Leading Sydney wide format display, photographic and point-of-purchase producer Flash Graphics, continues its technology trendsetting with the first Screen Truepress Jet W3200UV-HS in the southern hemisphere.
Fredrik Udên, Flash Graphics director, is gaining a reputation for being one of the most uncompromising technologists in the industry. He is known for pushing the boundaries when it comes to investing in new equipment.
His latest buy is a Screen W3200UV, which is fully optioned with the HS upgrade enabling up to 150 square metres per hour productivity, automatic head cleaning and nozzle mapping plus the seven-colour, CMYK+Lc, Lm and white channels.
“We have had a look at every preceding Screen flatbed model, waiting for the specifications to match what we were looking for. We knew this could be the one as soon as it was released, looking at the history of machines. Dainippon Screen and Inca are both quality companies and they are not mainly marketing driven but are driven by great engineering and innovation, with the accompanying passion that we really like.”
The installation was conducted by Inca UK Customer Support engineer Mark Hewitt and Screen technician Peter Townsend, fresh from a 4-week course at Inca in Cambridge UK. This unit was originally intended as Screen’s demonstration machine, but was diverted to Flash to shorten lead time.
“We sent our own test files that we know show a machine’s capabilities and its accuracy, with warts and all. It is important to understand the limitations on any machine to see if they can be addressed or lived with. The results from our testing showed that this W3200UV machine will produce market leading quality on a variety of substrates at high speed,” said Udên.
“The market is changing quickly and some of our existing customers would like to give us higher volumes of work that previously had been offset or screen printed and for that we needed to gear up, to meet this need we had been looking for a printer that provided both quality and speed, we found it in the Truepress W3200UV.
The deal was cemented by Screen’s northern region sales manager James Haisman and managing director Peter Scott, who says: “To have a first W3200UV customer as prestigious as Flash Graphics is indeed a blessing and we look forward to many years of close cooperation and helping to fuel their growth. The decision was based on technical superiority and extensive testing, so we know that Flash has made the right decision and I congratulate them on their choice.”
On the technicalities of the ‘due diligence’ process leading up to the purchase, Udên adds: “We are not great believers in belt-driven hybrid machines and if your focus is on great vibrant colour and good resolution, then the field is not that big anymore. Our background is as a photographic production house with display and POS solutions, so we always strive for the optimum quality that delivers the messages with great impact,” he said.
“If the colour and quality are not there, why bother producing it? It scares me to see work out there for prestige brands where the print just does not do justice to the subject; it does not make any sense.”
Flash Graphics was established in 1986, and has production facilities in Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra. It is part of a global network with associated offices in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Los Angeles, New York, London, and other locations worldwide.
Screen has appointed Graphic Art Mart as its dealer for the Truepress Jet W3200UV in all states of Australia.