The new machine, which prints up to 14sqm/hr, has been a “breath of fresh air,” according to production manager James Watterson.
“It’s outstanding,” he told Printweek.
“It’s perfect for short runs – it’s essentially made to put a 50-metre roll on, and just let it do its thing, it’s so reliable.”
The Latex joined a flatbed Mimaki JFX200-2513EX, but has helped the company expand its product offering, while cutting production time with better speeds.
“It’s very flexible, and so user-friendly. We were able to start production the day after it was installed. Obviously we’re coming from a print background, but I’d almost say that anyone could jump on the printer and get it running, it’s so user-frendly,” Watterson said.
He added that it had been a particular blessing for wallpaper jobs, which had previously required careful thought about how to slot into production.
“It’s given us a wider scope – and jobs that would have taken us two days, now just take one.”
Origin likewise took on a new Easymount laminator at the same, late spring: going from manual feeding to a machine that has adjustable temperature and a pneumatic roller has “given the extra edge,” Watterson said.
“It’s about building that capacity.”
Both purchases were made in the wake of a visit to March’s Sign & Digital show at Birmingham’s NEC, Origin Sign Co’s managing director, Dan Kenyon, told Printweek.
“We wanted to have a bit of back-up, in case something happened to one of the other roll-to-rolls, and started talking to the HP engineers at the show. It took us in a very different direction than we had anticipated on the day,” he said.
The firm is now looking at a 3.2m printer, but this would require a reassessment of the available space.
“We’ve got two offices, side-by-side, and we’ve put mezzanine floors in, and we’ve used every inch of what we’ve got – we’re just running out of space,” Kenyon said.
For now, however, the company is comfortable with the wins it has made on the HP, he added.
“Just getting through jobs quicker, and, with colour profile, running two machines at the same time: it just saves us overtime and stress when we’ve got tight deadlines.”
Origin Sign Co employs seven on site, with four full-time installers. It turns over around £1m annually.
