The business bought an HP Latex 360 1.6m printer, a Mimaki JFX200-2513 flatbed and a Graphtec FC8600-160 1.6m vinyl cutter from Preston-based reseller Granthams. The equipment was installed at the Stoke-on-Trent-based firm’s 2,323sqm premises last month.
The company has also recently completed an extension of its graphic production studio, which has equipped it with the additional space it required to install the new kit. The total investment cost in the extension and the new machinery came to around £150,000.
The HP Latex 360 can print at up to 91sqm/hr in single-pass mode and features an 8in touchscreen, double-sided printing and automatic ICC profiling.
The Mimaki JFX200-2513 is a CMYK-plus-white machine that can print at up to 25sqm/hr on sheets of 2.5x1.3m and up to 50mm thick.
Envisage creative director Chris Cotterill said: “The Latex saves time and labour because we don’t have to laminate the prints.
“We bought the flatbed printer because we were previously printing to vinyl, laminating it and then pressing it onto boards. With the flatbed you just put your board down and press print.
“These machines have already saved us a lot of time and I think we’ll reap the benefits even more once the busy exhibition season kicks off after Christmas.”
Envisage also operates a Roland XJ-740 in-house as well as other HP and Epson printers, a Seal laminator and CNC equipment. It outsources dye-sublimation work.
The business has 35 staff and is anticipating a turnover of around £3m this year. Its customers include show organisers and end-users.
