Event and retail display graphics specialist Silver Bullet has installed one of the UK’s first Epson SureColor SC-S30600 wide-format inkjet printers at its new walk-in service point in Sandy, Bedfordshire. This is the first of a network of large-format digital print walk-in centres that Silver Bullet will be rolling out over the coming months and plans to franchise.
“It’s always been our ambition to open a chain of print shops and take control of digital print services in-house,” said MD Matthew Kingsford. “We want the best of both worlds: the ability to produce some fast turnaround, high-quality signage products in-house, while still working with our partners to supply litho and screen print. In addition to servicing major retail clients with European-wide projects, we can now also provide a service to smaller local companies on a walk-in basis.”
The company’s strong focus on customer care has attracted some well-known customers, including energy drinks company Monster Energy. “We produce a lot of event material for Monster Energy, often within tight deadlines,” said Matthew. A recent high-profile event was the Monster Energy rig at the MotoGP in Le Mans in May for which Silver Bullet produced event graphics (http://youtu.be/p-y2nFVtrmA). “We welcome any brief – the more challenging the better – and like to come up with creative ideas and solutions.”
The company worked closely Epson reseller Spandex which suggested the best equipment to produce quality pop-ups, pull-ups, vehicle livery and large graphics and supplied the new 64in, four-colour, roll-fed SureColor SC-S30600, which joins a Summa plotter and laminator.
“Spandex knows our business very well and give us a lot of support. They handle everything, from recommending, installing and integrating the hardware and software to providing full training, after care and consumables supply,” said Kingsford. “They strongly recommended the new Epson SureColor SC-S30600 for its versatility, reliability, productivity and quality. These criteria are essential to the walk-in concept. We often don’t know what the next job is until the customer comes through the door, so we need a printer we can rely on to produce high-quality work, quickly, on a wide range of media.”
Kingsford has been impressed by the SureColor’s maximum speed of 29.4m2/hour. “Since the printer arrived it’s handled several large runs comfortably and we are producing about 200m2 a day on average. We have left it running unattended all night on occasions, which shows the confidence we have in the machine. We are really impressed.”