Johnsons Printers of Nantwich has formed a wide-format division to complement its litho and digital printing services offering. The new division has been equipped with an Agfa Anapurna M2500i hybrid inkjet printer, Acorta flatbed cutter and Asanti workflow solution.
Johnsons Printers, formed in 1827, has built a reputation with design agencies and national brands, an increasing number of which have come to demand a complete print service that has in the past necessitated the outsourcing of wide-format display material.
Managing director John McMillan said of the move to bring wide-format inkjet in-house: “The ability to print consistently accurate colour is of crucial importance to our customers’ brand identities. We understand the necessity of colour matching and are able to reproduce this whether a job is printed litho or digital. The task was to provide the same quality of service in the production of wide-format display material.”
With the intention of investing in a true flatbed printer, the company looked at various options before plumping for the Anapurna M2500i hybrid, which has a quoted top speed of 115m2/h and is capable of imaging two 1.2 x1.5m boards side-by-side. It also has a 2.5m wide roll-to-roll printing capability.
“The image on the Anapurna was superior to anything else we had seen but the missing element was colour management. We knew the advantages of Agfa’s Apogee workflow so Asanti was a priority and then we saw that Agfa offered the complete solution. As well as the Anapurna printer, inks and Asanti workflow there was the Acorta cutting station so we have invested in the whole package,” said McMillan.