The 117-year-old outfit took delivery of one machine at its Derby branch and the other at its Leicester branch the week before Christmas. The two Versants join two Xerox J75s, again at the Derby and Leicester branches. The machines were supplied by Xerox reseller Zerographic Systems.
Technical director Alan Edwards said: “We’ve got a J75 at each site so the Versant was a natural upgrade for us, it's got double the resolution, RIP technology, whilst maintaining the same toner technology, so we weren’t doing a terrific jump – it sat nicely with us.
“They just dropped in, we had half a day’s training on both, just as a refresher for the new features, but we’re off and running now and the staff are smiling.”
Edwards added that due to “increased demand and capacity”, John E Wright had decided it could afford both machines as additions to its digital fleet.
He said it was a “remarkable” 2016 for the 80-staff company, which had started off slowly but improved sales dramatically in Q2, Q3 and Q4.
“Brexit hasn’t yet had a negative effect on the business,” he added.
Last year, John E Wright wrapped the controversial 'Brexit bus', which featured a slogan claiming the NHS would gain £350m in funding if Britain left the EU.
The Versant was launched in 2015 as a “strategic replacement” for the C75 and J75 models. It runs at 80ppm and can maintain speeds on all stocks up to 350gsm, delivering image quality of 2,400dpi. It can handle a variety of media types with a compact Belt Fuser system and Xerox’s low-melt (EA) toner.
Edwards added that it’s likely that the nearly £7m-turnover business will take delivery of more Versant 80s in 2017 for its other branches. He also said John E Wright was looking to make an acquisition in the large-format sector.
Last November, John E Wright installed a Fastbind Pureva XT binder, supplied by Ashgate Automation and installed at its Nottingham headquarters.
John E Wright is also behind sign and display brand, Think Print and B2C brand, Print Café.
Other than its Leicester and Derby branches, the company has headquarters in Nottingham, a separate large-format site in Nottingham and sites in Oxford, Hull and Coventry.
