The family firm in St Austell, Cornwall has bought a 1.1m-wide Epson SureColor SC-P8000, its first wide-format printer, and a Ricoh 7100, and refurbished a 32sqm room to create a new digital centre. In addition it bought a D&K B1 laminator secondhand from a local finishing house.
The Epson, which arrived last month and was launched in September, has enabled the company to bring all its wide-format poster and banner printing in-house. It uses a PrecisionCore printhead and uses an eight-colour UltraChrome HD pigment-based ink-set, which Epson said gives a wide colour gamut, with 93% Pantone coverage and improved lightfastness.
Nationwide managing director Julian Hocking said: “Rather than having to send work out we wanted to take our own control. We’re already doing more than we were when we were sending out. It has generated its own work because it was a higher quality than before.”
Nationwide Print had a relationship with Epson but Hocking said he made the choice following a look at all the options.
“We did some tests and the quality was of a very high level so it was better for the money that we were paying than what else was on the market.
For the investment it’s already proved itself: we have control, the profit is better, the quality is better.”
He said Nationwide would consider more wide-format investments in the future.
“Who knows, depending on how it goes, we might move to a solvent based large-format printer rather than a water-based one.”
But while Hocking said it made business sense to invest in a wide-format printer and there were growth opportunities, he added that it was important to be realistic as the machines were so affordable.
“In a minute this market will be saturated also. It’s very quickly getting filled up,” he said.
The Ricoh 7100, installed in March, enables Nationwide to print premium finishes on textured media for lightweight packaging, direct mail, books, brochures and business cards. It is the company's second Ricoh 7100 but represents the first time the company can print digitally on textured papers, Hocking said.
“You can print six-page A4s, up to more than 600, the tints are better, the solids are better, it prints on textured papers. We couldn’t really do that on our older one.
“We are a profitable small business trying to futureproof ourselves. We’re very good at what we do but it’s a tough market as everyone’s aware. I want it to be more than about price. We are trying to do more to increase our offering.”
Litho, digital and wide-format printer Nationwide Print has been in family ownership since the mid-1930s and under Hocking’s leadership since 1998.
Clients at the 15-staff company include Emporio Armani, Cornwall Council, The St Austell Brewery and The Eden Project. The company prides itself on its green credentials and uses vegetable-based inks and power from its solar roof, which was installed in 2011 and added to last year.
