3 Sixty installs EFI Vutek h5

3 Sixty has installed an EFI Vutek h5, with MD Richard Inkin calling it a “game-changer” for the ten-year-old Cardiff-based PSP.

The new machine is the fifth large-format digital printer 3 Sixty has bought from CMYUK in the last decade, having initially eyed-up the h5 last autumn. “We looked at other options but for us the h5, with its flexibility of materials, amazing quality, speed to market, capacity increase, efficiency and reduction of carbon footprint meant that it was a no brainer,” said commercial director Ben Newton. He added: “Less than 3% of the work we process is on paper and board, we use print machines to make products rather than just to print.” The launch of a dye-sublimation process to print into wood and aluminum, earmarked for May 2020, has now been postponed until September due to the Covid-19 situation, but Inkin said: “Three years of research and with the kit in place we were ready to take the new dye-sublimation products to market. However, we decided to focus on working with clients to increase their speed times to market hence the investment in the h5.” For the h5 investment, CMYUK guided 3 Sixty through the updated coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS), which can be used to directly support capital asset finance. “We have worked with CMYUK for a decade. They understand our business very well and really helped us by putting a deal together that would work for us. The h5 will increase our capacity and speed to market significantly, but at the same time the way our business is set-up we won’t need more sales to pay for the printer,” said Newton. 3 Sixty’s print department houses UV and dye-sublimation printers including an EFI Vutek GS 3250r and an array of finishing equipment. The new h5 is 3.2m wide, has a resolution of 1200dpi, and eight colour modes plus white. “We will be able to focus on a number of new areas now with the purchase of the h5 and with our new dye-sublimation materials we are looking forward to the next six months and seeing where these areas will take us,” concluded Inkin.