KIT & MEDIA / NEWS 24 www.signlink.co.uk signlink signlink signlinkmagazine Issue 251 - February / March 2024 Simply Beautiful expands with Agfa As a result of increasing demand for dye-sublimation over the past few years, Simply Beautiful Print has invested in an Agfa Avinci CX3200 wide-format printer and a Klieverik Calender unit. Expanding into dye-sublimation production and finishing has seen the company invest over £300,000 including a 2,000sq ft mezzanine floor being added to its East Sussex facility, extending the total space to 6,500sq ft. The first floor now houses the stitching and finishing equipment meaning there is now space for the 3.2m Agfa machine and calender unit on the ground floor. Michael Tyrrell founded Simply Beautiful Print in 2011 from his home office following a career in print which began as a graphic designer in a screen printing business after leaving college. Starting out outsourcing all production, the company has grown to now reside in a facility that houses an Agfa Anapurna H3200i LED UV Printer, an Agfa Avinci CX3200 dye-sublimation printer, an HP 800W Latex printer and a Canon iGAF printer. The portfolio also includes a Kongsberg C64 Edge, Klieverik Calender, Neschen Coldlam laminator, CWT Application Table plus Sewing machine with conveyor line. Commenting on the investment, Tyrell says: “This growth hasn’t come overnight, and we have worked in a few smaller units over the years, including one we shared with an ambulance for a while. But we have grown steady and consistently, monitored the market and outsourced until we had the volume to bring it in-house. “We now have a loyal customer base that trust in us and we have a lot of capacity and are self-contained which is important as it means that we control both the timing and quality for our customers.” Tyrrell’s relationship with Agfa began in 2016 when he visited the manufacturer's headquarters in Mortsel, Belgium and was “blown away” by the size, scale, support, and quality of the technology. Major retailer invests in Vivid technology Major British multinational retailer, NEXT, has invested in a Veloblade Nexus and Zip Core Packaging Suite from Vivid Laminating Technologies. NEXT has approximately 700 stores in its portfolio with around 500 located in the UK and the remaining 200 located across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The brand’s in-house print department needed a new system for its own signage needs with its previous cutting system resulting in extended waiting times for support. As a result, NEXT has now partnered with Vivid and has invested in a Veloblade Nexus and Zip Core Packaging Suite. This technology has enabled the brand to take full control of its in-house production, save time, and benefit from substantial cost savings. Vivid has thanked Ricoh, a reseller of Vivid, for its instrumental role in making the sale possible with Ricoh a long-standing technology partner to NEXT. Over the years, Ricoh has supported the brand with innovative workflow and process improvement in its warehousing and storerooms as well as providing wide-format and cut-sheet print and finishing technology. The new Vivid technology will work alongside Ricoh Latex and UV flatbed technologies within NEXT’s in-house print department. Due to this, the system needed to be operable over three shifts, easy to use, able to cut various materials involving routing, and be reliable. Alongside Vivid’s technical support, the Veloblade Nexus meets all these criteria and enables applications to be easily prototyped and brought to production in just a matter of hours. Stephen Clarke, print services manager at NEXT, comments: “Vivid’s support is truly deserving of a fivestar rating. The company consistently goes above and beyond to ensure we have the best support when operating the Veloblade Nexus and Zip Core Packaging Suite. This level of support is truly invaluable to us.” British retailer NEXT has invested in Vivid’s Veloblade Nexus and Zip Core Packaging Suite for in-house print development By Carys Evans [L to R] James Argent of Agfa and Michael Tyrrell, founder of Simply Beautiful Print in front of the Agfa Avinci CX3200 By Carys Evans
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