Established in 1996, Dutch father and son duo Bob and Marcel Vermeulen set up a specialist lettering and signage agency, Vermeulen & Vermeulen. The company’s design expertise applies to all commercial vehicles, building fixtures, promotional structures, and industrial equipment.
Since the firm had steadily scaled and built up its reputation in the quarter century, 2020 marked a key milestone when it received a coveted FESPA Award for a stunning phoenix-inspired 3D car wrap.
The need to print on taller objects
Today, Bob and Marcel are joined by a team of passionate sign makers, letterers, and car wrappers, with Marcel leading the company's day-to-day management.
In order to successfully make the next step in the firm's journey, the business needed to apply its expertise to even larger substrates and surfaces, such as the capability to print on taller objects.
"Many UV printers have a maximum print height of around four or five centimetres," Marcel comments. "Increasing this is important to the agency, since our intention is to make unique products that sets us apart from our competitors. We also needed more speed."
The company was already making tremendous use of the Roland LEJ-640F UV printer. However, the time had come to upgrade to a model that could accommodate Marcel's loftier business ambitions.
Printing faster and quicker with the IU-1000F
Roland DG had the answer in the form of the IU-1000F large format UV flatbed printer.
Offering impressive versatility on materials up to 11 centimetres in height and 45 kilos per square metre in weight, the machine can print onto a range of substrates to cover Vermeulen & Vermeulen’s expansive offering.
Whether acrylic, PETG, PVC board, foam board, polycarbonate, wood, corrugated polypropylene board, aluminium composite plate, metal or glass, the IU-1000F can print at a speed to the quality demanded by Marcel and his team.
"The print height gives us the freedom of not being limited to the four to five centimetres that most printers can manage," Marcel says. "And because of the printer’s speed, we can do unique jobs in a breeze."
"Besides, the primer allows us to print on less common substrates and materials, and we are free to experiment with UV printing which isn't possible when you outsource your print work."
Vermeulen & Vermeulen has already made good use of its newest investment. For example, it has contributed to the Van Gogh NFT project, which helps to protect the artist's heritage and provides a source of funding to preserve the Brabant Van Gogh Monuments. Using the Roland DG IU-1000F, the company printed the wooden presentation boxes for the high-end tokens in which a 3D print of a leaf is kept. The business also prints a specially designed Van Gogh shoe, in yet another Van Gogh-inspired endeavour.
With additional printing height and speed at his fingertips, Marcel and his agency are well set to expand and deepen their offering for customers in the Netherlands and beyond.