The Nyala 4, installed on 18 September and in production that same week, will allow MacroArt to print on a wider variety of substrates faster than with its largely hybrid stable of printers.
“There were lots of smiling printers standing around it on Monday, talking about how we can save lots of material,” Michael Green, MacroArt’s managing director, told Printweek.
The new machine has replaced MacroArt’s 2014 EFI Vutek LX3 Pro 3.2m hybrid press.
Capable of 1,350dpi and 206sqm/hr, MacroArt had the new press installed with a roll-to-roll option added, to retain the flexibility of the old hybrid printer.
“We needed a machine that gave us the versatility that the SwissQ does, and the vacuum bed: if you keep printing on different, difficult substrates, you need something that is going to pull the substrate down onto the bed,” Green said.
After winning a number of museums as clients, MacroArt had found itself slowed by the diverse range of substrates that the museums’ designers were requesting.
Green said: “You have multiple small panels, or odd substrates like timber. Ply, too, which is often slightly bent or curved. So we wanted something that was going to pull the substrates down to the bed, and provides an answer for all the weird and wonderful things that museum designers ask for.
“It’s also really good for all the work we do: it covers all the requirements that we have, and suits all of our markets.”
While MacroArt considered a number of machines – including SwissQPrint’s 370sqm/hr Nyala 4S – it decided that the Nyala 4 was the right fit.
Green said: “That kind of Rolls-Royce machine was a step too far for us; we don’t need neon, for example, and our machine has the quality, speed and versatility we need.”
The press has joined a Durst P5 350 dye-sublimation printer, two 5m Durst P5s, and a Canon Colorado in the company’s main production lineup.
SwissQprint’s sales manager, Pete Smallwood, complimented the firm’s thorough approach to buying: “I must commend the MacroArt team on their due diligence.
“It was a pleasure to collaborate with them to identify a print solution that met the exacting needs of the business, and we very much look forward to seeing the results of their investment.”
MacroArt employs 95 at its St Neots factory, turning over around £14m.
