Business - Applications

The latest video instalment of Roland’s national tour of customers features Pace General Manager Neil Tucker discussing his satisfaction with the Roland VersaCAMM SP-540i and Eco-Sol Max inks...

Pace operates from two sites, a purpose built production unit incorporating the creative suite and offset printing and finishing facilities, and a busy retail outlet in the town centre where its Roland VersaCAMM SP-540i printer/cutter is proudly displayed within sight of the shop floor. Pace’s “I’m a Roland user and proud of it” video can be seen at www.rolanddg.co.uk/iamproud.

Neil Tucker, general manager of Pace comments, “The VersaCAMM attracts plenty of attention from customers keen to discover what it can do and our showroom is full of great examples of its versatility. It will print anything from paper to banner material, gloss or matt vinyl and magnetic material.”

One look around the Pace showroom tells you that the company sets itself very high standards, and the superiority of Roland’s Eco-Sol Max inks and the harmony between the Roland printer, inks and VersaWorks RIP are essential to meeting those standards.

Says Neil, “Eco-Sol Max inks have been our ink of choice from the start. There are other inks available but we always wanted to use the ink that was designed specifically for use with Roland technology. It would be very easy to buy a cheaper unnamed brand but you never know what you’re going to get. With Eco-Sol Max, however, you know the quality will be first-class every time.

“The four-colour inkset allows us to match colours customers bring in. It’s durable, reliable and has never let us or our customers down.”

On a daily basis Pace is creating and producing graphics for signage, exhibition systems, banners and all manner of graphics and other items on its Roland. Neil says that the odourless ink allows them to run the Roland VersaCAMM for eight to ten hours a day without affecting staff or customers in the shop and its quick-drying properties mean they can offer a true on-demand service.

Pace use the larger capacity 440ml Eco-Sol Max ink cartridges which provide extra value for money and improved longevity. Yet even when cartridges run out mid-way through a job, Neil says the exchange is straightforward and results in no discolouration or lines at the point of changeover.

“We value our customers too much to risk using anything but the best equipment and inks. Having the Roland has helped grow our business and we can turnaround high-quality jobs, quicker. We’ve worked hard to earn a fantastic reputation for service and quality and wouldn’t chance throwing it away by cutting corners,” concludes Neil.

For more information on Roland, please visit www.rolanddg.co.uk

[photo shows Pace's Neil Tucker with his Roland printer]

Cheshire-based MC Signs (UK) Ltd has established itself over the last twelve years as much more than a sign maker and has earned itself a grear reputation amongst a host of big brand clients, whilst still serving long standing customers in the local area. Specialising in vehicle graphics, fascia signage, shopping centre hoardings and display graphics, the company is able to answer virtually any sign and display request.

With traditional sign making skills allied to a suite of Mimaki wide format printers and cutters, MC Signs (UK) Ltd offers services that range from consultation, design, production, installation and if required, full project management. It’s this sort of wherewithal that has won them high profile clients such as JCB for whom they have provided extensive vehicle wraps and creative work that really shows off the capabilities of wide format digital print.

Combining techniques

Founder and director, Matthew Cooke details the role that digital output plays for his company, using a recent and very impressive truck side graphic for JCB as an example, “We’re able to offer full colour, photographic output for clients, which we typically print to a 7 or 10 year vinyl before over laminating for protection,” he says. “We frequently combine coloured or metallic vinyl with digital print as it gives us greater creative freedom and the ability to merge a range of effects and finishes.”

MC Signs (UK) Ltd’s vehicle bay is almost 20m long and provides an ideal environment for even the largest vehicles (the JCB side panels were some 12m by 3.5m!) and ensures a consistently high quality finish – something Cooke sets his company’s stall out with. “Providing work that exceeds our clients’ expectations is core to what we do here,” he remarks. “It’s frequently the biggest reason that customers return to us for future work, so our attention to detail is paying off.”

Shopping centre branding is a further area of significant expertise for the company and a recent project was the production of a laminated hoarding for The Original Art Shop at the Westfield Shopping Centre in Derby. The 7m long graphic was produced using a Mimaki JV33, printed onto self adhesive vinyl before being laminated and finally applied to the hoarding.

Expert application skills

The JCB work was produced as a combination of part and full wraps and expertly demonstrates the company’s digital print and application skills; whilst delivering a striking piece of branding for their client. “With this much canvas to work with, we’ve got a great opportunity to show off the best of their brand,” comments Cooke. “A high quality digital print, combined with JCB’s instantly recognisable corporate colours creates a visually arresting advert on the side of the truck.”

MC Signs (UK) Ltd has recently branched out into ‘web to print’ with the launch of an online shop, so everyday items such as banner stands and sign trays can be ordered via their website (www.mcsignsshop.co.uk). The site also contains a great gallery of the company’s commissioned work and its history alongside a complete guide to the products and services the company offers. The common thread of quality runs through every element of MC Signs (UK) Ltd’s product range, and core to delivering this is the equipment and materials the company uses.

Using original ink to guarantee quality

Cooke first invested in a Mimaki outdoor durable printer in 2006 and recently added an additional Mimaki JV33 through authorised Hybrid reseller, Graphic Printing Technologies to sit alongside two Mimaki cutting plotters (and their original workhorse machine that continues to output high quality work to date).

“Having briefly tried third party products I know from bitter experience that the only way I can be assured of our printers producing the quality our customers expect is to use genuine Mimaki ink.” Cooke continues; “The JV33 doesn’t miss a beat, so it’s always right first time, every time.”

Looking at their long list of satisfied customers, for MC Signs (UK) Ltd, it’s evidently not just right – it’s top quality output, that’s expertly applied – which is what customers have understandably come to expect.

Palmer Publicity Services (PPS) has helped the R.N.L.I. and the Lytham St Anne's St. George’s Day Festival with donations of specialised graphic displays to assist their fund raising activities.

Firstly, the RNLI was organising a charity fund raising gala to support the work undertaken by local Lancashire crews throughout the much-publicised cockle picking rescues off the Lytham St Anne’s coast.  Crews were being called out up to 15 times a night to rescue stranded cockle pickers in distress which eventually led to the entire beds being closed.

To help the RNLI - both at the event and for longer term use - PPS designed and produced two Twist AV display stands and TV units along with roller banner displays.  In addition, PPS designed and distributed shop window posters to promote ticket sales ensuring the black tie event was a complete sell out.

In the second project, PPS designed and printed PVC banners to promote the Lytham St Georges Day Festival.  This event was organised to promote awareness of St George's day and a campaign to make it a national holiday, while at the same time raising funds for the Soldiers Charity and other local worthy causes.

Print United, the inaugural Dscoop EMEA conference, has lined up industry experts Nick Devine and Mike Ferrari to deliver educational sessions. Print United will be held between 7th and 9th November 2012 at the Hotel Arts in Barcelona, Spain. All educational sessions will be presented in English with live translations in Spanish, Italian, French and German.

Devine is founder and publisher of The Print Coach, a company helping printers in 15 countries grow sales, increase profits and improve their marketing. He will present a Deep-Dive Seminar, a 1.5 hour in-depth session on "High-Margin Selling: How to Find, Win, Keep and Grow the Most Profitable Customer in Your Market."

Ferrari is a packaging industry veteran who, after completing a successful 32-year career at the Procter & Gamble Company, founded Ferrari Innovation Solutions, where he coaches leaders and develops strategic innovation portfolios to guide business growth through packaging. He will deliver the session "How to Talk to Brands."

"The foundation of Print United is based on the successful conferences held in North America for the past seven years, but it covers topics specific to HP Graphic Arts customers in EMEA," said Jon Tolley, conference chairman and managing director at UK-based Prime Group. "Delegates will be able to get the most out of their conference experience by choosing whether they would like to hear sessions delivered in English, Spanish, Italian, French or German."

In addition to the educational programming, Print United has expanded to include tours of Dscoop member shops and the HP EMEA Graphic Arts Customer Center on 7 November.

"We are proud to support the community of HP Indigo customers coming together to network and grow their businesses through Dscoop," said Manel Martinez, vice president and general manager, Graphics Solutions Business, EMEA, HP. "As the No. 1 digital printing association in the world, with more than 7,000 active members, Dscoop is known for its high level of education and support to help HP Graphic Arts customers grow their businesses."

All HP Indigo customers are invited to join Dscoop and register for Print United. The conference is only open to Dscoop members.

Company membership including one conference ticket costs €895 (exclusive of VAT). Additional conference tickets cost €295 (exclusive of VAT).

For more information or to register for the event, please visit www.dscoop.org/printunited

As the attention of the world focuses on London, enormous banners and huge street dressings produced by a Midlands company could be seen by more than four billion TV viewers.

Birmingham-based signs and graphics specialists Hollywood Monster has been creating some of Europe’s largest ever banners which are being installed at Westfield Stratford City and the surrounding area adjacent to the major sporting venues and athletes' village.

Hollywood Monster has been working alongside retail giants Westfield on the prestigious £1 million-plus project in the build up to the world’s greatest celebration of sport.

It is the latest in a string of high-profile projects it has completed for the retail giant. The £1.45 billion Westfield Stratford City is Europe's largest urban shopping mall with over 300 High Street names and 50 restaurants.

Hollywood Monster director, Simon McKenzie, comments, “It’s a huge coup for us to work on such a prestigious project with Westfield Stratford – it’s part of the UK’s most ambitious regeneration project and of course it’s one that we’re really excited to be involved in.”

A creative team has been working on producing dozens of banners over the past three months at Hollywood Monster’s HQ, and its rope access installation team of 20 has been fitting the banners.

Simon adds, “The calibre of contracts we’re awarded from Westfield is very high – there’s lots of scope for creativity and flair, something our team prides itself on. To see the full effect of the Stratford banners is just amazing – they’re going to have a massive impact throughout the world’s greatest sporting event.”

Hollywood Monster has installed approximately 4,000 square metres of sustainable vinyl applications to glazed elevations around the Westfield Stratford City centre, and dozens of flags and lamp-post dressings along with a 400metre double-sided crowd separation banner on the main walkway to the park.

For more information, visit www.hollywoodmonster.co.uk.

Westfield Stratford appears to have upset The Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu) with its clumsy translation.  The shopping centre, near the London 2012 Olympic park, had hung banners welcoming visitors from across the globe in numerous languages. Unfortunately, the resulting welcome to Arabic visitors was almost incomprehensible due to the fact the letters had been written back to front and were not joined up.

In response to the mishap, a spokesperson for Westfield said, "Westfield sincerely apologises for the incorrect printing of the welcome material. The welcome material is currently being reprinted and will be replaced as soon as possible."

Caabu’s director, Chris Doyle, responded, "We must start to wonder just how many other Arabic signs printed for the Olympics are nonsensical.  It beggars belief they cannot even write 'welcome' in Arabic. What will our Olympic guests be thinking? It is cringe worthy."

He also advised that Arabic posters should be checked by a speaker of the language in the future.