Established in 2006, Print 2 Media has expanded its offering into other areas, picking up a range of new customers in the process, particularly in the education sector, helped by the launch of its school-focused division, The School Sign Shop. Offering everything from school playground signage to wall murals, The School Sign Shop now works with education settings across Cornwall and the UK.

Most recently, Mousehole School, Penzance, was the recipient of graphics including three large maps; one of the area local to the school that highlighted nearby landmarks, another a UK map showing sites of interest and importance, and the third a world map with postcard pictures of famous sights. A fourth graphic was a timeline detailing major historic events.

For this project, Print 2 Media selected Drytac Polar Grip, a white polymeric self-adhesive vinyl, used in schools before, which offers adhesion to any surface including metal, plastic, wood, glass, and brick. Print 2 Media purchased the film and accompanying laminate from Premier Paper Group, the exclusive Drytac distributor in the UK and Ireland.

Print 2 Media printed all graphics in house using its Canon Océ Colorado 1640 and SwissQPrint Nyala 4, while its specialist team installed the pieces on site at the school.

‘School customers are always the best,’ Print 2 Media founder Glenn Wrigley said. ‘The teachers are so enthusiastic and happy to have such a useful teaching aid and the children certainly let us know their thoughts. They are always so positive and take real pride in their new wall murals. We have been working with Drytac materials for over five years now and are always pleased with the end result.’

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Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the latest developments in signage and speak with experts about how new products and options can help their businesses grow.

Drytac products will be present at Mimaki’s booth, where visitors can see Drytac’s ViziPrint Clear, ViziPrint Deco +, Polar Chrome and both Retac Canvas and Retac Linen being run on Mimaki machinery.

Drytac’s Polar Dynamic Sand will be featured on the Vanguard Digital Printing Systems and Durst Group stand. Elsewhere, Fujifilm will be using Drytac’s Viziprint Impress Clear as part of its live product demonstrations on its booth, while Epson America will showcase the qualities of Polar Grip Air.

Attendees can also visit the Mutoh America stand to view live demonstrations of Drytac’s ReTac Smooth throughout the event. ReTac Smooth will also feature on the swissQprint America stand alongside ReTac Textures Woodgrain.

In addition, Drytac partner HP will demonstrate both Viziprint Impress Clear and SpotOn Clear on its printing machinery.

Glen Fitzgerald, director of sales for the Americas at Drytac commented, ‘The ISA Sign Expo is a highly important event on our US calendar. Running our products on machines from several manufacturers will showcase the flexibility and adaptability of Drytac solutions, as well as the overall quality of these products.’

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Established in 2000, 3 Way Displays (3WD) provides print solutions to customers in the beauty and fragrance industries. Specialising in temporary and permanent point-of-sale displays, the company works with clients such as Harrods and Charlotte Tilbury.

In 2017 the business chose a SwissQprint Impala to deliver the detail and precision needed for luxury brands and retail displays. With the machine proving successful for the company’s needs, the 3WD team decided to visit SwissQprint UK’s Bracknell headquarters last year to see a demonstration of the latest Impala. The decision was made to invest in a second machine for installation in February 2024.

Steve Pridham, SwissQprint UK Sales Manager said, ‘Adding a second SwissQprint machine is not only testament to the Impala’s quality, but also reinforces the confidence our customers have in our machines and us as partners.’

The new Impala has a six-colour configuration including CMYK, light magenta, and light cyan, complemented by white and varnish.

The need for precise colour matching and glossy finishes are important for the business. The inclusion of varnish increases resistance to alcohol, scratching and moisture, crucial for the durability of the displays.

Olivia Stroud, 3WD’s sales director explained, ‘Accuracy in colour replication is vital for us. With the Impalas’ capabilities, we’re able to meet the high demands of the sector to produce visually stunning displays that give off a luxury feel.’

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A solar array with 1276 photovoltaic panels was connected to the electricity grid in February 2024. It was installed on the roof of SwissQprint’s main production hall and according to the company, will produce approximately 613,000kWh of electricity a year. This corresponds to more than half of the electricity demand at the Schützenwiese business park.

The installation will also power eight newly constructed charging stations for electric vehicles. Reto Eicher, co-owner of SwissQprint and project coordinator explained the benefits of the installation commenting, ‘The solar project brings us a big step forward in terms of sustainability and self-sufficiency.’

When the business park was built in 2013/14, the construction clients including SwissQprint emphasised the importance of sustainability. Tasks such as building services were dependent on fossil fuels, interiors were heated and cooled by groundwater, plus there was need for electric pumps to drive the heat exchange system. This will now be powered by the solar panels.

The Schützenwiese business park is described as exceeding the standard for industrial buildings. An objective throughout the business park was optimised temperature management. The insulation R-value of the building envelope and windows, as well as automatic sun blinds is key to achieving this.

Other factors aimed at achieving more sustainability within the entire building complex is the use of energy-saving LED lighting. Furthermore, both SwissQprint production halls have saw-tooth roofs that admit ample natural light into the building interior. As a result, artificial lighting becomes more unnecessary and further reduces electricity consumption.

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Following a review of the printer market, a visit to Fespa where the Kudu was launched and a demonstration at SwissQprint’s UK showroom, the Bingley, West Yorkshire-based business installed the two printers in November 2023 at its head office. The two machines occupy the same area as the previous large inkjet flatbed that they replaced.

‘I am a nervous buyer, yet I can honestly say this is the first time that an investment has exceeded my expectations,” said Jonathan Haggas, Valley’s managing director. ‘From their easy install to their intuitive use and exceptional print quality, our Kudus are having a huge impact – we are really, really pleased!’

Since installing the two Kudus, Valley is also benefiting from their lower running costs and small ecological footprint. Consuming 2.2kW per machine, energy use is reduced, yielding savings of over £100 per day compared to the one printer the Kudus replaced. The printers offer roll-to-roll and dual roll capabilities, up to 304 sqm/hr output, and combination of six colours, plus white and varnish.

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Chief attractions of the printer for the family-run business were overall image quality and the ability to expand the colour gamut through support for ‘neon’ pink and yellow inks, introduced by SwissQprint in early 2021 and still very uncommon in wide-format printers.

Applications are expected to include backlit images using the neon colours, while it is anticipated that the Kudu’s creative print capabilities such as 3D effects, haptic (tactile) printing, white and spot varnish, will usher in new possibilities for the business. The printer’s ability to handle both rigid and roll substrates should also factor into this.

Charles Linney, executive director, commented, ‘The Kudu is more than just a printer; it offers an exceptional level of quality for us, particularly with its range of colours. It not only complements our existing printers but also offers our customers special features that are now essential in a highly competitive market.’

Sustainability was also a factor in the purchase, with the Kudu’s low operating power requirement of 2.2kW and Greenguard Gold certified inks aligning with Linney’s sustainability strategy

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Established in 1976, VGL prides itself on providing very high quality graphics to brands across a range of sectors. In addition to performance in terms of both quality and speed, versatility, sustainability, and reliability were also important. After investigations in both the UK and Switzerland, the 3.2 x 2m SwissQprint Kudu with 10 colour channels and the ability to print at over 300sqm/hr seemed to tick all the boxes.

‘The Kudu steps into a space, of both creativity and productivity, that really suits our broad range of clients. The quality of output and sustainability benefits, which we also expect, are clearly evident,’ confirmed VGL managing director Daniel Field. The Kudu’s power consumption of 2.2kW, was also a factor in its selection.

Meanwhile, MacroArt has continued its investment run with the addition of a Nyala 4, bringing true flatbed capability and stability for working on pre-cut media, which is also expected to reduce ink and materials wastage. As with the VGL purchase, the low-energy LED curing was a factor, contributing to MacroArt’s NetZero strategy.

‘The addition of the Nyala allows us not only to continue producing high-quality graphics but to deliver them at a rate which we have never seen before in the business,’ explained MacroArt’s operations director Mark Rose. ‘We are excited to see how it helps take MacroArt to the next level in terms of quality and innovation. When you marry all the machine’s qualities with its terrific green credentials, SwissQprint’s kit ticked every box for us.’

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Jeffrey Vermaat, one of the company’s four owners, explained, ‘Our delivery deadlines are tight as well as binding, so reliability is paramount.’ Various options were evaluated to replace the previous UV printing system. ‘We could have bought on the cheap side, but we consciously opted for quality,’ he added, referring not only to print quality but also to the swissQprint machine’s robust construction and ‘well thought-out’ design. Low power consumption and other environmental criteria were taken into consideration, plus a service life expectancy of more than 10 years.

With the new machine, printing of rigid media is expected to move from a sideline to an actively-promoted service, handling substrates such as rigid foam board, aluminium composite panels, wood and acrylic glass. A CMYK + ‘lights’ and white ink configuration covers a wide spectrum of applications and the Nyala’s 3.2 x 2m bed means most things can be handled.

Mr Vermaat reports that the production team needs less overtime working to meet deadlines and enable production completely in-house. ‘Nyala delivers the perfect quality/productivity balance and brings us a significant capacity boost,’ he commented.

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The Nyala was launched in 2012 and according to SwissQprint has been the best-selling model in its category for eight consecutive years. The company characterises the printer as ‘the symbiosis of premium print quality, multifunctionality and efficiency.’ Due to its print bed dimensions and modularity, the Nyala offers considerable scope in terms of applications and formats that it can handle. Carmen Eicher, chief sales and marketing officer at SwissQprint commented, ‘our customers also appreciate the high system availability and low energy consumption.’

SwissQprint users configure their printer according to present needs, and can expand and change the configuration later on. Christof Lüchinger, production manager at SwissQprint said, ‘Right from the start, practically every customer has ordered the roll-to-roll option and thus, so to speak, gets two printers in one.’

Other add-ons include the dual roll option, the board option for panels up to four metres long, the glass option and the Rob loading and unloading robot for unmanned shifts. The Nyala has nine configurable colour channels, so in addition to CMYK there is capacity for light colours, white, effect varnish, orange, neon and a primer.

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Stocksigns, a specialist supplier of health and safety signage, is also long-standing swissQprint customer, having used a first-generation Impala since 2010, when it was the fifteenth swissQprint machine to be placed in the UK, and it helped the business transition from silkscreen to digital printing.

Recently, the company wanted to replace the Impala with a newer machine. While research to find a replacement machine was wide-reaching, the company’s prior knowledge of swissQprint technology played a crucial role in the decision. The business still undertook a full market review, which included seeking testimonials from current users, a lifetime ROI analysis, hands-on competitor comparisons and a full demonstration across a variety of substrates and materials to ensure the Impala was once again the right choice.

Low environmental impact was also a key factor in Stocksigns’ decision. With a reduction in energy consumption to 2.2kW, the fourth-generation Impala reduces the company’s carbon footprint. With the printer’s installation, the firm anticipates that production times will halve, effectively doubling capacity in the manufacture of its health and safety, statutory and construction site signage.

David Cload, group production manager at Stocksigns, said, ‘Having used our Impala for many years, we’re delighted to be the proud owners of swissQprint’s 100th machine in the UK. We are confident that it will continue to deliver high-impact signage while significantly reducing our environmental impact.’

Erskine Stewart, managing director at swissQprint, commented, ‘We’re thrilled to have achieved this milestone with Stocksigns. Their purchase of our 100th machine in the UK reaffirms our position as a provider of reliable, cutting-edge printing technology, and is a clear demonstration of our ongoing commitment to excellence.’

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