Speciality printer Fine Cut is the first UK print service provider to invest in a swissQprint Impala LED printer. The 2.5 x 2m flatbed machine - configured for six colours (CMYK, LC, LM) plus white, primer and varnish - was installed by swissQprint distributor Spandex UK in October at Fine Cut’s production site in Lancing, West Sussex. The company is using printer to produce a range of industrial applications for clients in the medical, automotive, marine and agricultural sectors, as well as more conventional signage and graphics work.
The Impala LED has replaced Fine Cut’s original swissQprint Impala UV printer, which had been in service since early 2012 when the company made its first foray into large-format digital print production. The opportunity to transition to LED curing was the primary driver for Fine Cut’s decision this year to upgrade to the next generation printer.
Digital print manager Simon Tourle said: “While the original Impala exceeded all our expectations of digital output quality, UV curing still presented limitations for high precision work on more challenging substrates, due to the media distortion caused by the high temperature curing process.”
The new model is now running for eight to nine hours a day, with split shifts when necessary to cope with volume peaks.
The new Impala LED has delivered a noticeable step-up in speed, thanks to acceleration of the printing process itself and the LED curing, which removes the need for warm-up and cool-down cycles between jobs”, added Tourle. “Our flatbed productivity has more than doubled.”
