Delivered in March, the 1.6x3.2m cutter replaced an ageing Summa F1612 flatbed cutter that could not keep up with the higher productivity of Northumberland-based Fantasy’s Vutek, which was delivered in September last year.
Both the cutter, which represented a circa-£100,000 investment, and its corresponding printer were supplied by wide-format kit reseller CMYUK, which also provided Fantasy’s 22-strong team with training on the Kongsberg.
Managing director Sarah McMorn said: “We chose the Kongsberg because of the customer service provided by CMYUK. We didn’t really have the time to shop around as we needed the machine installed for our busy period and to limit our production downtime.
“CMYUK has a great understanding of Fantasy Prints and knew the best machine to fit our needs and our clients. Our new cutter matches the Vutek technology perfectly.
“The Kongsberg gives us quicker turnaround and we can now offer new services for custom-made display stands and packaging. It will increase the turnover and profitability of the business by opening up new markets, such as packaging and point of sale.”
The Kongsberg X24 runs at up to 50m/min and can take a much greater media size than the Summa, which had a working area of 1.6x1.2m. It will allow Fantasy to explore short-run packaging jobs, which McMorn described as a “real growth area” for the print and signage specialist.
Since taking on the machine, Fantasy has been able to fulfil a commission by a Netherlands-based print company to carry out its trade print work to be sent direct to clients.
“Without the Vutek and the Kongsberg, it would have been impossible to meet the deadline,” said McMorn.
Moving forward, Fantasy is looking to continue enhancing its offering with the development of a new e-commerce website that is due to be launched shortly.
Fantasy Prints’ commercial printing offering also incorporates Latex 360, Latex 365 and DesignJet Z6200 printers from HP, a Gerber Sabre CNC router, vinyl cutters from Graphtec and Mimaki and hemming machines from Banner.
The firm operates across three units in Berwick-upon-Tweed spanning 929sqm and turns over £2m.
