The new device, which was installed around five weeks ago, complements an existing Océ Arizona 350 GT at the company’s 930sqm facility in Ferndale, South Wales.
"This was an absolutely natural step for us. We’ve been so impressed by the first investment and in particular Canon’s service offering," said sales director Harry Palmer. "Good technical back-up and service are absolutely fundamental to a business and it’s enabled us to have the confidence to never say no to our customers."
Traditionally a trade screen printer, which produces a broad range of products, the 33-staff company expanded into wide-format digital printing around six years ago with a Roland roll-to-roll printer and Palmer said with growth of around 40% in the last year, the company will continue to build on this revenue stream.
"Digital wide-format printing has galvanised our business, increasing the speed and range of applications we can offer to our customers," he said.
The Arizona 480 GT, which can print at speeds of up to 32.8sqm per hour, features eight independent ink channels including varnish, double opacity white and two additional cyan and magenta channels, and will enable the firm to produce a range of creative effects and to print on coloured and clear substrates.
"This is going to help us meet a growing demand for shorter runs, with high-quality applications more cost-effectively – all delivered quickly thanks to the high throughput and batch-printing mode."
He added that the company hoped to boost its POS work and industrial print output while also being able to produce specialist applications, such as window graphics. "We expect growth to slow to a steady 15%-25% a year now, and I think we will consider another Océ Arizona 480 GT at some point down the line," he said.
Duncan Smith, wide-format printing group director for Canon UK, said: "We're delighted that Screentec has decided to continue its journey with us. It is an example of a company that recognises both the vast potential of the wide-format market and how digital printing technology can drive success."
