The Kings Langley POS and signage specialist installed an Acryl AF 110-45 diamond polisher last month to finish acrylic signs being cut on a Texkel EXR 3x2m CNC Router, which it bought in April.
The company used to outsource polishing and has found it economical to bring it in-house, although operations manager Chris Parker wants to keep how much has been saved close to his chest.
“It gives a crystal clear finish,” he said, of the AF 110-45. “We do a lot of POS work and when you cut you get a saw cut, you need to run it through the polisher before delivery.”
Projects & Print has just completed 1,500 camera display stands for photographic retailer Jessops using the polisher.
The two new machines rounded off an investment round which started in January with the UK’s first Agfa Anapurna M2500i high-speed UV-curable inkjet system.
Parker said the new Anapurna M2500i had led to a host of new work.
“We get lots of new business off the back of it all the time – lots of weird and wonderful things. Last week we did foam hands for Birmingham New Street train station, where they are doing building work. The hands are for staff directing people and ordered by a design agency client.”
Other jobs include printing on artificial turf for the cover of a Fifa book in February. The company used the Anapurna M2500i to print on the grass substrate in the same way as any other substrate.
“We did a few tests, it worked out perfectly. We wouldn’t have got that without the Agfa, you need direct-to-print. The quality of it, with the new masking technology, is great. You don’t get banding,” Parker said.
“The machine is absolutely fantastic, it’s never missed a beat.”
Other new work secured by the company includes a contract to cut and polish for Blackheath Products, a company which manufactures glass-effect acrylic for kitchen backsplashes, shower units and decorative interiors.
The four-year-old company has grown from five staff to eight, after taking on two new sales staff on 1 May and a new production employee this month and a turnover of £1m. It is looking for bigger premises after running out of room at its current site.
