FREMONT, California - Electronics For Imaging, Inc. announced that global event marketing giant George P. Johnson has installed an EFI VUTEk FabriVU 340 soft signage printer in its Nashville production and graphics facility. The company is leveraging the superb quality and high output of the printer to meet growing demand for soft signage and solidify its position as one of the world’s top event marketing agencies.

“We are a 104-year-old company and in order to stay the leading event and experiential marketing agency in the world, we have to continually be modernizing our processes and our facilities,” said Craig Erlich, General Manager of the Nashville and Detroit production facilities for George P. Johnson. “Installing this printer is evidence towards that. We are continuing to invest in the latest and greatest technology and bringing that to our customers.”
 
Faster, better and more efficient
 
The company added the printer to increase its soft signage production volumes, and Erlich said the benefits and advantages of the VUTEk FabriVU were evident shortly after the installation. “The FabriVU 340 has increased our output by six times per hour,” he said. “The quality improvement has been significant as well, as the printer has a very large and bright color gamut.
 
“Plus,” he added, “the printer is environmentally friendly with features like ink recirculation that help with ink yield.”
 
Helping big brands look sharp in event marketing
 
George P. Johnson is the No. 1 company of its kind in the experience marketing industry, with a staff of 1,400 and North American fabrication facilities in Detroit, Nashville and Los Angeles. Its clients include some of the world’s most recognizable brands. Several of those customers have noticed and remarked on the superior quality the printer provides.
 
“Our clients and our team are seeing the graphics that are coming out of here and being installed on site at conferences, and they’re recognizing the increased level of sharpness and crispness this printer puts out,” according to Erlich.
 
Demand for soft signage continues to grow at George P. Johnson and the VUTEk FabriVU printer, which offers the time- and money-saving option of printing direct to textile or transfer paper using the same ink set, is being used for diverse client needs in everything from graphics at auto shows to large signage at large conferences and graphics in a client’s corporate headquarters facility.
 
George P. Johnson is an existing EFI customer with several other VUTEk models in its facilities. Given his prior experience with EFI, Erlich had confidence in how EFI would handle the installation and training for this newest soft signage printer. “EFI was very attentive to our needs and had reacted great to our requirements to get the equipment up and running. We are always modernizing to stay at the leading edge and EFI is a partner in that process,” said Erlich.
 
The EFI VUTEk FabriVU 340 digital fabric printer delivers ultra-high resolution of 2,400 dpi in 4 to 18 picoliter drop sizes at ultra-fast speeds of up to 5,381 square feet per hour (500 square meters). The printer’s unique ability to print on transfer paper or direct-to-fabric without changing inks saves considerable labor and machine downtime compared to other printers requiring ink changeovers for different substrates. With a print area of 3.4 meters, and four-color production with a wide color gamut and deep color saturation, the printer is perfect for profitable soft signage work such as banners, backlit displays, flags, furnishings, wall coverings and other high-end display graphics.