18 Issue 250 - December 2023 / January 2024 www.signlink.co.uk UNDER THE HOOD / VIVID EASYMOUNT AIR EM-A1600SH Adding value is what we are constantly trying to do for our clients, whether they have asked us to make the upgrade or if we have chosen to do so in a bid to secure or enhance a relationship. The problem is that on most occasions, the added value we want to offer comes either as a subcontractor cost or requires some form of capital investment to purchase more equipment. Either way, these options cost more and then you are left with the conundrum of what to do with these costs – pass them on or take them on board yourself? Neither of these options are overly palatable. If your business model involves striving to keep things in-house, the route, if you are committed to adding this elusive extra value, is going to require capital investment. There is an increasing number of manufacturers that are coming to the market with equipment that has been deliberately designed to cover off the issue of costs, but still provide quality machinery. In looking for these manufacturers you can add the value you want and then you are left with a much smaller gap to fill between what it costs and what you can charge. It could be that you reach a breakeven point – Nirvana. Spoilt for Choice So, expanding on this further and with our thoughts turning to laminating, one of the manufacturers well-known in this arena is Vivid Laminating Technologies. The company has a wide range of laminators from models that take up only a small amount of space in an office up to hot laminators with a 2,100mm sheet width. Designed in-house, all the machines come with innovative features and functions, but the costs are not prohibitive and the footprint of even the largest machines is not such that you will not be able to find space for them in your workspace. Added to this, the effectiveness of all the machines Vivid produces is coupled with the use of quality products such as Boss pressure sensitive films meaning the finished product is going to satisfy the most demanding of clients. As an example, the Easymount Air EM-A1600SH has taken on some of the operation issues that are not untypical of laminators, that being the amount and consistency of pressure applied to the applicator roller. Vivid’s solution is to use pneumatic control to apply the required pressure and this has the advantage of being able to apply a very accurate and precise amount of pressure to films and substrates. Furthermore, should you be looking to laminate foam or soft fluted board, the roller can ‘float’ down to get the exact thickness between materials which then can be adjusted to the correct pressure. Taking all the guesswork out of the pressure not only makes the job considerably easier to complete but due to the accuracy of the setting, the production speeds are optimised and then increased. Not only is speed and production volume increased, but you can mount onto Foamex board from 1mm to 30mm in thickness. Previously this might have been a task you would have outsourced. The overall machine has a robust design Vivid has a wide range of laminating machines, one of the latest being the Easymount Air EM-A1600SH. Brian Sims takes a closer look at this machine’s construction and at some of its new features The Easymount Air EM-A1600SH has a pneumatic system that allows the pressure roller to be lowered smoothly to the most delicate substrates Finding Nirvana ▲ Swing-out arms allow for the swift and easy exchange of film and laminate rollers
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