Minprint, a design and production company based in Belfast, has installed the first HP FB700 in Northern Ireland. The company, which bought the machine from Reprocentre in February, said it will enable it to expand into new markets.
“This is a significant investment for us,” said Jamie McMinnis, digital director at Minprint. “We decided some months ago that we would expand our product offering and produce more specialist packaging and point-of-sale material. We needed to purchase a machine that had a high level of productivity and versatility and would provide a long-term solution for our business. The HP FB700 was the one that came out top for us. We can print on a wide variety of rigid or flexible media such as Correx, Forex, composites, banners, vinyls, display films and even wood.”
McMinnis added: “Having worked with Reprocentre over the past few years, we had no hesitation in asking advice on this new purchase. The HP flatbed was coming pretty high on the list of our options and Reprocentre advised us to go and view the product in the flesh. We went to the HP demonstration centre in Barcelona and were overwhelmed with the experience.”
Gordon Morrow, digital development manager at Minprint, is project managing the HP FB700 installation. “These are very exciting times for Minprint; we have a superb client base and workforce keen to test the wide selection of materials and products the new FB700 offers. We’ve already seen some great results from the new press and look forward to showing our customers the quality and clarity of the print."
Initially, Minprint plans to promote the new products it can now produce with the HP FB700 to its existing customers, who are made up of a diverse range of companies from multinational blue-chip organisations to small independent companies. Specific market sectors Minprint will target include the retail and security markets.
McMinnis concluded: “We expect the HP FB700 to propel our company forward and help increase sales considerably over the next few years.”