ImageData Group has placed an order for an EFI Vutek Q5r UV LED roll-to-roll printer, installed yesterday (12 December).

The installation represents a significant upgrade for the firm, as it will replace ImageData’s 10-year-old Durst 5m-wide press.

The wait to replace the Durst roll-to-roll press had been longer than usual, according to chief operating officer Glen Patrick, because the company has been busy buying a significant amount of kit for its three sites across the UK.

In early 2021, for instance, the firm took delivery of an Inca Onset X3 flatbed and HP Indigo 100k at its Willoughby site after buying a pair of Xerox Nuvera 314s and several Duplo finishing machines for its Brighton small-format site.

The new six-colour press, with white and clear inks, will allow the company to effectively print a spot or overall varnish without costing much more; the press also has in-line finishing capabilities.

Patrick told Printweek: “It will massively help alleviate some of those bottlenecks. 

“Then we’ve got reductions in waste, flexible UV ink for stretch fabric [...] it opens up a few more avenues [compared] to what the machine it is replacing can do.”

ImageData decided to go with the Vutek after seeing it in action both at supplier CMYUK’s showroom, then live on a printer’s production floor.

“We looked at [other] machines and essentially [the Vutek] stood out for us. We were impressed, and decided it was the route we should go down.

ImageData, which turns over £15m and employs around 150 staff, will not stop its investment drive there, however.

According to Patrick, the company is in the process of getting a solar array installation signed off.

“I’m hoping it’s going to be in at the end of Q1 next year [2023],” he said.

The installation, including voltage standardisation, will cover both northern sites - in Willoughby and Howden - and will become a substantial part of the company’s effort to reduce its carbon footprint and mitigate energy costs.