Veteran print and marketing specialists David
Peet and Trinh Tran launched National Print Wholesale (NPW), an Atlanta-based trade printing business for high-quality, superwide-format graphics production, with the purchase of an EFI™ VUTEk® GS3250LX Pro hybrid roll/flatbed LED inkjet printer and EFI Fiery® proServer digital front end (DFE) from Electronics For Imaging, Inc.
In NPW’s first four months of operation, the two entrepreneurs have seen remarkable growth opportunities thanks to the printer’s versatility, which has helped them quickly and economically produce point-of-purchase signage, indoor décor, outdoor graphics, trade-show exhibit displays and more for a diverse customer base.
Hybrid EFI VUTEk LED Printer. (EFI/ LEDinside)
Running at speeds up to 2,400 square feet per hour, the 3.2-meter wide LED printer features EFI’s 7 picoliter UltraDrop™ Technology, which delivers superior, high-end imaging. The printer has eight colors plus white ink, and EFI’s marketleading “cool-cure” LED inkjet technology, which prints on a broad range of substrates, including thin or delicate substrates that cannot withstand the heat required with latex inkjet or traditional UV drying and curing. Cool cure LED technology also gives users the benefit of lower running costs because of
reduced energy usage.
The newest-version Fiery proServer installed with the printer allows for superior color management as well as efficient processing, RIPing VUTEk print jobs up to 60% faster than previous proServer versions.
Winning work that others cannot produce
Relying on the extensive experience that Trinh Tran – NPW’s plant manager – has producing tradeshow graphics using VUTEk printers and Fiery DFEs, the company has quickly found it can meet a critical need. In relatively short order the young business has taken on overflow graphics work for a number of graphics shops.
"With the large color gamut, the UltraDrop Technology, and the production capabilities, we have been able to color match to every proof provided by our customers within any needed deadlines,” he said. “We've quickly been able to match color and turn around shorter jobs while also being able to produce longer color
critical roll outs for some of the largest brands around. I couldn't be happier with the printer’s output and reliability.”
The printer’s high-quality white ink capabilities have become important as well, as they helped NPW win work for businesses that offer superwide-format printing, but do not have white ink capabilities in-house. NPW was also called in to re-print a point-of-purchase job from a client that experienced banding and image quality issues when printing on a dedicated flatbed printer. The job turned out well, meeting the end client’s high expectations, once NPW got its hands on it.
NPW has also made inroads in corrugated board and flooring production. Recently, the company produced work for a national retailer looking to move from long-run, litho-laminated corrugated displays to shorter-run, versioned digital inkjet displays that allow for customized designs and offers in different geographic markets. NPW won the job because of the VUTEk printer’s ability to hit an important brand color.
In the tradeshow market, NPW has found success producing flooring on GFLOOR ® substrate. And the company is helping its clients save money with economical direct-to-substrate printing on temporary tradeshow carpeting.
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