GJ Plastics Ltd, of Manchester, UK, has installed an HP Scitex FB500 Industrial Printer to produce innovative high-quality POS displays and to extend its product range.
GJ Plastics specialises in distinctive, high-impact display stands for a wide array of markets. It offers a product line from stylish, clear acrylic photo frames, ranging in size from desk top frames, to large wall displays, to magazine and brochure stands. However, it is the company's work producing printed POS displays on polypropylene, Foamex and laminated MDF that led to its investment in the HP Scitex Industrial Printer.
The company has a wide range of container and display products made from these durable, long-lasting materials, including newspaper and magazine dump bins, ticket towers, portable voting stations, questionnaire, customer feedback and survey stands, competition entry displays and ballot, deposit and suggestion boxes.
These are not run-of-the-mill large format products; G J Plastics has made major investments in specialist equipment to cut and bend its displays to produce distinctive products
"We use our highly accurate lasers and CNC routers to cut the dump bins in durable 5mm White Foam PVC, not cheap 3mm substitutes," explained Graham Croston, director, G J Plastics Ltd. "It is far longer-lasting than cardboard because it is not affected by humidity, moisture and general spills. The HP FB500 fits well into our production requirements and quality values."
GJ Plastics also prints on solid and fluted polypropylene, laminated MDF and is also planning to experiment printing HP Wall Paper to expand its offering.
The HP Scitex FB500 Industrial Printer, supplied by CWE Solutions, of Chessington, Surrey and Sheffield, can print on virtually any rigid or flexible material in seven colours, including white on rigid substrates up to 122 x 163cm (48 x 64in)(2) and up to 64mm (2.5in) thick.
"The UV-curable inks used by the FB500 printer enable us to print direct to the substrate and bend it to finished shapes without cracking," said Croston. "We believe we're the first company in the world to be carrying out this combination of direct printing and bending. This capability can take us into new areas and enable us to design new products."
GJ Plastics is not just a product innovator, but strives to keep the 17 people that work for them well-trained, and its business practices up to date.
"We believe that HP and CWE Solutions have a similar forward-thinking approach to technology and business and this is why we chose to partner with them," explained Croston. "In particular, we value the training and support we have received from CWE and we are pleased that HP has enabled us to be using UV-curable and not solvent-based ink as part of our commitment to environmental best practice. To this end, we've also worked to improve our recycling and now recycle about 100 tons of material each year - which is about 95% of our waste."
Web-to-print is a significant part of GJ Plastic's business. With six websites receiving orders, the company is not only embracing the benefits of digital printing, but expanding its market by recognising the effects of digital technologies.
"We have three in-house designers to develop products for us and our customers," said Croston. "With our combination of cutting edge equipment, contemporary product design and a client base that needs to be innovative, we're able to merge the techniques for sign production into the display market, and that makes the future look very exciting."