Business - Knowledge

A new industry report ‘Redefining wide-format workflows to realize revenue at every opportunity’ explores what is holding large format print back from fully capitalizing on cloud-based technologies.

SGIA is reintroducing its SGIA Expo T-shirt, for sale only at the 2017 SGIA Expo (New Orleans, October 10–12) and will donate all proceeds from its sale to lowernine.org, an organization dedicated to rebuilding the Lower Ninth Ward, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Sporting equipment supplier, Mr. Cricket has brought lucrative personalisation services in-house following investment in Roland DG printer/cutter technology, saving more than £10,000 every year. A TrueVIS SG-300 printer/cutter was installed in late 2016 and has streamlined the company's business processes, boosted profit margins, and delivered greater control over the quality and delivery of personalised apparel and equipment.

Merrick Fuller opened the Mr. Cricket store specialising in cricket equipment six years ago in Burwell, near Cambridge, serving local cricket-mad customers as well as supplying personalised sportswear and uniform to a local independent school. Fast-forward to 2016 and business was booming, with a huge increase in the demand of personalised uniform, sportswear, match apparel and cricket kit from more than 100 sports clubs and six local schools.

Mr. Cricket is a veritable Aladdin’s cave of cricketing equipment. It is managed by Merrick, a keen cricketer and Sky Sports Cricket Coach of the Year 2009 and supported by Paul Redfarn ex-England U19 Captain, alongside an additional five members of very knowledgeable staff. The team provides expert help and advice for all cricketers – regardless of age, experience or ability – either face-to-face, over the phone or via its online shop.

As business grew, the cost of outsourcing personalised printing services soared to approximately £20,000 per annum. Merrick Fuller explains: “Whilst we supplied the kit ourselves, we had to outsource the personalised print services and as the business boomed, we found it increasingly expensive. We also had less control over the quality of the finished products and the turnaround times of orders, so we looked to bring the printing in-house.”

A self-confessed ‘total novice’ when it comes to printers, Merrick met with Grafityp, an approved Roland DG UK dealer, which recommended the TrueVIS SG-300 printer/cutter that offers a massive range of production capabilities at an incredibly attractive price point.

Since its installation Merrick estimates that the printer has already saved the company ‘thousands of pounds’ while enabling the addition of new print services including banners, sponsor boards, branded items and much more to Mr. Cricket's portfolio.

Merrick explains: “We mainly use our Roland machine for printing names, numbers, club badges and logos to personalise sports and school wear and we’ve seen a big uptake on that part of the business. However, we’ve also recently created a cricket scoreboard-style wedding table plan, and printed sponsor-branded wrap-arounds for cricket stumps!

“With our Roland printer, we’ve more opportunity for growth as we are able to offer more services; everything is now under our control and we can confidently meet customers’ needs quickly, whilst guaranteeing the quality of the end-product.”

In terms of challenges faced learning to use the printer/cutter, there have been very few. Those Mr. Cricket has encountered, Merrick puts down to his self-confessed novice with printers’ status: “For us, the challenge has been learning how to use the design software rather than the print software and technical support from the Roland DG team has been very important to us. When we’ve made silly errors, they’ve supported us brilliantly. They’re very accommodating and helpful and you never feel like you’re calling them with daft questions.

“I also went on a Roland DG training course last month, the Intermediate Digital Print Course, which was incredibly useful for us as it’s our first experience using this type of printer. We’ll definitely look at attending further courses at the Roland DG Academy as our confidence grows.”

It’s not just Merrick Fuller’s confidence that is growing though. Following on from the success of the Mr. Cricket business, he has launched the Mr. Hockey website, with a Mr. Custom Clothing site in the offing.

Merrick Fuller concludes: “These new sites have been established thanks to the natural growth of our customer base and their expanding requirements. The additional services that the Roland DG TrueVIS SG-300 printer/cutter has enabled us to offer has been a key part of this success.”

For more information on Mr. Cricket, please visit www.mrcricketshop.co.uk

Following its acquisition by Swiss family business Zünd Systemtechnik AG earlier this year, St Albans-based Zünd Plotting Systems (UK) Ltd has announced an official name change to Zünd UK Ltd. The new, simpler name reflects a continued progression for the company, a leader in digital cutting technology.

New technical innovations will also be on show at Zünd UK Ltd's dedicated demonstration centre following a forthcoming refurbishment. New Zünd machines fitted with over-cutter cameras and laser modules – both of which were unveiled at FESPA this year – will be on display for customers seeking in-depth looks at Zünd technology away from busy trade show floors. Zünd UK is also planning to hold a number of open house events next year, introducing more people to the cutting-edge range.

Furthermore, Zünd UK Ltd has announced the appointment of new sales personnel. James Newnham, Paul Whitford and Steve Rowbotham have all been appointed Sales Account Managers, while Thomas Scott is a new Sales Technician.

As part of the changes at Zünd UK, the email addresses for sales and support teams have also been altered to salesuk@zund.com and supportuk@zund.com respectively. The phone and fax numbers remain the same.

"Becoming a subsidiary of Zünd Systemtechnik AG this year has enabled us to make big changes here at Zünd UK Ltd, including streamlining our name," comments Stuart Cole, Managing Director, Zünd UK Ltd.

"Our demo centre is getting a revamp with our very latest innovations that make digital cutting processes even faster, more automated and more efficient, while our customers will see new faces in our sales team.

"We're looking forward to meeting new and existing Zünd users both at our demonstration centre in St Albans and at forthcoming trade shows – with plenty more events planned for 2018."

Zünd UK Ltd will be exhibiting at Packaging Innovations in London on September 13th and 14th 2017 (Stand D2) and at Advanced Engineering in Birmingham on November 1st and 2nd 2017 (Stand D43).

To book a meeting with Zünd UK Ltd at these shows or at the demonstration centre, or for further information on Zünd cutting systems, please email salesuk@zund.com or call 01727 833003.

[Picture caption: The renamed Zünd UK Ltd is making changes to its demonstration suite]

Drytac, an international manufacturer of adhesive-coated products and laminators, has partnered with leading printer manufacturer, Roland DGA Corporation, to create a portfolio of print media colour profiles and cross-promote products. The two companies have also shared resources to improve overall work process efficiencies and productivity for customers who utilise their products. A Roland printer has been installed in Drytac’s Richmond, Virginia showroom, and in turn, Drytac’s JetMounter laminator has been supplied for use at Roland’s demo center in Wilmington, Massachusetts. Additionally, the two companies recently conducted a wrap workshop at NBM’s WrapsCon in Long Beach, featuring how Roland printers and Drytac laminators work together in a vehicle wrap workflow.

Print media from Drytac are listed in the Roland Profile Center, where users can select the Roland printer, ink configuration, and RIP manufacturer to be used. Once these have been specified, users can download the necessary colour profiles for their media of choice.

“Our partnership with Roland DGA brings immense value, and we are thrilled to be working together, said Darren Speizer, Drytac Vice President of Sales & Marketing. “This new relationship gives us the opportunity to share industry knowledge across organisational teams while simultaneously promoting Drytac print media to multiple wide-format graphic audiences.”

To access Drytac print media profiles, visit the Roland Profile Center at http://rolandprofilecenter.us/media-library.php.

For a schedule of upcoming workshops featuring Roland printers and Drytac laminators, visit www.rolanddga.com/rolandacademy.

Contex has reaffirmed that its award winning IQ Quattro scanner series and HD Ultra scanner series are compliant with the U.S. Trade Agreements Act (TAA). Scanners are assembled in Denmark, where the company is also headquartered. Contex wide format scanners are available through authorised resellers for commercial and federal, state and local government customers.

"The U.S. government and agencies are long-time Contex customers, and it is important to them and us that we supply TAA-compliant products. Contex is proud to provide TAA-compliant products to their government-based customers," comments Steve Blanken, General Manager, Contex Americas.

The U.S. government uses Contex wide format scanning solutions to digitise maps and large documents. The Contex scanners are available on the government’s online shopping system, GSA Advantage. Contex also supports partners and distributors that maintain their own GSA Schedules and government-contracting vehicles, including service disabled veterans and other disadvantage certifications recognised by federal buying guidelines.

For more information, visit www.contex.com