JCT Visual Communications has bought a Screen Truepress Jet W3200UV as its first flatbed printer.
The investment comes on the back of strong growth at the Bournemouth-based specialist retail and exhibition graphics operation where turnover has doubled each year since managing director Julian Turner founded the company in 2011.
In the two months since commissioning the W3200UV it has more than lived up to expectations, according to Turner. “We, and our clients, are delighted with the quality, the productivity, and the new business the machine has brought in - we’re already handling several thousand display boards a month and it’s likely we’ll be moving into new, larger premises pretty soon. We’re also considering buying a second W3200UV.”
Turner originally started JCT to provide clients of his contract graphics fitting business with consistently high-quality display print. “Too often the graphics we were asked to fit were poorly printed,” he explained, “so we decided to take greater control of the product and give clients a complete, reliable service.”
JCT clients have been demanding print on board up to 50mm thick, leading Turner on an 18-month exploration of the flatbed printer market, and finally to the Screen machine. “We looked at a number of different printers, and showed the results to customers to gauge their reactions. Some models couldn’t match the print quality and colour fidelity our customers demand, while the running costs of others were too high.”
Productivity was a key factor in the decision in favour of the Truepress Jet W3200UV. With a maximum throughput speed of 85m2/hr, the printer can comfortably cope with the deadline-critical long production runs that enable large retail clients such as Pret A Manger to roll out promotions simultaneously across multiple outlets.