Quad Express Printing, Hayward, Calif., has become the first U.S. customer to purchase an EFI VUTEk GS3250 grand-format inkjet printer from conventional printing press manufacturer Heidelberg USA, Kennesaw, Ga. The EFI- Heidelberg distribution agreement, announced in January, allows Heidelberg to sell EFI printers into the conventional printing market.

According to J.B. Garcia, Quad Express vice president, the aim is to expand into the grand-format display market from its core offset business. The VUTEk GS3250 printer will be one of few such devices in the area, and the only one with differentiating features such as the ability to print with white ink, a superwide 10’ format, and color management via Heidelberg’s Prinect Color Toolbox.

The VUTEk purchase marks the company’s first foray into the digital realm. Quad Express currently outsources its large-format display work. By bringing that capability in-house, Garcia says he expects to achieve up to 20 percent savings overall, together with better quality control.

“Heidelberg color management via Prinect Color Toolbox is very important to us,” Garcia says. “This toolbox enables us to be able to precisely match colors on our customer-supplied files, giving us accurate color saturation.”

Garcia says that Quad Express “will use the equipment as a vehicle to produce press releases, flyers, mailers, samples, and so forth. The prospect of being able to take advantage of Heidelberg service on the new VUTEk machine was also very attractive,” he says