas was a visionary entrepreneur: he was one of the first businessmen in Brazil to own a minilab Noritsu QSS-1501 and later a B2B market-oriented Fujifilm Frontier digital minilab. From the beginning, his boldness and strategic vision have helped his business flourish.

Today, more than 25 years after opening his shop, Jonas is once again leading the way in revolutionizing the photography market in Brazil. Four months ago Jonas improved his

production platform by acquiring a Roland SOLJET PRO III XC-540 54" inkjet printer/cutter. With the SOLJET's wide range of capabilities, he is meeting the needs of his customers for large-format digital printing services and anticipating expansion into new market segments.

"Specialized photo processing labs are giving way to stores equipped with digital printing technology," said Jonas. "In addition to Roland's resolution quality, cutting precision, easy ink cartridge replacement and low power consumption, another strength is ECO-SOL MAX eco-solvent ink. With ECO-SOL MAX, I can work in the shop without special ventilation systems. For this reason and its overall cost-effectiveness, the XC-540 has exceeded my expectations."

Jonas is currently focusing on XC-540 applications involving adhesive-backed vinyl, canvas, polyester, PVC and transparencies.  With additional

features such as fast drying time and up to three years of water and UV resistance, ECO-SOL MAX inks provide excellent color coverage on these media options and many others. Aided by his Roland XC-540, Jonas has let his imagination take wing.

"Now services such as photographing a wedding end up being a party for me too," he said. "I can 'play' with the endless possibilities the XC-540 opens to me. I recently created a sequence of eight 200 x 130 cm (6 ft 6.7" x 4 ft 3") polyester panels showing a couple's special moments and displayed as a surprise during the wedding ceremony."

He continued, "This is only one of many possible applications. After all, the XC-540 accepts over 100 media options!

XC-540 Printer/Cutter