Honfleur, France-based BS2i has invested in superior inkjet technology for its customers with the purchase of a new EFI™ VUTEk® 5r+ LED superwide roll-to-roll printer from Electronics For Imaging, Inc. (Nasdaq:EFII). The printer allows the company to produce premium-quality prints at a high speed and lowers the company's running costs thanks to its LED technology.
"The EFI VUTEk 5r+ is a production printer that's capable of taking on large volumes of printing with very high-quality results," said BS2i CEO Janette Cacciopo. "Its very small drop size allows us to position ourselves at the high end of 5-metre printing, especially when it comes to textile printing like with coated polyester, diffusion fabric, etc. It can also be adapted perfectly to the current proliferation of requests for backlit graphics."
Better speed and quality with LED
BS2i's 5.2-metre wide digital printer, which has a four-colour plus white configuration, drives greater value in high volume work with its superior ink coverage, high colour density and wide colour gamut. But what really caught Cacciopo's eye is the LED curing technology. "It was the performance of the LED in general compared to classic UV that interested me, as well as the improvement in both speed and quality."
EFI's "cool cure" LED technology requires less heat compared to traditional UV or latex printing, which provides a savings in energy costs. Plus, compared with mercury arc lamps, the LED lamps in the printer last longer and do not have the type of degradation issues that can result in wasted prints. "There is no longer the risk of the printing getting worse because of the quality of drying," Cacciopo said. "That's really good to know. There's no need to monitor it like with the other machines."
The right partnership
Cacciopo purchased the printer after visiting EFI's showroom in Belgium to learn more about its capabilities. The visit convinced her not only that the printer was the right technology for her business, but that EFI also would be a reliable business provider.
"We were totally convinced by the printer," she said. "It was the obvious choice for BS2i. But for an investment of this size, I had to choose a well-known and reliable company with after-sales service and strong technical support that would be able to guarantee end-to-end service provision. We wanted a company with the same ethos as BS2i, and that was EFI."
BS2i blocked out a week to set up the printer, but the installation was completed in two days. "At the time, we had an order for a wrap to go in a strategic location right in the heart of Paris, on the most beautiful avenue in the world, for an incredibly demanding customer. The tarpaulin was printed on the EFI VUTEk 5r+ three days after it was installed, and the customer congratulated us," said Cacciopo.
Training on the printer also went well. BS2i's printer operators particularly like how simple it was to get the VUTEk 5r+ up and running, and the way it is designed so parts inside the printer are easily accessible.
Designed to offer the lowest total cost of ownership, the highest image quality at the highest rated throughput speeds in its class, the roll-to-roll LED inkjet printer delivers fast production speeds up to 479 square metres per hour. The printer's 7-picolitre UltraDrop™ Technology provides superb transitions, vignettes, skin tones, and shadows. The printer also offers improved white printing with up to 30% faster throughput compared to the original VUTEk 3r/5r printers. Several new optional features are available for the printer, including double-bladed slitters and multi-roll support for automated backlit and blockout printing.
Advanced technology for an evolving company
Located in France's Normandy region, BS2i is a production facility that specialises in outsourcing and is dedicated to wide- and superwide-format digital printing, starting with industrial wraps and blinds. When Cacciopo joined the company, she realised that digital printing presented a good opportunity for BS2i to develop and grow its industrial wrap business.
BS2i partnered with visual communication professionals, and for several years the company has had its huge printed wraps on the front of buildings. Much of its work is installed in Paris, including wraps created for some of the most prestigious sites around the Paris ring road. BS2i also provides signage, and can print various types of banners, signs, fixtures and fittings for shops and stalls, and wall and floor decorations. "Our position in the market requires us to be extremely responsive and to guarantee quality at the right price. That is why it's important to make the right choice with the technology," Cacciopo said.
BS2i's continued development reflects the success it has had winning the trust and confidence of its customers. The company is about end-to-end service above all else: from order entry to delivery, each step is important and has been thought through and perfected. Since 2017, the company has had an ongoing procedure in place to industrialise and rationalise its processes, using cost control tools throughout the whole process. Because the company is so highly automated, the EFI VUTEk 5r+ fits perfectly into this procedure.
"The ability to listen to the customer lies at the heart of our business, and the ability to come up with new ideas is our raison d'être. But doing this efficiently has a number of prerequisites: a powerful and committed team, equipment that is always at the cutting edge of technology, and partnerships with our customers and suppliers," said Cacciopo.
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