When large format sign and display specialists Aztec discussed upgrading their print workhorse, the speed and quality offered by the VUTEk GS3250Pro made it the obvious choice.
The firm, based in Leeds, had bought a VUTEk QS3220 around three and a half years ago and found that they needed to upgrade it to keep up with customer demand and the ever faster turnaround times expected.
Director Tom Wilton explained: “We’ve got various printers including a HP Designjet and a new Latex 360, but the VUTEk was our main print engine.
“We knew it was time to upgrade it when we started struggling to turn around the volume of work we needed to in the timescales we were given. We spoke to the team at CMYUK and they recommended the GS3250Pro with its top speed of 225sqmh coupled with dpi up to 1000.
“The top speed on the previous machine was 88sqmh, so we should see double the productivity out of it. Equally important to us though is the quality of the white ink printing and the high end finish that it offers.”
Aztec’s client base is split evenly between trade and end users, ranging from other signmakers, advertising and design agencies, to blue chip companies in the leisure, museum, retail and food industries.
“We produce a lot of high-margin, precision work like backlit acrylic displays for day and night, so the multi-layer printing that allows us to put down the reverse image, white ink then the mirror image in one sweep is invaluable as far as both speed and accuracy are concerned,” added Tom.
“The improved white ink also means we can now print onto materials like coloured acrylics easily by putting down the white layer first.
“We certainly have plenty of work to keep the new printer busy at all times, but the GS3250Pro has also given us more confidence to start challenging traditional screen printers for the higher volume jobs as well.”
Just over a year ago Aztec purchased a new cutter and CNC machine which they can now also partner with the new printer to increase the amount of packaging, mock ups and POS work that they do.
Thanks to this investment in direct print and cutting, Aztec will now even be able to offer same day turnaround on bespoke, cut to shape vinyl, foamex, pvc and Dibond orders.
CMYUK Director Robin East said: “We recommended the 3.2m flatbed and roll-to-roll UV GS3250Pro to Aztec because it offers both the productivity and improved quality that the team were after. The eight-colour plus white and Fast-5 printing gives photorealistic quality at production speeds, and for top-end graphics there’s the option of 1000 dpi.
“There’s also the ability to print directly onto both rigid and flexible media, which will expand the number of applications the company can produce with great levels of profitability.”
Tom concludes: “Customers are notoriously tight in their deadlines and the turnaround times are only getting more demanding. If you don’t move forward you’re moving backwards – and the GS3250Pro was a great step forward for us!”
