Psycho Peacock’s new P5 350 arrived on 12 February, and is due for commission tomorrow (1 March). It will go straight into production alongside the firm’s existing stable of Canon Arizona flatbeds and Colorado roll-to-roll.
Its P-Tex iSub machine, which arrived on 19 February, presents a new challenge, as the team has had to familiarise itself with the intricacies of dye-sublimation print, an area new to the firm.
“We’re starting to profile now, as we’re just finishing off the training,” Andrew McIntyre, general manager at Psycho Peacock, told Printweek.
“After that, it’ll be a few weeks of testing materials and getting into things we’ve never really done – we understand fabrics, but we’re new to dye-sublimation.”
Together, the printers represent a potential six-fold increase in print capacity, a necessary push according to McIntyre.
He said: “With our projections from how we performed last year, it just made absolute sense to get the extra capacity and versatility.”
This was particularly true for the P-Tex iSub: “We were shipping 3.2m rolls, which was logistically a bit of a nightmare – hence why we decided to go dye-sub. Obviously, it doesn’t bruise as much, it’s more robust, and once it’s fixed you can flat-fold and send it out in boxes.”
At £750,000, it was a big investment for the firm – but it was assured that the two new machines would make the difference; the security of being part of the Full Circle events group likewise lent Psycho Peacock stability to make the investment, as well as the firm’s own double-digit growth forecasts.
So far, McIntyre said, Psycho Peacock has been beating its own ambitious forecasts.
“Even in what we’d call the quiet periods, like the first quarter, we’re already doubling our targets – so it’s quite a rush to get these machines commissioned, live, and up and running, to give us that extra capacity,” he said.
Steve Comar, the firm's managing director, said: "This investment gives us the scope and resources to fully deliver on our goals for both graphics and print, across our key sectors: retail, live events and expo for the next three years.
"We can be assured due to the Durst technology, incredible quality and output metrics, that we can stand by our commitment to continually drive innovation which underpins our values and clients' needs."
The firm will now take the next few weeks to experiment with new and sustainable materials to make the most of its new presses, while fulfilling its own sustainability goals.
Peter Bray, managing director of Durst UK & Ireland, also commented: “We are delighted at the confidence Psycho Peacock has shown in Durst Group by investing in our cutting-edge digital printing platforms, both our P5 350 digital hybrid LED platform and P5 Tex iSub dye-sublimation printer for direct-to-fabrics printing.
"Offering complete solutions from pixel to output, we continue to lead by innovation and look forward to continuing to help the team fully deliver on their goals. Our technology will help them further with their sustainability goals, commitment to excellence, streamlining logistics and moving towards greater automation.”
Psycho Peacock employs 26 at its Salford site.
