The company was particularly impressed by the Asanti software used to operate the Avinci and said this experience was a decisive factor in its decision to buy the Ciervo, which uses the same workflow software.
Kettering-based Artisan Signs was established in 1997. Managing director Graham Davey oversees the seven-staff family business, while his wife Alison and son Jake are also part of the management team. The company operates from a 700sqm unit on a trading estate.
Artisan Signs produces hard signage and vehicle graphics, but around 70% of its business now caters to the exhibition trade, where it collaborates with contractors and exhibition organisers.
The Anapurna Ciervo H3200, which represented an investment of £190,000 for the business, was bought to satisfy this market specifically. Installed in January, it replaced ageing machines from Canon and Mimaki, which were taken out just before the arrival of the new printer.
The Anapurna Ciervo H3200’s hybrid design enables the business to handle a diverse range of rigid and roll media for both indoor and outdoor applications. Productivity is enhanced by efficient continuous board feeding and the ability to print on up to four boards simultaneously.
Meanwhile, the machine’s UV-LED technology offers both economic and ecological advantages. It is compatible with Greenguard Gold-certified inks that feature Thin Ink Layer technology, which helps reduce ink consumption.
According to Agfa, these inks provide a wide colour gamut and “exceptional” rendering of dark solid tones, along with capabilities for pre-white, sandwich white, and post-white printing in a single run.
Davey said: “The decision to acquire another Agfa machine was primarily driven by the Asanti workflow software, which we have been using since 2023 after purchasing the Avinci dye-sublimation print engine.
“Since the Anapurna Ciervo also operates on the Asanti software, it streamlines the production flow to our Zünd G3 cutting table and eliminates a step in the studio’s workflow.
“This reduction in processing time is very beneficial for us, especially when meeting tight deadlines for exhibitions. Additionally, Graham Clark, the Asanti specialist at Agfa, is highly responsive and provides effective solutions, which significantly influenced our decision-making process.”
Artisan said the white print capabilities of its new machine were of much higher quality and quicker than before, while the printer’s capacity has more than compensated for the two old machines it was running and would enable the company to take on more business.
The company said it was also looking forward to the energy savings associated with the cold-curing feature of the new machine, key to its clients in the exhibition industry, where there has been a general movement to be more mindful of short-use items and their environmental impact.
“We completely trusted Agfa to get the new machine up and running quickly, especially since we had no backup machine available, as those had been removed to create space,” said Davey.
“Our previous experience with Agfa and the Avinci had been positive, which gave us confidence in their capabilities. Fortunately, they did not let us down, and we are very pleased with our decision to invest in this new engine.”
