Installed in June, the circa £320,000 206sqm/hr LED device is the Oldham-based company's first SwissQprint machine.
“We felt it was time to bring more advanced flatbed printing in-house,” said managing director Brad Tupman.
“It has since taken price completely out of the conversation when talking with customers. Their priorities are to obtain the highest quality products, with minimal environmental impact, and then price – in that order.”
The firm opted for a CMYK plus white and varnish set-up on its 3.2x2m flatbed machine and also configured it with roll-to-roll and dual roll options for ultimately flexibility.
As well as the Nyala, as part of a refit of the business’s graphics suite it also installed a Zünd G3 3XL-3200 this month to match the format of the SwissQprint machine.
According to director Matt Mason, the double investment, replaced a range of Mimaki print and plot gear, and the ready integration of the two devices was a key factor in their purchase.
“It helps support our expansion deeper into the internals of store refits whilst also doing our current workload faster,” said Mason.
“Our traditional market was in signage and large-format graphics such as window displays, particularly external, but increasing volumes of internal large graphics and POS branding work – and a desire to be really good at what we do – mean we’re always on the look-out to see where technology can help us as it develops.”
Circa 35 staff Brand Consortia specialises in signage for major retailers, high-street stores, fuel forecourts, transport hubs, offices, and schools and colleges as well as graphics for hoardings and wall murals and art.
Clients include Argos, Costa, Manchester Airport, NHS England, Post Office, Sainsbury’s, Spar, Subway, and WH Smith.
According to Mason, the media flexibility, along with the tactile enhancement offered by the Nyala’s high-build inks and varnish, along with its Droptix technology for 3D visual effects should open up new markets for the business.
“The machines almost sold themselves. We were moving from a hybrid roll-to-roll and flatbed combination to the Nyala – the width and visual quality of the pass-bands on the demo were stunning and they really effectively communicated the speed difference between where we were and where we were going.
“Add a whole library of features that were new to us for us to play with and reliable output quality to this and we were sold.”
While he said that while there had been a few minor teething issues with the initial integration “like with any new machine” the firm’s first experience of working with SwissQprint had been very positive.
“I was really pleased with the way they [the teething issues] were handled with Ian Maxfield [SwissQprint UK regional sales manager] taking an active interest in sorting even after the sale was signed, it’s a nice touch to see the front-facing team back up the product after install.”
The family-run business was one of the first to champion sustainable signage, launching its own Sustainable Signage Scheme where it calculates the carbon generated in the manufacture and fitting of signs and offsets them via accredited carbon reduction schemes.
According to Tupman the firm’s sustainability agenda was another draw for the Nyala 3.
“The Nyala, with its low-maintenance pollutant-free LED technology and minimal power consumption, is the perfect fit for our company. It will go a long way in helping us attain our goals to be an even more sustainable business.”
Earlier this month at Fespa Global Expo in Amsterdam, SwissQprint unveiled the next generation Nyala 4 flatbed as part of a revamp of its flatbed range.
