CMYUK has facilitated the installation of EFI printers at three UK printing companies in recent weeks. Start-up Webb Print & Display has installed a 3.2m Vutek h3, Cardiff-based 3 Sixty has welcomed a Vutek FabriVU 340i and family-run Hollywood Monster has taken delivery of a Vutek Q5r to cope with demand after a record-breaking four months.
Webb Print & Display is a new Redditch-based start-up which already operated two HP Latex printers and a Kongsberg digital cutting table before the arrival of its Vuktek. It has since produced ‘several nationwide retail campaigns’ on the machine, generating forward momentum for the business, and attracting new clients.
‘The VUTEk h3 is the backbone to our operation,’ explained owner Michael Corless. ‘Having looked at various printers we kept coming back to it. The h3 ticks all the boxes. Although we have print partners should we need them for full scale jobs, we just haven’t required them as everything can pretty much go through the h3.
‘What I like about the VUTEk is its versatility – the different speeds and settings. The main thing was we knew we’d have a wide variety of work, so we needed our core press to provide the balance between speed and quality, as we would need our operators to easily switch as work required.’
Meanwhile 3 Sixty, which was founded in 2010 and was an early adopter of dye sublimation printing, says its own investment provides it ‘with greater capacity’ and that the machine ‘will be used to output a range of innovative eco textiles that are available exclusively from CMYUK.’
Managing director Richard Inkin explained, ‘The new Vutek FabriVU 340i + continues our strategy of investing in cutting edge equipment and the most advanced proven materials available today. We like to take the lead and it was the right time to invest in this new EFI technology.’
Finally, Birmingham-based Hollywood Monster is a longstanding CMYUK customer and EFI user. Indeed this is the Vutek printer the company has purchased from CMYUK in a relationship that began almost 17 years ago. It coincides with Hollywood Monster’s 30th anniversary, and is the first Vutek printer the company has purchased without first seeing a demonstration.
‘We’re buying total quality, a highly engineered product with a good return on investment that we have maximum faith in,’ said CEO Simon McKenzie.
The need for the purchase is the result of a buoyant order book for 2022 that includes firm commitment from retailers, supermarkets, and a number of large sporting events. To cope with the volume and speed required, Hollywood Monster needed to replace one of its older 5m printers, an EFI Vutek GS5000r that has been ‘a tireless workhorse’ for a decade.
‘The GS5000r has output millions of pounds worth of work, so it’s definitely earned its keep but it’s too slow now,’ finished Mr McKenzie. ‘We’ve ordered this (new) printer purely for quality high volume output. We’ve not added any extras like eight colours or white inks because our HS125 Pros and 5r covers this. We just wanted a 5m printer to reliably keep pumping out high quality print.’
