Wide-ranging print service provider Ebbsfleet Printing Solutions has praised the impact its Summa F1612 flatbed cutter has had on business, revealing the machine has enabled the company to significantly reduce finishing bottlenecks and half its production time.
Based in Gravesend in Kent, Ebbsfleet Printing Solutions offers a host of both small- and large-format print services. The company has more than 20 years' experience in sign-making and works with a wide range of customers across a host of industries and markets. Demand for Ebbsfleet's services is extremely high, with the business seeing huge interest in its wide format print offerings in recent years.
This spike in demand for wide format print created a finishing bottleneck which was resolved by the installation of a Summa F1612 flatbed cutter in 2019 - a decision that Ebbsfleet Printing Solutions Director Sam Cherry described as ‘instrumental' for the company and its success over the past two years.
Installed by authorised UK reseller ADAPT, the versatile Summa F Series cutter combines robust construction, accuracy and flexibility. Its multi-functional head enables users to install up to three tools simultaneously from a wide range of options, making countless applications possible. Since the tools and modules can be added at any time, upgrades are easy and cost-effective. Automatic tool recognition, combined with digital and mechanical depth and/or pressure control, ensures precision cutting on a wide variety of materials.
On the need for a new cutting machine, Sam Cherry explains: "The Summa cutter was purchased due to the growth in our direct-to-board business. Wide format print was growing for us, but that created a finishing bottleneck which caused a few issues for the team.
"We'd worked with Summa equipment for a number of years. It's always been a trusted brand for us, so we had no hesitation in purchasing the Summa F1612 model."
Ebbsfleet Printing Solutions' wide-ranging service offering means that it is finishing a whole host of applications on the Summa cutter, with the machine primarily being used to cut foam board, vinyl, di-bond and acrylic. The company also uses it for cutting cardboard and creasing material for use in packaging work.
Sam Cherry said that this incredible flexibility has allowed the company to expand and grow at a rapid rate.
"Using the Summa F1612 to produce packaging work and mock-ups for various projects has helped us to significantly grow our customer base, while at the same time allowing us to save money on off-cuts," Sam Cherry says.
He continues: "I don't know how we worked without a Summa Flatbed in the first place. The amount of time saved with this machine has allowed us to half our production time.
"We've not looked back since its installation; it's had such a massive impact on the business. Having the Summa cutter is like having four members of staff that don't go on holiday or drink tea or coffee!
"We absolutely love it!"
