Creative Bee, the digital wide-format sister company of litho printer Creative Colour n Copy, has boosted production significantly after installing a new Mimaki JV100-160 roll-fed printer.

The 1.6m digital press, purchased from CMYUK and installed in December, replaced the company’s decades-old Mimaki JV33 eco-solvent printer, and now sits alongside a similarly venerable CJV33 solvent printer/cutter and a Canon Arizona 350 GT flatbed.

The JV100-160 prints with solvent ink, reaching 20sqm/hr in its high speed mode, and can produce up to 1,200dpi with 12 passes.

While extremely reliable, the older Mimakis were simply not able to keep up with Creative Bee’s required production speed, according to Anne Grice, director of the family business.

Creative Bee therefore approached CMYUK, visited the reseller’s showroom, and decided to upgrade.

There was no question of changing brand, Grice told Printweek: “I’m very stuck in my ways. So once I like something, then I tend to stick with it — and we’ve had the Mimakis 20-plus years — so we stuck with what we know and like, and CMYUK did us a good deal.”

The new machine has meant a massive boost to the company’s productivity. Jobs that would previously have taken eight hours to print now take less than five, thanks to the additional printhead, which can also act as a failsafe in the case of one printhead failing.

Upgrading the press has saved Creative Bee both time and money, and the firm is now considering upgrading its Arizona flatbed and buying a CNC cutting machine — though Grice said the company may well have to expand its site to accommodate any more machines.

“It’s just making the decisions, and sorting out the footprints of where we could put them. It’s a little bit cramped for space, but it’s something we’ve had in the pipeline for a while; we’re just finding the right one for us,” she said.

Creative Bee and sister company Creative Colour n Copy have 12 employees split between the two companies, sharing a turnover of around £900,000.

Printweek welcomes informed debate, but all comments must comply with our house rules which can be read here: A-Z of using the Printweek forums