media wastage with some machines taking a large amount of expensive media to set them up. “When it comes to media, operators should seek a press – and ink – that can print with high quality and reliably across a vast range of media. “The precision of the media handling mechanism is important too, particularly when it comes to quality. A printer’s ink usage is another factor to consider for keeping costs down.” Speed and quality With the 2023 calendar already full of industry events and exhibitions, businesses from all sorts of sectors will be thinking about how they can use their place at the event to promote what they do and draw in new business. One example is family-owned garden pottery supplier Woodlodge Products which used its HP Latex R2000 printer to produce a creative and sustainable exhibition stand for garden and outdoor living tradeshow, Glee. The company used its HP Latex R2000 printer to produce all the graphics on its stand prior to the event which took place last summer. Due to the printer running with water-based HP Latex inks, the machine offers an eco-friendly print solution. Using Xanita Fibreboard from Antalis, Woodlodge produced eye-catching graphics for its 1,300sq m stand in the NEC, Birmingham. “With such a large space, we needed to ensure that the stand flowed and that our current and potential customers realised that they were still on the Woodlodge stand as they explored our products,” Steve Partington, graphic and print production manager at Woodlodge, says. He adds: “As such, we needed to ensure that we produced an impactful stand with a view to minimising cost, but also ensuring a strong brand message was communicated. Over 1,800sq m of print and cut material was produced for this event. The speed in which we produced the stand was amazing; we were certainly up against a tight deadline!” Having owned the printer for over two years, Woodlodge has completed a wide range of products via its own in-house graphic and print department. These projects include point of sale graphics in a wide range of formats and materials for existing ranges and customers, as well as developing new ideas and being able to sample these using the HP Latex machine. Ready for opportunity One supplier of wide-format kit that has a wide range of products in its portfolio is Shrewsbury-based CMYUK. The company stocks a huge amount of choice when it comes to wide-format print kit, including EFI, Mimaki, Canon, and Epson. Watford-based Rocket Graphics utilised this range of machines when investing in its latest roll-to-roll printer. The company opted for an EFI VUTEk 5r+ UV LED machine from CMYUK in order to increase production and respond to increased demand following the Covid-19 pandemic. 49 We’re seeing a shift towards printing on sustainable materials such as paper, polyester, and polypropene. For this, machines that can comfortably deal with handling these new media types, are required; as are compatible inks www.printmonthly..co.uk Issue 341 - March / April 2023 MARKET TRENDS / WIDE-FORMAT PRINT KIT PT.1 The wide-format print market is predicted to reach $10.87bn (£8.82bn) by 2026 at a CAGR of 4.13% Factoid ▼ Narendra Nardani, founder of Get Sticking which recently invested in a Mimaki UCJV300-75 from CMYUK
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