At FESPA 2013, Mimaki will be commemorating a quarter of a century of cutting expertise in a novel and fun way, by presenting the owner of the oldest plotter in captivity with one of its brand new CG-SRIII series machines.
In order to mark its momentous 25th anniversary, Mimaki is joining forces with Sign Directions and Large Format Review to host a competition to discover the oldest cutting plotter in captivity. The machine can be any make, or size, and purchased from any supplier, past or present. It can still be in daily use, called upon occasionally, or just remain as a happy reminder of a company’s progress through the years. It doesn’t matter at all.
As Sign Directions Editor Val Hirst explains, “When I visit sign and display companies, big or small, I often spy an ancient plotter cowering in a corner. Usually, this cobwebby machine will be referred to in the same fond tones that are normally reserved for a trusted family pet, with business owners bestowing it with a friendly pat before confiding that it was the first piece of equipment they purchased when they started their companies and often adding with an air of delighted surprise: ‘…and it’s still going strong!’”
Since the introduction of computerised cutting into the sign and display sectors in 1983, literally millions of cutting plotters have been sold worldwide, many of which have been manufactured by Mimaki, who first set a new industry benchmark in 1988 with the introduction of its CG range.
The company has since produced a dazzling array of machines, including models ranging from the 60cm wide CG-60 desktop model up to the 1.6 metre CG-160FXII professional production model, all of which are rightly revered for their functionality and ease of use at highly affordable price points that are designed to appeal to companies of all sizes.
All you have to do to enter the competition is visit a dedicated website to upload details of your machine’s provenance to the dedicated email address below. The person who can unearth the oldest machine will be duly rewarded on Friday 28th June on the Mimaki stand at FESPA 2013, with the presentation of a brand new CG-60SRIII machine, by Mimaki’s exclusive UK and Irish Distributor, Hybrid Services.
The closing date for the competition is Friday 21st June and entries can be uploaded by emailing oldest@winamimaki.com or visiting www.winamimaki.com
As Val Hirst concludes, “Judging by what I’ve seen over the years I’ve been editing sign magazines, just about every signmaker in the UK is eligible, so we’re bracing ourselves for a veritable stampede of entries!”