Case study from QPS

Founded in 1996 by Kevin Baker and Glenn Andre, Liverpool-based AB Screenprint provides a full range of promotional and display materials to a variety of businesses and individuals in and around the Liverpool area. The company has been using Nazdar inks supplied by Quality Print Services (QPS) for over a decade and they have consistently been extremely happy with the products and service they receive.

AB Screenprint is a very versatile company with a customer-focused business approach. "We provide our customers with high quality solutions to a wide variety of applications," says co-Founder Kevin Baker. "We have a range of printers that allows us to deliver just about anything asked of us and the quality of what we produce ensures we maintain a very high level of repeat business." The AB Screenprint production room houses a Uniform Grenadier SP-1900, an Agfa Grand Sherpa, a Mimaki JV3-160 and a Roland VersaExpress RF-640. Kevin adds: "For more than ten years, all our printers have run Nazdar inks. Our broad portfolio of large format printers allows us to meet virtually any customer requirement and thanks to Nazdar and QPS, they always remain in very good working order and ready to deliver. "The Nazdar inks are very non-aggressive and cause minimal wear and tear on the printer heads, nozzles and other components. When we add to this the excellent maintenance and support we receive from QPS, as well as the huge cost savings we are benefiting from by not using manufacturer inks, we have a very reliable and successful wide format printing offering." The Grenadier and the Mimaki printers run on Nazdar 1300 Series inks; the Roland printer uses Nazdar 202 Series inks and the Agfa runs the Nazdar PhotoChrome aqueous inks. Kevin continues: "Way back as far as 2006 when we first installed the Grenadier printer, we were struggling with it and needed additional support. The main problem was that the inks (OEM and third party) we were using were so aggressive they were practically destroying the machine. Fortunately, someone recommended QPS to us and we genuinely have not looked back since. It was QPS that suggested we try Nazdar's inks in the Grenadier and ever since the swap-over to the Nazdar 1300 Series inks we've had no issues whatsoever. Simply by changing inks we reduced maintenance and spare part costs and this holds true more than ten years later!" As business for AB Screenprint grew, the company needed to expand its printer range and soon purchased the Mimaki JV3-160 printer followed by the Agfa and the Roland. "As each new machine came on board, we immediately installed them with bulk ink systems from QPS. It's not just about the cost benefits of doing this. The inks are so gentle on the printers that they are vital in ensuring they stay in top condition. They also deliver amazingly high-quality output, ink fastness and adhesion. Our customers have come to expect and enjoy the very high levels of detail and colour accuracy we can produce for them time and time again," adds Kevin. Nazdar 1300 inks offer long-term exterior performance with proven resistance to the effects of UV degradation and colour fading. Colour-matched to the OEM inkset, they provide consistent colour density values and excellent adhesion and flexibility on vinyls. The Roland VersaExpress printer was converted to run on Nazdar's 202 Series inks which are a high-quality alternative to Roland Eco Max 2 original inks. The 'plug and play' 202 Series is colour matched and chemically compatible with Roland Eco Max 2 inks. "The success of our business is built on the very long-term relationships we have with our customers," says Chris Bailey, Managing Director at QPS. "We achieve this by focusing on what is important to them. They have made huge investments in printing technology and we are committed to ensuring they maximise the longevity and value of these machines. This means we provide inks that work at an optimal level in machines and help ensure their long-lasting performance. We also deliver responsive, professional and expert maintenance and support that further helps to ensure the long life of our customers' printers." AB Screenprint's Kevin Baker concludes: "QPS has been absolutely brilliant over all the years we have worked together. They will come out to us at 10pm if needed and nothing seems to be too much for them. They offer great maintenance services and technical support; quite simply, we wouldn't go anywhere else."