Installing an EFI Vutek Q3R roll-to-roll and H5 hybrid flatbed over late summer and autumn 2024, the company has now added a FabriVu 340i+ dye-sublimation printer to round out the company’s offering with flags and other textile applications.
“We’ve been really impressed with them. It’s been a big leap forward for us,” said James Kinsella, Bluetree Group co-CEO.
“We typically do shorter runs with a very fast turnaround, and they’ve been a really good fit.”
The new machines have replaced Route 1’s previous roster of two HP Scitex FB11000s, which served the company well, themselves succeeding a previous generation of Scitex FB7600s, according to Route 1 managing director Mark Young.
“HP Scitexes proved a great platform for us, but the technology has moved on and we need to invest to stay at the front. When we were looking at options the EFI equipment had a proven track record, flexibility to meet our clients demands and most importantly was able to achieve the high quality expectations that we had set out,” he told Printweek.
“Brands like Amazon have set consumer expectations around turnaround times and now the majority of the work we now produce for our resellers is sold on either a same-day or next working day dispatch. The equipment we’ve selected enables us to offer a high level of product customisation while maintaining industry leading turnaround times.”
The company has installed a number of finishing machines to complement the new wide-format setup at unit two at its Wath-upon-Dearne supersite, including a Neolt XY Matic Trim Plus, used to finish flexible media from the Q3R and H5; it has also installed a JWEI J-Cut Pro-3230 cutting table for rigid media, and a Kongsberg C24 Edge.
Large-format has been a significant growth area for the business, added Jack Parks, head of Route 1.
He said: “Resellers like the products because margin opportunities are strong and the market is expanding. Our focus is on ensuring we’re creating the tools to help our customers win in this exciting market, alongside offering turnaround options that are in line with our customers' customer requirements.“
Kinsella added: “The category has been performing very well over the last few years, and we have seen [wide-format] revenue just over double in the last four years: we’re feeling very positive about 2025.”
Route 1 employs a wide-format production team of 21, including supervisors.
In the year to April 2023 the overall Bluetree Group had sales of £58.4m and employed around 560.
