The newcomer firm has improved its margins significantly following the installation of a Mimaki UJF-6042 MkII at directors Samantha and Lee Fleetwood’s garden office outside their home in Chorley, Lancashire.
The flatbed A2 UV printer represents Wolf & Flower’s first steps into print. Capable of printing in CMYK + Clear on a variety of substrates, including wood, glass and metal, the device can produce print at up to 1,200x1,200dpi on objects up to 153mm thick.
Purchased through local supplier Granthams, October’s investment was not a decision taken lightly according to Samantha Fleetwood, who founded the firm in 2019 before being joined in the venture by her husband Lee in 2022.
“[The investment] was about staying competitive and offering the best to our customers,” she explained.
“Having the Mimaki meant I could finally meet demand, create more elaborate designs and reduce reliance on outsourcing. Everything else – the additional growth and new opportunities – was a bonus.”
Lee Fleetwood added that the new printer complemented the pair’s laser cutter perfectly.
Speaking to Printweek, he said: “We’ve never worked with printers before: it brings out more ideas, more creativity in what we can do.
“When you’re outsourcing, if you come up with a new product, it has to be tested by them and then you have to think about turnaround times – whereas everything’s now in house, and we can just do it.”
He added that whenever the pair have an idea for a new product, they can go down to the office in their garden and make the idea a reality straight away.
"We've been able to save so much time and get more orders out," Samantha said.
"We're now offering premium, high-quality products that simply weren't possible before. The personalisation market is huge, and the Mimaki lets us create bespoke designs faster and more efficiently than ever."
Until now, Wolf and Flower has primarily supplied bespoke signage and decor for beauty businesses, salons, and other small businesses both in the UK and around the world.
With the printer installed, the company’s horizons have expanded, Lee added, with new product offerings shored up by safer business margins and more control over their lead times.
“We’re a family-run business, and we’ve got my mother-in-law working for us as well, so we wanted to just steady the ship a bit and get our accounts in order,” he said.
“After that, we’re looking at growth: we might even go from predominantly beauty signs into a more corporate [wide-format] offering.
“We expect it to grow, and we’d like to grow in different areas rather than staying just in our niche.”
Samantha added: "A lot of people expect everything to happen straight away, but for me it was all about careful, considered growth."
