Digital Output - April 2008 - (Page 33)

wide assortment of media. While originally a color separation firm, the company remodeled its business to push into display graphics two years ago, explains Jim Sullivan, president/CEO. Brandboxx. “Our customers pushed us into inkjet proofs. So we bought an inkjet printer and the posters and displays followed.” The firm was no stranger to finishing, Sullivan says, but the Inca purchase brought to light a new need.“We were cutting on smaller equipment, but after we purchased the Inca we knew our finishing was going to pick up,” Sullivan says. It wasn’t simply a matter of size, Sullivan explains. “Our cutting business was growing and we were outsourcing larger jobs and more complicated ones, so we were losing gross profits.” cent of what we were outsourcing, and we were able to take on projects we had never done before.” The unit’s 66x120-inch cutting area allows the company to finish work on the Inca Spyder and its 63-inch Mimaki JV solvent printer, but also provided Brandboxx the ability to take “complete control” of a project and meet customer demands for prompt turnaround. It aligned with the firm’s commitment to customer service, “We differentiate ourselves by being the easiest company to work with: on time delivery and a defect free product with no failures in the field.” MGE’s i-cut vision system pushed the firm to become significantly more efficient in how it executes its production workflow, Sullivan observes. “You really need to plan a job through the entire shop so you can get efficiencies up front. You have to do planning. If the finishing room isn’t talking to prepress who isn’t talking to production, you’re going to make your recycler really happy.” Since its purchase, Brandboxx employs the Kongsberg to produce POP display graphics, prototypes, and short run packaging for consumer brand line shows, among other products. The firm’s one complaint? “I really wished they doubled the price of the system—it would keep my competitors away from it.” Getting Your Cut include specific issues related to cutting and routing, he adds. Conclusion As sales of UV flatbeds ramp up, you’ll no doubt be hearing more about the ins-and-outs of multifunction finishing systems. So give your handsaw a rest. As the printer industry grows, the importance of finishing systems will grow with it. D A graphic created for Playscapes, Inc. and routed on the Kongsberg i-XL22 router is an example of the intricate cutting work Brandboxx was able to keep in-house after their purchase. The company invested in a Kongsberg i-XL22 wide format table router with MGE’s i-cut vision system in November 2006. “We needed precision, industrial strength, and 100 percent up-time with great support surrounding it.” Such around-the-clock production is the hallmark of Brandboxx. The company runs its 22 employees—four of whom are trained on the Kongsberg—in three shifts to fulfill its promise of a fully satisfied customer. “We were blown away with how it has worked out,” Sullivan observes. Work stays in-house and our bottom line boosted. “It paid for itself in six months. It significantly reduced the spoilage we were getting from our previous system, we were able to take back 100 perwww.digitaloutput.net The incorporation of the Post Print Manufacturers Association (PPMA) with SGIA is indicative of the importance the graphics industry is placing on all forms of finishing—not just mounting and laminating, SGIA-PPMA’s Boese remarks. SGIA will offer training on these systems to compliment existing courses on mounting and laminating. Those courses may be available in late 2008 but will definitely be available in 2009, Boese says. The association will also augment its research to Circle 5 on FREE Product Info Card April 2008 Digital Output 33 http://www.fishertextiles.com http://www.fishertextiles.com http://www.digitaloutput.net http://www.digitaloutput.net

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Output - April 2008

Digital Output - April 2008

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