49 Issue 252 - April / May 2024 email: news@signlink.co.uk HYBRID MACHINES While all sign-makers and wide-format print companies recognise the value of investment in new kit, it is not quite as simple as calling up your local distributor and placing an order for a new machine. Funds are tight for many businesses in these markets and any new purchase needs to be planned out carefully to ensure a return on investment and that budgets are being stuck to. For this reason, many companies are turning to hybrid machines. Perhaps the most obvious and stand-out benefit of taking on this sort of technology is that they carry out more than one task, removing the need to invest in two pieces of kit for two separate uses. Add in the saving in floor space and having to only train workers on one machine rather than two, and it is easy to see why the popularity of these machines is increasing. Here, SignLink takes a look at the widermarket and picks out some of the hybrid machines available to wide-format printers, and indeed sign-makers, analysing their core features and attributes and how these will help users grow their business. Saving Money First up in this market is Vivid Laminating Technologies and its ever-expanding collection of solutions for wide-format work. One of the latest machines to have been launched is the new Easymount Hybrid laminator, a multi-patented innovation with roll-to-roll HOVER technology, suitable for long-run and roll-fed laminating. “Designed to perform, built to last, and developed in-house by Vivid, the Easymount Hybrid is the world’s first allin-one roll-fed laminator and applicator,” says Vivid director Lewis Evans, adding: “Working with a hybrid machine like this makes investment in technology cheaper for users. You also have the added benefit of the one machine taking up far less floorspace than two machines.” As for its key features, users of the Easymount Hybrid will benefit from a modular design that can be configured according to their specific production needs and incorporates both a traditional roll-fed laminator and a flatbed applicator. Other attributes include a specialist, digital control panel that the manufacturer says is very user-friendly, meaning even novice operators can achieve results with complete accuracy, quickly and easily. Vivid will be pushing the Easymount Hybrid at a number of major industry trade shows this year, including at The Print Show 2024 which takes place from 17th to 19th September at the NEC in Birmingham. Here, visitors can view live demonstrations of the Easymount Hybrid and speak with experts from Vivid about its features and how these can help them access new opportunities. To find out more specifics about this new BEST OF BOTH WORLDS Running machines that carry out more than one function will help save on both investment and floorspace. With this in mind, SignLink takes a look at some of the hybrid solutions in the wide-format print market ◄ Fujifilm’s Acuity Prime Hybrid can print on substrates up to 2m in width at production quality from 92sq m/hr
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjM0NDIxOA==