BEL Signs speeds up production with Vivid VeloBlade Nexus

West Sussex-based sign-maker, BEL Signs, has reported a strong positive impact following the purchase of a Vivid VeloBlade Nexus 2516 wide-format digital die cutter from Soyang Hardware.

According to BEL Signs, it has been able to significantly speed up production since taking delivery of the VeloBlade earlier this year.

Located in Horsham, BEL Signs delivers services to customers across Sussex and Surrey ranging from signage and vehicle graphics to branded clothing and traditional signwriting.

To cater to its diverse offering, BEL Signs has committed to regularly updating its production equipment to ensure it can make use of the latest developments and new technologies.

This approach led it to identify the need to enhance its finishing setup, with the company’s existing cutting machine in need of being replaced.

Having looked at several options on the market, the BEL Signs team opted for the VeloBlade Nexus 2516, which is manufactured by Vivid Laminating Technologies and sold through Soyang Hardware as an approved distribution partner.

Speaking after the machine was installed, BEL Signs managing director, Peter Bedford, says: “We have certainly been able to speed up all of our finishing.

“We can now take on quick turnaround orders that include large amounts of cutting and still do them at a sensible cost. For one example, we processed an order of over 500 large posters in less than two-and-a-half hours, which really pleased our customer.”

Featuring a bed size of 2.5m x 1.6m, the cutter combined with a CNC router allows users to work with stocks up to 25mm in thickness, including sign-making materials such as Dibond, MDF, and acrylic.

Features on the machine include automatic cut depth setting and tool changing capabilities designed to make production easier for the user, as well as the ability to cut, crease, and perforate in a single pass.

Bedford says that the flexibility of the cutter has allowed the company to experiment with packaging work to further diversify the company’s offering.

Bedford explains: “The work we are running is very varied, ranging from posters to thick and thin foamex, graphics, and even plywood.

“However, we are on a learning curve every week and we’re always finding something we can develop. In fact, we are experimenting with short-run packaging, which is another reason we chose the machine as Vivid has a great history with that.”

Vivid’s solutions for the packaging market include the Zip Core Packaging Suite, a software that offers a library of ready-made templates, presets, and 3D rendering capabilities designed to streamline packaging design.