Toronto-based Mack Media is the first company in Canada with the next-generation, high-end hybrid flatbed/roll-fed EFI VUTEk h5 superwide-format LED printer from Electronics For Imaging, Inc.
The Toronto-based large-format digital printing company will use the printer’s superior quality and high speed to establish a competitive advantage in graphics segments where larger companies dominate the market.
“We were looking to increase our production volume, deliver better quality than what we had in-house, and reduce our turnaround time because we are increasingly working on larger projects and dealing with growing demand across our business,” said Frank Mackovski, president of Mack Media.
“Now, the VUTEk h5 makes us more competitive in spaces where only larger companies were able to provide a service with fast turnarounds. We can compete in those same areas and offer even better quality than they can produce on some of their fastest printers,” added Mackovski.
Four times the output with Canada’s first VUTEk h5
The printer has had considerable impact on Mack Media, which specializes in retail, office and point-of-purchase display graphics for national Canadian and international clients. Its work includes the design, fabrication and installation of wallpaper, wall murals, glass decoration, retail interior graphics and POP displays. The company is now handling larger national retail roll-outs and is outputting three to four times the volumes it was producing before purchasing the VUTEk h5, while also increasing the quality of its graphics.
Mack Media initially purchased and installed the EFI VUTEk h3 model, which produces up to 74 boards per hour, but soon afterward completed a field upgrade to the h5 version, which boosts productivity by up to 45%.
“When I saw the h3 and the quality it was able to produce, and knowing the h5 was not far behind, I knew this was the right move for us,” Mackovski said. “We are increasingly diverting more of our work from our other printers we have because of the quality the h5 delivers. In Production mode, for example, we can print 4-point type with it.”
Customers are also taking note. “Some customers are benchmarking EFI VUTEk prints as their standards for quality. Some specifically ask for a VUTEk print, it is that high-quality. I would compare the printer to a fine watch because of the precision, quality and design,” he said.
Precision imaging for superior-quality results
EFI re-engineered its hybrid printer platform to develop its 126-inch (3.2-meter) wide VUTEk h series to deliver higher productivity, print quality, and reliability. The end result is a high-end production device for premium-quality graphics that is the culmination of EFI’s decades of experience as a leading manufacturer and developer of UV and LED inkjet superwide-format printers and inks.
A new, high-velocity 7-picoliter UltraDrop Technology grayscale printhead technology on Mack Media’s VUTEk h5 printer achieves precise dot placement and consistency with eight- and optional four-color printing modes plus white, as well as a new, nine-layer print capability.
“You can tell EFI put a lot of thought into the VUTEk h5. Everything is completely different, it’s very well laid out and my operators love working on it,” said Mackovski.
Mack Media’s relationship with EFI is long-standing; the company has owned a 126-inch wide VUTEk UV printer for several years. When it was time to upgrade Mackovski turned to EFI again. “We chose EFI because of the existing relationship we had with them. EFI has been an industry leader for decades with their hardware. The inks deliver great quality, the service technicians are really good, and from top to bottom, the company has a great management team that is highly responsive.”
EFI announced Mack Media’s VUTEk h5 printer upgrade today at the ISA International Sign Expo in Las Vegas, where EFI is showcasing the printer along with additional solutions from its portfolio of advanced display graphics technologies.
