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HP Scitex FB950 through its paces by Midlands design and print company

HP Scitex at RJDA site Peep show sign.
It's not very often that a wide format, flatbed printer can boast that its first job was for a Peep-show now is it? Although this is exactly the claim to fame by the newly installed HP Scitex FB950 for design and marketing agency R J Design Associates (RJDA) when they used it to print the latest promotional window graphic for footwear giants Schuh.

Purchased from large format specialist reseller City & West End Solutions, installation went ahead in July and it has not been out of production since. The recent acquisition proves to strengthen RJDA's position as a leading provider of large format print solutions in the East Midlands and also offers the ability to lower the environmental impact of their own in-house printing.

The window graphic for the shoe retail giant Schuh was the first to be printed. The 'Peep-Schuh' refit was for the flagship Liverpool store and RJ Design were able to print and apply die-cut self-cling window vinyls in just two days, complete with Amsterdam style peep-holes. The new graphics succeeded the 15x2.5m board style hoardings that were printed directly onto substrate, also on the HP Scitex.

Since then similar innovative POS campaigns for the Livingston based footwear retailer have seen the production of a die cut, freestanding Adam-Ant and 1m square Post-It notes for the Dublin store.

The HP Scitex FB950 is capable of printing flatbed, sheetfed and rollfed at up to 80 m2/hr in fast mode. It utilises six colour UV-curable inks (C, M, Y, K, Lc, Lm) and consistent print results are achieved with 12 printheads with variable sized drops printing up to 1200 x 600 optimised dpi that are continually monitored by an onboard camera and spectrophotometer. It can print directly on to a wide variety of rigid media as well as more traditional signage and graphic applications.

Walker explains, "The HP Scitex has not only given us the opportunity to up sell to our existing clients, but to diversify our services into new markets."

RJDA Production Manager, Julian Oldham-Kitchener says, "We have found that the Scitex actually does about three times the amount of work of other printers, which need a fair amount of maintenance to keep running consistently. The HP Scitex however, prints a 50m roll at 20m2 per hour - no stopping - brilliant."

Like many new installations and first runs RJDA were not without teething problems but are delighted by the response of their supplier City & West End Solutions and distributor ArtSystems.

Walker concludes, "Our investment in the HP Scitex FB950 has meant we can significantly reduce the fulfilment time on jobs and drive down the cost of wide format signage and display graphics."

For further information contact RJ Design Associates on 0115 944 5428 or visit www.rj-da.co.uk

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