Print-Impress invests in a Mimaki UJF6042 MKII LED UV printer from CMYUK
Greater productivity and ease-of-use for on-demand, direct to object printing.
Merseyside-based Print Impress has taken delivery of a new Mimaki UJF6042 MKII printer from CMYUK.
Managing partners Kieron Eaves and Amy Fairclough invested in this LED UV direct-to-object printer to offer unique products for their online seasonally driven personalised gift company.
The relatively new trend of presenting gift boxes on Christmas Eve were just one of the reasons that led Print-Impress to invest in the UJF6042.
“We ordered the Mimaki in July as we wanted it for the Christmas period. This month it’s all about sorting out designs and sample products,” says Kieron. “We looked at a number of UV printers but the Mimaki had a head height of 153mm making it versatile for a number of substrates and products – particularly for the Christmas Eve boxes that use 100mm thick wood.”
Print-Impress story
Print-Impress was set-up in 2015 offering an e-commerce platform for the ordering of personalised sublimated printed products such as mugs and phone cases, together with a physical walk in shop. The acquisition of a laser printer enabled the company to begin to offer engraving services, while the acquisition of industrial embroidery machinery allowed it to specialise in work wear for clients such as Bangor and Chester racecourses and school uniforms.
The addition of the Mimaki will extend the company’s services allowing it to bring colour to the direct printing of objects, which will suit nicely alongside its engraving abilities.
“The new printer allows us to add something a little bit different and special to the business. If you look on the third party sites that we also sell from such as ETSY and e-Bay, everyone is offering products that a £2,000 machine can produce but not many can offer the kind of personalisation that investing in a Mimaki can achieve,” says Kieron.
As a company, Print-Impress has a strong design ethos which when paired with the capabilities of the Mimaki will allow the company to offer new solutions to keep it well ahead of the pack.
“We’re playing with it at the moment to see what we can really do with it but apart from the new opportunities it affords what I really like about it is the finish. It’s got a really good resolution and the Spot Clear UV ink feature makes for unique and eye-catching printing,” he says.
The managing duo had planned always planned to buy a Mimaki printer but was able to accelerate the investment forward due to the amount of work it had during Lockdown, where it produced large volumes of acrylic safeguarding products such as sneeze guards for retail.
“There’s just two of us in the company and we’re in the same household so we worked all through the Lockdown, all we did was to close the shop for walk-ins,” says Kieron.
After researching UV printers online, Kieron contacted Sue Hayward, Senior Digital Sales Consultant at CMYUK. Soon after, Kieran and Amy went for a demo where the Mimaki was put through its paces. They came away very impressed. However, the installation was slightly less straightforward. The printer had to be tipped onto its back and all tanks and sub tanks removed to get it into the company’s production premises, and once in, rebuilt, a process that took one and a half days. “That ate into the training time but CMYUK has been really good. If I need anything they’re on the end of the phone and they’ve called me to make sure everything is OK. I’m just looking forward to really being able to get on with it,” says Kieron.
Mimaki for creative productivity
This Mimaki UJF-3042 Mk II is an LED UV direct-to object printer perfect for promotional items, pens, key rings, phone and electronics covers, stationery, bottles, USB sticks, custom components, control panels, boxes, packaging and the like. Available in A3, the Mimaki UJF-3042 Mk II offers spectacular creativity and limitless opportunities when printing onto almost any material up to 153mm thick.
Very versatile, the Mimaki UJF-3042 Mk II offers the choice of two types of UV inks, LH-100 hard UV ink excels in scratch and chemical resistance as well as colour reproduction, while LUS-120 flexible ink has a wide colour gamut, good weather resistance and can be folded and stretched. Both ink sets include CMYK LC, LM, White, Clear and Primer. A MBIS bulk ink system with 250ml and 1000ml bottles is also available.
Future gaze
The installation of the Mimaki will allow Print-Impress to add new colourful product lines to its product portfolio with the ramp up to Christmas now the main focus. A new member of staff is set to join the team as the company continues to develop and offer gifts and products that make it stand out from the crowd.