Manchester Print Services recently installed the Versa Tech from Blackman and White because of the demand from customers. The Lancashire firm has a particular focus on point-of-sale, and exhibition and display printing, and found that more customers were asking for wider format print on a range of substrates.

To keep in line with demand, the Versa Tech has a cutting bed ranging 3.2m, and also uses a laser as well as a knife blade to cut materials. Blackman and White were the first company to develop a flatbed that did this, as well as being the first with a conveyorised material feeder.

Manchester Print Services director, Lee Egan, comments: “We have a range of printers that can cope with materials up to 3.2m wide, but our cutting machine could only cope with materials up to 1.6m, so larger jobs had to be hand finished, which is both labour intensive and time consuming.

“The demand for wider printing is growing and we have several UV and dye-sublimation printers, so we are now printing onto a range of card, fabric, and Dibond aluminium composites. We therefore needed a multi-functional finishing machine that could cope with different materials in widths of up to 3.2m.”

Because of its laser and knife cutting abilities, a multi-tool head allows both to be used on a single machine, which means a smaller footprint. The laser element provides a clean cut and also seals the edges of polyester textiles, removing the process of hemming of sewing by hand on large banners, which speeds up production time.

Egan adds: “We have built a reputation for a very high standard of service in our industry. This multi-functional cutter and router means that we can continue to provide a superior service to all our customers both now and in the future.”

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