Installed earlier this month, the investment represents the tenth Vutek printer the Birmingham-based company has purchased from CMYUK, in a relationship that began almost 17 years ago.
It coincides with the firm’s 30th anniversary and is the first Vutek printer it has purchased without first seeing a demonstration.
“We’re buying total quality, a highly engineered product with a good return on investment that we have maximum faith in,” said Hollywood Monster CEO Simon McKenzie.
The 5m-wide machine has replaced one of the company’s older printers, a Vutek GS5000r that it had run for a decade.
“The GS5000r has output millions of pounds worth of work, so it’s definitely earned its keep but it’s too slow now,” said McKenzie.
“We’ve ordered this printer purely for quality high volume output. We've not added any extras like eight colours or white inks because our HS125 Pros and 5r covers this. We just wanted a 5m printer to reliably keep pumping out high quality print.”
He added: “The longstanding partnership that we have with CMYUK has been highly beneficial. They have always provided excellent impartial advice that has been about our aspirations as a business, but it hasn’t just been about equipment and materials, CMYUK is tops when it comes to finance and supporting customers with the right package.
“It’s this customer-centric approach that has earned CMYUK such a good reputation. They have never let us down.”
The two businesses have also worked together in promoting and establishing Kavalan PVC-free banner material as a viable replacement to traditional PVC.
“The move away from traditional PVC has certainly gained huge momentum in the last year or so,” said McKenzie.
“We’re printing way more textiles than we used to for our exhibition customers who would usually use a traditional PVC backdrop. The shift in balance from PVC to non-PVC has been massive, I’d say it’s about 75%.”
Hollywood Monster has also recently recruited several new staff members in line with its primary focus to retain clients and grow with them.
“We want to make sure all our customers feel loved and that there’s nowhere else they want to go. The new staff are dealing with a 20% increase of client spend which equates to about another £1.8m in sales,” said McKenzie.
“We want to continue to stand out from the crowd. We are here seven days a week and offer a same-day service whether that be a Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday or Wednesday. It’s all about trusting that Hollywood Monster can deliver every single time.
“We’re certain that we’re talking to the right kind of clients and will grow with them. This confidence has led us to purchase the new EFI Vutek Q5r, which we believe will help us deliver an even better service.”
