Birmingham, UK-based The Sign Shop has recently invested in a new UV640 printer from Colorific. The roll-to-roll printing system utilises the latest Roland RE640 chassis with an integrated Lightbar as the heart of the solution. The installation of the UV640 System has instantly increased production speed and dramatically reduced turnaround time meaning The Sign Shop can now offer a same day service to its valued customers.
The Sign Shop and sister company Mr Signs are businesses run by two brothers who have both been involved in sign making and large format printing for up to 5 years, and have experience with a wide range of plotters, cutters and older printing devices. Their previous large format printer was a Chinese machine purchased from another sign company in liquidation, and although the machine produced prints of a reasonable quality, the reliability and support of the machine was from China so there was no direct point of contact based in the UK. “I had to become an engineer myself to keep the machine going,” explains The Sign Shops' owner Nabeel.
With a diverse customer base in a busy city, the key to The Sign Shop’s success is to offer a fast, high quality service to its customers. The UV640 System fulfilled all the criteria and with a low investment price this was perfect solution. “The output from the Lightbar system is beautiful and amazing, we are always looking to produce the best quality we can. In addition, the UV ink technology also means we no longer have to wait 24 hours before application; once it’s printed and we simply ship or install” continues.
Before installing the system, the brothers looked around at using the other standard eco solvent options available on the market, but none of the current technologies could offer them the advantages of the Lightbar system. “The support from Colorific has been perfect, with a range of custom profiles for all the materials we use created on-site as part of the installation. Once we had the machine operating for a while we were surprised at how economical the ink costs were compared to previous systems. Not only do we use less ink, we have also saved in production time therefore reducing our square metre costs by up to 30%, which is fantastic and helps us stay competitive,” concludes Nabeel.
Stewart Cobby from Colorific adds, “The Sign Shop Birmingham is a great example of more companies harnessing the benefit of this new technology available to them. The UV light inks combine all of the advantages of Solvent and Eco solvent inks in producing Photographic output but with the added benefits of UV curable chemistry which offers great adhesion, instant drying and low odour. More and more businesses are looking seriously at this new UV technology with the option of retro fits to their existing chassis for less than £2,500, or investing in a new printer from £9995.”
