The system was installed in March and cost the Altham, Lancashire-based creative and print outfit £140,000. It will expand the firm's wide-format printing capabilities and enable direct-to-substrate applications onto vinyl for signage clients.
On top of streamlining an existing process by introducing same-day turnaround and improving cost effectiveness, the new Jetrix has also opened up new direct print applications that production director Aaron Shread is keen to explore.
He said: “Over the years our signage output has got bigger and bigger to the point where we were working through eight rolls per month, as well as laminate, but this process is not very cost effective.
“I spoke to Perfect Colours in Sheffield about my needs and when they showed me the KX7-D I just fell in love with its speed, quality and ease of use. Talking to other users in the UK, I can see that Jetrix technology is only going to get bigger.
“Regarding additional processes, the machine can print directly onto wood which we have used to apply a design to our downstairs toilet door, and we have now started a Facebook campaign to decide what we will print next.”
Shread said that applications being considered by Media Village included printing directly onto a Rubix cube and a bottle of bourbon whiskey, with results to be published on social media.
The main benefit for clients, he said, would be the improved speed of delivery, a key point for many clients who have long requested same- and next-day services from the firm.
Jetrix’s 2.5x3.1m flatbed can print onto both rigid and roll media. Printing CMYK plus white and varnish, it can reach speeds up to 60sqm/hr in production mode.
At £2.1m-turnover Media Village’s base, it runs alongside two HP Latex 360 printers and a Summa flatbed cutter in the wide-format department. The business also runs a digital offering with three Konica Minolta printers and finishing equipment from Duplo and Matrix, as well as two Hamada Alpha 52 offset presses and mailing equipment from Pitney Bowes.
