Galloways brings wide-format in-house

Commercial printer Galloways has moved into the wide-format space with the installation of a Mimaki large-format printer-cutter, along with taking a new folder for its litho department.

The family-run business installed a 1.3m-wide Mimaki CJV130 eco-solvent printer-cutter along with a Heidelberg Stahlfolder TH56 in May, in an investment worth around £120,000.

Director Matt Galloway, who is the sixth generation of Galloway to work in the Poynton, Cheshire-based business, said the wide-format investment was related to “organic growth” within the company. 

He said: “We were getting asked more and more to do posters, pop-up banners, vinyl banners, so this was an addition to our current market and that’s why we decided to bring it in-house. 

"We have been producing the work previously via partnerships, but in purchasing the Mimaki large-format machine we have been able to bring it in-house and thus increase the value added across a new range of products."

Launched in 2015 alongside Mimaki’s flagship CJV300 printer-cutter series, the CJV130 uses on-demand Piezo printheads and is intended for use with a variety of applications. It prints at a maximum speed of 56sqm/h at a resolution of up to 1,440dpi, utilising Mimaki’s Waveform Control technology.

"Being new to the wide-format market we wanted a multipurpose machine capable of producing a range of work, which could be output as part of our other offerings to our client base," added Galloway. 

The folder was brought in as an addition after a “thorough review of its [Galloways'] business and efficiency” in order to aid with pharmaceutical work. It has so far mainly been used for short-run work but was recently utilised for a 1.2 million run of gatefold leaflets, operating at 24,000sph for 50 hours. It can run at up to 230m/min.

Galloway added that its ability to makeready in under 10 minutes and other added automation effects was "crucial". 

Founded almost 150 years ago, 43-staff Galloways, which turns over around £3.5m, produces a wide variety of commercial work, running a five-colour Speedmaster XL 105, a six-colour Speedmaster CD 102, a Ricoh Pro C751 digital press, a Heidelberg Linoprint CV and a variety of finishing equipment.