LFP - Large-Format-Printing
ART DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES STOPS TRAFFIC IN MANHATTAN WITH ITS NEW EFI VUTEk QS3200
Tuesday 17. June 2008 - Easy switch from flexible to rigid substrates, high quality output and environmental benefits deliver a good platform for business growth
EFI (Nasdaq: EFII), the world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation, reported that Manhattans Art Digital Technologies is the proud new owner of an EFI VUTEk QS3200 superwide format UV printer. The 14-year-old sign and graphics creative boutique plans to leverage the QS3200 as a flexible platform for business growth.
Art Digital Technologies Quote
“We needed a machine to step up our production level,” said Dan Bright, President of Art Digital Technologies. “The QS3200s fast switching from flexible to rigid substrates and its high quality imaging will allow us to migrate existing roll-to-roll business to the QS3200 while we seek new and innovative direct-to-rigid applications that we were unable to efficiently produce before.”
Art Digital Technologies
Art Digital Technologies operation is located on the third floor of a building located in Manhattans Bowery district. “Although we have a freight elevator,” added Bright, “this printer, which is 20 feet long and weighs as much as a car, was too much for it. In order to get it into our production area, we removed a window and its frame, and hired a crane to lift it in. We literally had one inch of clearance brick-to-brick, and traffic was diverted for several hours while this operation took place. It was an amazing operation, but we know that the impact this printer will have on our business will justify all of that effort.”
EFI VUTEk QS3200 Superwide Printer
The QS3200 offers superior image quality on both rigid and flexible substrates up to 126 inches (3.2 meters) wide and up to two inches (5.08 cm) thick, with changeover from flexible to rigid substrates in less than a minute. The QS3200 prints with EFIs industry leading QS Series UV inks. “Our operation has been based on solvent inks in the past,” Bright said, “and we will really be marketing the environmental benefits of UV inks, including the fact that there are no hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) or emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as a result of the production process. In addition, we will be able to eliminate the time, cost, labor and waste required to print on flexible substrates and then mount and laminate them by printing many applications direct to rigid substrates, including glass and polycarbonate materials, usually without any pretreatment being required.”
EFI VUTEk Quote
“With many companies moving production out of Manhattan,” said Chuck Dourlet, vice president of marketing, EFI VUTEk, “Art Digital Technologies has chosen to not only stay in the City but expand its business there. We are delighted the company has chosen the VUTEk QS3200 as its platform for growth and look forward to working with Dan and his team as they explore new and innovative business opportunities.”
Meeting Client Needs
Art Digital Technologies works with customers in the retail, cosmetics and real estate industries to produce high-quality display graphics of all types, from concept through finishing and installation. The company has added a digital die cutter with the QS3200 to offer the ability to not only print on just about anything, but also to be able to cut product into any shape. Bright also expects to see significantly improved productivity on multiboard display graphics that have been difficult to accurately register in the past. “With the QS3200 direct-to-rigid-substrate capabilities,” he comments, “there will be less operator error and much faster throughput since pieces are automatically registered by the QS3200 rather than requiring manual board-to-board registration.”