Supplied by Quality Print Services (QPS), WAE Group has installed the UK’s first Longier Hunter FP-3750 LED flatbed printer at its Leeds print room.
A specialist in signage, WAE Group produces work such as hoardings, health and safety signs and commercial estate boards for the construction sector, medical panels for hospitals, POS and a range of other graphics.
Managing director, Paul Austin, said, ‘We needed extra capacity; we couldn’t keep up with demand and were getting stuck with orders. We went to see the FR-3750 flatbed with roll-to-roll demonstrator in action and were impressed by the fine print – it’s very clear all the way down to a very small point, which is what is needed for POS.’
He added, ‘The LED curing interested us straightaway as well. The water-cooled LED lamps used to cure the ink are significantly cheaper than conventional mercury vapour lamps and don’t have to be replaced nearly as often, while the power consumption is considerably lower than conventional UV too.’
Once installed, the company also found the Longier, running Nazdar digital inks from QPS, prints faster than its existing machines and reduced its consumables costs.
‘When testing the inks we found no need for a liquid primer on composite materials, which cuts costs further,’ said Paul Austin. ‘The print quality is fantastic and the white ink particularly goes down very well – we’ve reverse printed with white onto 8 mm clear acrylic and it looks great. Colours are vibrant with less ink coverage and there’s even a program on the machine telling you the cost of the ink you’ve used.
