Clevedon, UK – After installing Roland DG VersaUV LEF-20 and Roland DG TrueVIS printers, QuickPrint has discovered a wealth of new printing applications, like printing a variety of different aircraft directly onto gold ingots.
Exeter-based QuickPrint is a business that moves with the times, without forgetting about history. The company started life as a litho printer in 1961 and still uses this technique alongside more modern technology. After spotting a market for exterior print such as banners, QuickPrint invested in digital wide-format printing systems to produce them. In so doing, they unlocked a range of other exterior print applications, like shop signs and vehicle graphics – followed by large format exhibition graphics, roll-ups, pop-ups, posters, labels and much more.
All these are produced to order on a Roland DG TrueVIS VG-640 combined printer/cutter, which replaced an older VS-640 around a year ago. It is integral to QuickPrint's mission to continually discover new services, products and ideas.
"The VS-640 stood us well for years, but the new TrueVIS gave us increased speed and quality – a massive bonus," explains Richard Frayne, Director of QuickPrint (South West) Ltd. "Customers are demanding fast turnaround, full-colour work and the TrueVIS VG offers both speed and quality. It's a win-win."
Alongside the TrueVIS VG-640 is a Roland VersaUV LEF-20 UV flatbed printer, a compact device with a built-in carbon extractor in the base. This can print an extraordinary range of colours, including white and gloss highlights, and even unique textures onto practically any material or product up to 100mm thick. For QuickPrint, this includes printing designs of famous aircraft, such as the Spitfire, onto gold-plated ingots. QuickPrint receives the ingots from a specialist mint company, prints a layer of white on the VersaUV LEF-20, and then over-prints with stunning CMYK colour images.
Richard explains that a course at the Roland Academy enabled his team to learn more about the potential of the LEF. It's this machine that is 'opening doors' for QuickPrint, he says.
"When we provide large format work to our customers, it's nice to offer the full service," he says. "We can also offer quotes to other business, for more unusual work, thanks to the LEF.
"It's a very versatile machine; it can print onto almost anything up to 100mm high. If you can print it, we can offer it – we're a one-stop-shop, always looking for new products and new services."
Most of the clients on QuickPrint's books are repeat trade customers, for whom the business produces wide format, commercial print work and promotional products like golf balls and pens. But, increasingly, the company's ecommerce website is attracting more consumer sales. Wedding invitations, canvas prints, orders of service and more are all offered by QuickPrint, thanks to the versatility of its printing equipment.
"We never stop looking at new applications," says Richard.