Brand Consortia, a signage specialist based in Oldham, Greater Manchester, has installed a Nyala flatbed printer from SwissQprint as it looks to ‘elevate print quality, open doors to new markets, boost revenues, and increase productivity.’

Managing director Brad Tupman explained the thinking behind the investment. ‘We felt it was time to bring more advanced flatbed printing in-house. It has since taken price completely out of the conversation when talking with customers. Their priorities are to obtain the highest quality products, with minimal environmental impact, and then price – in that order.’

The family run company designs, produces, installs and maintains signage and graphics for shops, retail and leisure parks, educational buildings, offices and industrial premises across the UK. It also takes its environmental respsosibiilties seriously, describing itself as the first company in the UK to establish a Sustainable Sign Scheme for its customers where the CO2 released in the manufacture and installation of signs and graphics is offset using an accredited Carbon Offset scheme, such as planting new trees in the same geographical region where the signs have been installed.

Mr Tupman said that the new flatbed fits in perfectly with this ethos. ‘The Nyala, with its low-maintenance pollutant-free LED technology and minimal power consumption, is the perfect fit for our company,’ he explained. ‘It will go a long way in helping us attain our goals to be an even more sustainable business.’

The MD also believes that the machine will allow Brand Consortia to pursue more creative applications, which he sees as key key to unlocking potential new business revenues for a more profitable future. He concluded, ‘We are already looking at ways we can further wow our customers with creative raised 3D effects and textures to make prints seem more tactile, and we can now offer signage that includes braille for the visually impaired. This is giving us a major advantage over our competitors.’

SwissQprint also used the recent Fespa event in Amsterdam to launch the fourth generation of its Oryx, Impala and Nyala flatbed printers, which combine new 1350dpi printheads with higher droplet placement accuracy and various mechanical improvements to offer increased quality and performance. The Oryx entry-level model in particular benefits, with a 40% speed boost, while the 256-segment Tip Switch Vacuum control system has been added to all models.