Amongst its buyers in the run up to the summer is Staffordshire-based Kazoo Print, which took delivery of its device in February.
The predominantly trade print business offers small and large-format work for clients including many high street brands, and wanted the device to streamline bottlenecks that have built as a result of an upturn in work since the pandemic. Kazoo opted for a model with multi-cut tool head, registration camera and QR code support.
The 1,680x3,200mm device, which works at speeds up to 30m/min and acceleration up to 0.3G, is running alongside a range of kit including an EFI Vutek GS 3200 and QS2 Pro as well as a Zünd cutter.
“I took the gamble of installing the EFI Vutek GS 3200 in March last year, ready for that influx of work that I was expecting,” said managing director Simon Talbot.
“In the middle of 2021, it all kicked off as I thought it would and we were super busy. The second six months of last year we matched our pre-Covid turnover, and this year we’ve exceeded our pre-Covid figures by a long way. Our latest Vutek printer is 10 times faster than the one we swapped out, while our first Vutek was six times quicker than its replacement. We’ve had lots of print going through and the Zünd just couldn’t keep up with it all,” Talbot explained.
He said the Kongsberg was extremely easy to use, very affordable and offered “something a little bit different”.
A month after Kazoo installed its device, Jersey-based Mailmate also opted for a Kongsberg X24 cutting table as part of a bumper triple investment with CMYUK, including a Mimaki UCJV300-160 UV LED printer with integrated cutter and a Mimaki JFX200-2513 EX UV LED flatbed device.
Mailmate managing director Neil Faudemer said it had opted for the Kongsberg to enhance the visual display side of the 31-year-old business, which moved into wide-format digital printing six years ago. “The Kongsberg represents somewhat of a finishing revolution at Mailmate,” he said.
“It’s our first venture with a robotic cutter and we’ve already seen an enormous benefit in time savings. It’s also a first for the Channel Islands, it’s completely unique,” said Faudemer.
He said the Kongsberg purchase had initiated a full review of front-end production at the business, which comprised three Roland solvent printers.
“[The Mimaki JFX200-2513 EX UV LED flatbed] is a market leader and allows us to print direct to board,” he said. “It’s also given us the opportunity to move away from solvent to UV inks, which we’ve needed to do.” He added that the roll-to-roll UCJV300-160 UV LED printer/cutter offered diversity of applications.
“The world is a very uncertain place now, and it’s all about being able to offer a broad range of services. We are finding lots of crossovers – someone may come in for a banner but may then ask for T-shirts and business cards for example, and we can do the lot. We’ve never been frightened to invest in new technology and the evolution of our business over three decades demonstrates this.”
Another Kongsberg X24 install in recent weeks for CMYUK has been an addition to global communications agency DRPG’s in-house print division.
The organisation, which this year won the Queen’s Award for sustainable development, sees the new device as integral to its drive towards becoming a net zero agency by 2025.
“We’ve noticed that there has been a change of thinking and our clients are making a conscious effort to become far more eco-aware even if it costs that little bit more,” said DRPG head of print Lee Whitehouse.
“Sustainability is not just about the materials, or the equipment used, it’s about the way you think. The Kongsberg has helped to improve our working processes because it is so fast and efficient and allows our own resources to be far better managed.”
The business ordered the machine with ithe multi-cut tool head that offers milling productivity and a camera for accurate registration. Additional tools include a creasing wheel for cut and fold capabilities, a first for the business, and a bevel knife for working with more sustainable materials.
“As a live events company, there’s a big push for sustainability. The Kongsberg allows us to use materials that we may have dabbled with in the past but hadn’t really got to grips with. The bevel knife for example, allows us to produce cardboard engineer displays that can be recycled rather than using materials that end-up in landfill.
“As a department within DRPG we really want to be able to make a difference – we are very conscious about our environmental footprint and want to use more sustainable materials to give our clients alternatives to PVC and Foamex and avoid landfill,” he explained.
The Kongsberg, said Whitehouse, did everything the team needed it to do and was in the right price range.
“It adds greater finesse to our display products, adds efficiency to the department, and opens up a whole new world of creative solutions that will help our creative teams deliver even better solutions for our clients,” he said.
