Hardware - Print Finishing

The Print Show will mark the UK debut of new technologies from Vivid Laminating.

Matrix Laminators – Europe’s No.1 Single-sided Laminator
Vivid’s best-selling Matrix OPP Film Laminating System can now add specialist finishing effects to print, including foiling, spot UV-style effects and holographic finishes.

Sales Director Richard Marlow said: “The Matrix doesn’t require special dies to create these new effects. It’s achievable due to the extra pressure from the pneumatic rollers. The process to create such effects on-demand still works by using heat transfer technology, but at a fraction of the cost of producing individual dies for each job. For those with a Pneumatic Matrix already in-house, being able to offer these stunning effects to customers offers huge cost savings and even a new source of revenue”.

The Leicestershire-based firm will also demonstrate their new Feeder for the Matrix 530 Systems. “The all-new Feeder uses patented underfed technology for prints, speeding up production and finishing times” continued Marlow “It’s a completely modular system and can retrofit to the existing Matrix”.

Easymount Air – An Innovative Product in Wide Format Lamination
Along with new Matrix features, Vivid will also be showcasing the new Easymount Air to the UK print industry.

Vivid’s Technical Manager Gavin Ward said: “The Easymount Air is a revolutionary product in the wide format lamination & mounting market. The patented technology uses one of the most advanced concepts ever seen in a wide format laminator. Pneumatic air pressure controls the laminating rollers, allowing you to mount and laminate with incredible accuracy and speed”.

The pneumatic air allows the roller to adjust to the exact thickness and pressure required, giving faster production times. The new technology also allows the roller to float down; ensuring Foamex and Correx boards aren’t crushed. When the rollers achieve the correct board thickness, they can be locked in place to keep the required gap, making board feeding more accurate.

Vivid will be on Stand No. F9. The Print Show takes place at the Birmingham NEC from 13th – 15th October.

Since its launch in January 2012 James Gibbins’ company, exhibitionstands.co.uk, which trades as Stand4, has been steadily growing. Its website has become one of the top rankers in the Google listings as word-of-mouth recommendations gather interest, and repeat business keeps James’ team busy.

As its name suggests, James’ company provides a wide range of exhibition stands and display solutions. He said, “What we aim to do every time is put ourselves in our customers’ shoes. What kind of service would we expect if it was us making the purchase? Then we simplify the ordering and purchasing process. Our customers are busy people and the more we can do to help them the more they appreciate it.”

He continued, “An exhibition stand is important. It is the company’s ambassador during a show. It has to represent our customers in the public eye and that’s quite a responsibility for the stand manufacturer. We listen and advise if necessary, and our portfolio includes options ranging from pop-ups and roll-ups to portable displays, pop-up shops and sales booths. We also manufacture full, bespoke exhibition units on a hire or sale basis. We have units for indoor, outdoor and forecourt, and if the artwork is provided on time we can normally guarantee a 24-hour turnaround to customers throughout the UK and parts of Europe. Tell us what you need us to do and we can tell you how fast we can do it, or, sometimes, how we can provide something better.”

Exhibitionstands.co.uk was originally built by sub-contracting work out to select graphics providers around the region, but as demand grew that was no longer a viable option.
James explains, “We had previously met customers’ needs through the skills of sub-contract business partners, but that manufacturing model could only work within certain parameters. As demand has grown we have chosen to increase our in-house facilities to help us speed delivery and ensure the finished product always meets our strict quality standards, and, of course, that our customers are happy with the end result. That is the final benchmark for any supplier.”

Organic evolution

In August 2015 the workshops saw delivery of a Summa F1612 Pro flatbed cutter from CWE Solutions Ltd, a reseller for Summa’s UK distributor, ArtSystems. The choice had proved a simple one. James said, “We needed high quality cutting and creasing across a broad portfolio of materials and the only way to meet that need was to bring the facility in-house in an affordable way.
“We had seen the Summa in action and we knew it provided really great specifications for the money. It was a no-brainer to make the investment and it has already proven its worth, especially with regards to the increasing number of bespoke projects we are handling.”

Exhibitionstands.co.uk often has to demonstrate real flexibility with its customers, largely because it doesn’t deal with any specific industry sector. James explains, “One day we might be working with Bulmers Cider and the next with blu, the e-cigarette manufacturer. It is this kind of variety that is driving the increase in bespoke stand and pop-up shop manufacture, and is one of the reasons we needed the Summa F1612. As a result of our investment we have tightened turnaround times and quality control.”

James ascribes his company’s success to organic evolution based on service, including quality print, competitive pricing and a ‘tell not sell’ approach to marketing. He said, “People don’t want to feel they’re being sold to. They want to maximise their return for the budget they’ve allocated and don’t want to be seen as simply another cash cow ready for milking. Thanks to our portfolio we can accept projects from anyone, small traders or large corporate players, and provide solutions that match both their needs and their pockets.

“We enjoy the unusual request,” he continued. “For instance, we have built a pop-up shop in the shape of a double-decker London bus and provided special photographic booths that visitors can use to take souvenir shots at weddings. You’d think our work would see us spending most of our time at the big exhibition halls such as the NEC or ExCeL but that isn’t the case. We have created PoP units, coffee stalls and more. Variety is at the heart of our working day, and we love meeting a challenge.”

James hasn’t limited his company to purely exhibition work, it also has the facility to be a graphic and print provider, including large format printing, laminating and finishing, graphic design and print-ready artwork. It is also involved with 3D design and animation.

He concludes, “The Summa is our latest acquisition and thanks to it we will continue to grow our customer base and range of exhibition stand solutions. It will be interesting to see where we shall be in a year’s time.”

For more information visit www.exhibitionstands.co.uk.

For more information regarding CWE Solutions Ltd visit www.cwesolutions.co.uk.

Summa F1612 specifications:

Dimensions: 235 x 196 x 110cm (without roll support)
Media width: Up to 165cm
Cutting area: 160cm wide x 120cm long
Speed: Up to 1000mm/s

Summa’s award winning cutting tables are capable of cutting sheet and rigid materials as well as roll stock. Up to three tools can be inserted at any one time on the multi-module tool holder. Changing tools is quick and easy. Automatic tool recognition, combined with digital and mechanical depth and/or pressure control, ensures precision cutting on a wide variety of materials.

The F series base unit comes equipped with a drag module and Summa's optical camera marker recognition system for accurate contour cutting of printed flexible or rigid substrate materials.

Multiple material handling options ensure optimal workflow for roll, sheet and board material.

The Tangential module corresponds to a whole range of matching tools for cutting materials from vinyl to textiles to carpet, kiss-cutting the most demanding roll materials and creasing a wide range of cardboards.

The router module mills most materials used in the sign workshop, from hard foam PVC and acrylic to aluminium coated foam board.

For more information on the Summa range call ArtSystems on +44 (0)115 9380 380 or visit www.artsystems.co.uk.

How new technology and expertise can help transform an industry

The inspiration to adapt an existing technology to another industry can be a key driver for innovation, and the B&W Multi-Tech is now helping Dolphin Sails get the best from its own production revolution – using ‘form finding’ engineering software to create world-leading tensile awnings.

The ‘form finding’ software they use allows for the manufacture of incredibly stable awning shapes and designs, and its pedigree includes being used in the creation of London’s O2 Arena.

Dolphin Sails, whose strapline is ‘The difference is the finish’, has been making tensile awnings for around three years now, and recently invested in the new Blackman & White cutter with a laser module to support the quality and speed of output.

The business has come a long way since Brian Vincent and his wife Frances started up in their back garden, making small dinghy sails. Their son Matthew Vincent and his sister used to help out by cutting out the small Dolphin Sail labels, getting a penny for each ‘good’ one. Matthew - now managing director and chief designer - has been with the company, more officially, for 40 years.

Over that time the business has grown organically and 15 years ago it purchased Gowan Ocean on West Merseyside and now uses those premises as a base to manufacture sails. The covers and awnings, both marine and land based, are manufactured in Harwich, and there’s also an office in Hamble, Southampton.

Dolphin is currently expanding its base even further, looking to move to larger premises in Harwich and finalising the opening of an out-post in Palma, Majorca, for service and manufacturing.

It started using the ‘form finding’ computer software around three years ago when the team realised the incredible potential for tensile awnings. Last year they produced a tensile awning for the superyacht Elfje, built by world-renowned Royal Huisman, and this year they are producing tensile awnings for a 135m ferry that runs between Gibraltar and Morocco.

The software they use is a unique solution in the industry, and their new laser cutter now enables them to produce sealed panels with no fraying. This speeds up the manufacturing process in terms of both cutting speed and edge sealing.

“We’ve already got two B&W cutters but this is the first with the laser option. We chose to purchase from B&W as they’d always provided an excellent service and are based just down the road,” said Matthew.

“The Multi-Tech was installed mid-July and while it’s a bit more complicated, the training was good and it comes with useful software that helps you maximise your efficiency with fabric usage.

“Because the Multi-Tech is 3.2m wide we can also now cut fabric and PVC outside of our traditional scope of work, supporting our expansion into more land based awnings.”

Alex White, Managing Director at Blackman & White added: “While our history is rooted in the marine industry and it remains one of our key markets, the needs of sign and display manufacturers printing textiles, are essentially the same.

“Whichever industry or application you’re working in, when it comes to working with fabrics, cut quality and efficiency are key to profitability.

“The Multi-Tech offers high-precision, top quality output with a fast return on investment, and in textile printing the laser option really comes into its own.”

 

Bespoke packaging designer Simply Cartons has installed a new Zünd S3 M-800 digital cutting table after seeing the system in action at February's Packaging Innovations show in Birmingham.

Describing the addition of the new Zünd S3 as 'a breath of fresh air' for the Nottingham business's design studio, Simply Cartons's Commercial Director Conrad Cufflin explains that after nine years it was time to invest in the latest cutting systems.

"We decided it was time to catch up with the technology so went to see the Zünd S3 at Packaging Innovations at the NEC," he says. "Members of our team took profiles to the show where Nick Reed from Zünd cut samples on the table there and then, and we were very impressed.

"We looked at a number of cutting systems from different manufacturers but they either didn't meet our needs or simply didn't measure up; the Zünd was the best overall package for us."

Simply Cartons works with food and beauty brands such as Thorntons, Whittard of Chelsea and L’Oréal to create bespoke constructional designs for new products. Formerly relying on an ageing Misomex plotter – described by Conrad Cufflin as being 'on its last legs' – the design team was having to queue to produce packaging samples. Since replacing the Misomex with the new Zünd, multiple samples can now be made for clients in half the time.

"The speed is excellent and the table was easily integrated into our existing systems, meaning we've significantly improved day-to-day output," says Conrad Cufflin. "It's been a breath of fresh air.

"We're also future-proofed thanks to the Zünd's modular build; we can bolt on extra tools at a later date if we choose to."

The modular tool concept of Zünd's S3 and G3 digital cutting tables means they can be configured and retrofitted to meet the unique needs of each individual user, even as they change. Each one is designed for maximum efficiency, automation, safety and robustness.

Nick Reed, Product Manager at Zünd Plotting Systems (UK) Ltd, comments: "Simply Cartons is a leading name in bespoke packaging design and increasing its capacity with the addition of a Zünd S3 will help it stay ahead of the competition.

"With a range of retrofittable tools, a compact footprint and the ability to process a wide variety of materials up to 25mm thick, the S3 has made a valuable addition to many design studios and it's great to see Simply Cartons is also experiencing the benefits."

Conrad Cufflin adds: "Zünd is, like Simply Cartons, a family-owned business and on our first meeting seemed to be good people to work with, which turned out to be the case with excellent service and back-up."

Zünd has already confirmed it will exhibit at the next Birmingham edition of Packaging Innovations, taking place at the NEC on February 24th and 25th 2016. In addition, the company will be exhibiting at Advanced Engineering UK on November 4th and 5th 2015 and will host its own Open Days in collaboration with Canon on September 30th and October 1st at Zünd's demonstration suite in St Albans.

To book a place, arrange a meeting or find about more Zünd digital cutting equipment, please email sales@zund.co.uk or call 01727 833003.

J. J. Keller, an industry leader in transportation safety and regulatory compliance, has installed an MCT Digital VersaTech 3.2M x 3.2M digital die-cutting system with high speed routing for their custom order short run safety signs and placards business.

Tim Little, Vice President of Manufacturing and Supply Chain, said: “We researched the equipment required for this project and it was apparent that that print volume we wanted to produce far exceeded the speed of traditional routing systems.  We needed a system that had much higher routing throughput that could also do knife cutting even faster.  After going to see the top three companies offering high speed systems and test routing our aluminum 020 placards the MCT VersaTech 3.2M was the clear choice for both our volume requirements and budget."

He continued: “I very much appreciate the partnership we have with MCT.  From the time we put the equipment on the floor, through installation and start up as well as on an ongoing basis, MCT has been alongside of us the entire way.  There has never been a time when we needed their help and they let us down.  They have always been there for us.  Putting the MCT cutter on the floor has simply been one of the better business decisions we’ve made in a long time.”

Todd Lueke,  J.J. Keller's Director of Manufacturing added: "Our Bindery Team Leaders have received very helpful and timely support from the MCT team on questions that come up in daily operation of the cutter." Lueke also said " the MCT software and hardware support people are held in high regard by our people for supporting them while we are learning brand new products for the company and establishing internal procedures for both our digital printer and cutter."

Gerald Sabatke,  J.J. Keller Prepress Manager continued: "Our MCT salesman had the knowledge and took the time to help define our basic workflow for our Arizona printer and the MCT cutter to produce our flip placards. It is really nice to work with a sales rep that is as knowledgeable as he is and who took the time to help us get on our feet with this new digital process."

Jeff Ayers,  J.J. Keller's Bindery Team Leader concluded: "After successfully producing safety placards for a few months we started having trouble routing at the same speed and quality as when we started. We called MCT and one of their application support engineers took the time to visit us and test cut some aluminum with us to figure out the problem. As it turned out our aluminum vendor confirmed the last lot of aluminum was sent from a different mil and once they supplied the original material the problems were solved. Without MCT's support it may have taken us a long time and a lot of wasted material figure it out."

J.J. Keller's MCT VersaTech 3.2M digital die-cutting system is a 3.2M x 3.2M flatbed configured with 2.5kW peak 60,000 RPM water cooled router, various knife tools, table vacuum with 12 dynamically controlled vacuum zones and conveyor system.

PhotoBox, Europe's leading personalised product printing company, is supporting growth in its canvas production division with investment in an Esko Kongsberg XN22 digital finishing device and Automation Engine prepress workflow solution.

James Lawrence-Jones, Group Technical Innovation Director of PhotoBox, expects last year’s record canvas volumes produced in one single day will be broken, as a result of the streamlined production enabled by the Esko solutions. “We broke the record at peak season, and I am confident that this year, with our newly streamlined and automated operation, we will beat it again,” he says. “We expect to continue to see increasing demand for our canvas products as customer desire to personalise their homes continues to grow, and having the best-of-breed solutions, automated workflow and a very robust cutting solution will help us not only cope with the increasing demand but ensure we maintain our best of breed next day turnaround service levels and excellent product quality.”

The need for a new cutting table was initiated by PhotoBox’s investment in a fleet of Epson 60-inch wide-format printers. “We needed a cutting solution for the wider canvas media produced on these printers,” Lawrence-Jones explains. “We were also seeking ways to streamline the entire printing and cutting workflow for canvasses to accommodate increased print capacity. Whilst the process of manual cutting, by hand or with trimmers, was not a bottleneck, it did have associated labour costs. We were also keen to improve the accuracy of our cutting.”

Prior to the investment, Lawrence-Jones carefully reviewed a range of cutting tables from a variety of brands, weighing speeds, quality, performance and costs. He says: “We have other cutting tables across the group but this is our first Esko Kongsberg in the UK. As we were in need for a cutting solution that delivers the highest performance for the wider canvas media, the Kongsberg XN22 was simply the best choice, because of its superior quality, durability and Esko’s service support.”

Since its installation, the Kongsberg table has been busy at PhotoBox. “One of the things I really appreciate about the table is its ease of use,” says Lawrence-Jones. “You don’t need an IT person to interact with the system. It is easy to run and understand with an intuitive and very visual operator interface. And its advanced capabilities and multi cutter head will also allow us to use new media and materials, further expanding our range of offerings.”

The acquisition of Esko’s Automation Engine was not part of the original investment; but after detailed consultation with the Esko team, Lawrence-Jones was impressed with its potential impact. “Over the past 15 years, we have developed our own production systems in-house,” he details. “Our canvas operation offers considerable opportunity for an automated production workflow, which Esko Automation Engine has helped us achieve in a very short period of time. Automation Engine has delivered many benefits, including the ability to control production remotely, which has been highly valuable during recent peak seasons. Automation Engine also allows us to create separate high and low season workflows so that we are optimising our production during both busier and quieter times.”

Lawrence-Jones admits that the initial focus was on improving productivity, but says, “To date, we are probably only using 20-30% of the potential functionality of Esko Automation Engine. We expect to find many more ways to make our operation more efficient using the full capabilities of the solution, including export and import of XML files, error reporting and status reporting as well as remote access and scalability. And I’m convinced there will be even more to discover as we delve deeper into Automation Engine’s broad range of capabilities.”

He continues: “The implementation is for now limited to canvas, but we see the potential Automation Engine has regarding imposition nesting, generation of cutting files and handling other grades of canvas. It could also be used to generate print-and-cut files for use in other production areas and factories across the group. The future value will be to extend the benefits of automation even deeper into the organisation, including areas where we produce other wide-format multi-image cut files.”

As for the business impact, Lawrence-Jones comments: “PhotoBox faces unique production challenges, with every item it produces being personalised for individual customers. Our challenge and one of our greatest successes has been in our ability to industrialise ‘series of 1’ production processes. Optimising production costs in this environment relies on industrialisation solutions supporting this variability and in the case of the Esko hardware and software actually increasing flexibility and scope for customisation and individually tailored output. We believe the combination of the Kongsberg XN22 and Automation Engine will open up new markets and enable our company to automate other elements of production beyond the canvas division.”

PhotoBox’s relationship with Esko was crucial to the decision process for the investments. Lawrence-Jones concludes: “The Esko team’s level of product knowledge is very high and inspires a great deal of confidence. Their support, training and subsequent technical assistance have been exactly what was required. We are constantly learning more about our new capabilities, enabling us to look more broadly at challenges we face. We have already significantly improved productivity and believe we will continue doing so as we learn more, especially on larger runs of set sizes as well as being cost effective with more complex cuts.”

[Photo shows James Lawrence-Jones, Group Technical Innovation Director of PhotoBox]