Commissioned just in time for Christmas, the three new presses – installed in its Nottingham, Norwich and Oxford branches – have joined two existing Colorado 1650 printers the firm bought in 2022 from supplier CMYUK.
“The M-series came out [in March], we saw them at CMYUK’s showroom on an open day, and we had no hesitation in buying them,” said Alan Edwards, the firm’s technical director.
He told Printweek that the new M5W presses, with dedicated white channel and output speeds of up to 159sqm/hr, were just what the firm had wanted.
“Fundamentally, it’s the same inkset as the 1650. They have the little trick with the SLX, which is the gloss and the matt print modes – we have a few clients that like it. Instead of us thundering out hundreds and hundreds of metres squared of work, we’re tending to find our business is now favouring smaller runs. Customers want something a little bit different, a bit fancy, instead of the normal CMYK,” he said.
“We’re doing less print, but it’s more intricate. So having those [gloss and matt options] is one thing, but when we bought the 1650s we said: ‘It would be great to have white ink’, and lo and behold, Canon have engineered that in.”
The machines’ value was a strong selling point for Edwards, too.
“The Colorado sits in that midpoint between a big industrial machine, and the current entry-level machines. It’s fast enough to do the level of production we want, and the quality is absolutely fantastic.
“And the price point is perfect – you’re not having to spend £150,000 on a machine – and the technical support from Canon is one of the best out there.”
Edwards’ experience with the firm has been so positive over the past two years, in fact, that he will be considering Canon’s Arizona offering when the firm comes to look at a new dedicated flatbed.
“We’re so impressed with the Colorados that it has reopened that avenue – there are some jobs that we can’t achieve on our hybrid machine,” he added.
Turning 124 this year, John E Wright employs 70 staff across six sites, turning over around £6m.
