W.A.E. Group says that it was a 'no brainer' switching to Nazdar 202 Series inks from QPS. Whilst saving the company significant amounts of money, there was – crucially – no loss in terms of print quality.

W.A.E. Group Limited was formed by the amalgamation of W.A Displays, Austin Signs and Emblem Signs in 2001 and now has a headcount of 36. Since its inception, the company has embraced the latest developments in sign manufacture and large format digital print, regularly investing in the latest machinery to keep up to pace with the new technology, as well as maintaining traditional sign skills and techniques.

In August 2013, the company replaced two aging Mutoh Blizzards with a new Roland DG Pro 4 XF-640 machine, which delivers detailed images, bold colour and deep image saturation on a wide range of media. The new printer sits amongst a plethora of printing hardware in W.A.E. Group's Leeds, UK-based premises including an HP L28500 printer, Agfa Jeti and Anapurna 2050 printers and an Inca Spyder V to name but a few.

W.A.E Group has worked with and retained many prestigious clients over a number of years – including National Tyres, Q-Park and Sports Direct (via a third party) – courtesy of its focus on building good relationships and delivering a prompt, quality service.

The company's all-encompassing in-house facilities means it can produce and deliver end-to-end signage and print solutions right from the design stage through to nationwide installation. Services include initial design and planning, vinyl graphics, metal and acrylic fabrication, CNC routing, spray painting and stove enamelling, as well as an extensive range of screen and digital print capabilities in latex, UV and solvent inks.

The company has been working with wide format print specialist Quality Print Services (QPS) Ltd. since 2008 when it responded to some marketing collateral and signed up QPS to deliver Nazdar inks for its original Spyder printer. Since this time, the two businesses have built a close working relationship and Paul Austin, W.A.E. Group's managing director, has great faith in the advice and support provided by QPS's Chris Bailey.

Once the Roland XF-640 printer was in situ, QPS's Chris Bailey highlighted the benefits of switching to the Nazdar 202 Series of inks. Developed specifically for Roland Soljet Pro4 XF-640 and XR-640 units and the Roland VersaCamm VSi range, Nazdar 202 Series inks offer exceptional compatibility, quality and cost effectiveness, combined with a seamless 'plug and play' conversion process.

Changing from OEM to Nazdar inks was incredibly straightforward. W.A.E. Group's Paul Austin explains: "Because we have such a good relationship with Chris at QPS, we agreed to trial the 202 Series inks for QPS when they were first introduced by Nazdar. As the cartridges ran out, we simply swapped the old OEM inks with the new Nazdar 202 Series inks."

The trial was a great success. Paul Austin continues: "The inks are fully compatible with the OEM ones so there was no need to bin old stock; we simply ran the existing stock down and swapped over to the new ones as required. The inks are an exact colour and performance match to the OEM inks and we've not looked back since that time."

When citing the benefits of the switchover, Paul summarises: "The cost savings are obviously a key benefit to us. However, in order to make the business case work, it was crucial that the quality and adhesion of the inks was comparable to the OEM inks and this proved to be the case."

QPS's Chris Bailey also highlights the quality of the inks and the excellent support available. He says: "As the main UK distributor for Nazdar digital inks we provide comprehensive technical support across the UK, both for our own customers and those of the authorised Nazdar reseller channel. This role is made significantly easier because of the exceptional quality and reliability of the Nazdar range; the majority of callouts are due to genuine breakdowns."

Chris Bailey adds: "The Roland XF-640 at the W.A.E. Group is a vital piece of equipment for Paul Austin and his team. The printer is trusted to be left running unattended out of hours – using Nazdar 202 Series inks – to increase productivity and output."

On working with QPS and using the Nazdar inks, W.A.E. Group's Paul Austin concludes: "I would recommend QPS as a company wholeheartedly and I honestly can't see why anyone wouldn't change to the Nazdar 202 Series inks. You make great savings in terms of ink costs, yet there is absolutely no loss of print quality or adhesion to substrates. It's a complete no-brainer."

In fact, so good has the new Roland machine running Nazdar inks from QPS proven to be that W.A.E. Group is considering purchasing another one!