The Watford-based firm bought the device, which was installed at its premises around six weeks ago, for £18,000 from Blackpool-based Mimaki reseller Granthams Graphic Technology.
The acquisition of a high-profile US print contract prompted the company’s investment in the machine, which prints at speeds of up to 17.5sqm/hr.
The firm installed over 7,000 graphic elements for the annual Sibos exhibition, which was held at the Boston Convention Center, Massachusetts, for its client Rapier.
Production director Phil Eames said: “We sent a team of installers out there to ensure a smooth transition from production to display and we even shipped one of our Mimaki JV33s along too in case there were any last-minute changes to be made.”
Granthams Graphic Technology, which is also Rocket Graphics’ consumables partner, provided support in shipping the printer to the US and back.
Rocket Graphics, which has also bought an EFI Vutek GS5000r and installed Caldera’s Flow+ 2.0 wide-format workflow system this year, also operates two EFI Vutek QS3200 printers.
It produces a wide range of large-format digital production of branding and signage for customers including agencies, end-users and trade sector clients.
Commercial director Antony Rider said: “The JV33-160 does what we want on that side of the business; it prints to a quality that we want, and we also do a lot of print and cut on it as well. We wanted to add to the Mimakis that we already have so the decision was a no-brainer for us.”
Eames added: “We have many jobs with a 24-hour turnaround and we run our printers continuously, day and night.
“Our Mimaki JV33s are a real asset in this sense as they feature an Uninterrupted Ink Supply System (UISS) allowing switching between two cartridges of the same colour automatically, giving us long unattended print runs overnight. It doubles our productivity without doubling our staffing costs, which makes great business sense.”
Rocket Graphics is on schedule for a turnover of £5.4m this year and has just taken on four additional staff, taking its total number of employees up to 42.
It plans to invest in further new equipment next year, including an additional 3.2m-wide EFI Vutek QS, and has recently completed an internal mezzanine extension, which has provided an extra 465sqm of space to its 1,161sqm premises.
