Matthew Gilbert, sales director at FABF
Having provided flexible finance to the print industry for more than 30 years, Five Arrows Business Finance is well qualified to offer financial solutions for those investing in digital print.
Digital printing technology has truly evolved in recent years with the latest-generation colour presses providing printing companies with the commercial opportunity to increase production, add value and improve margins.
‘There’s no longer a stigma attached to digital printing over litho that existed just a few years ago,’ said Paul Eversfield, print specialist at Five Arrows Business Finance (FABF). ‘Ever improving technologies and printing chemistry have advanced the delivery of colours, intense clarity and an exceptional finished product within previously unthinkable timescales. At the same time, it’s personal. By using variable data to personalise the product, clients can also increase impact, recall and response.’
As one of the UK’s leading asset financing specialists, FABF has specialised in providing competitive and flexible finance to the printing industry and related trades for over 30 years, and its experienced staff have a wealth of knowledge in the equipment and processes used by clients. To keep up to date with the latest digital print technology on the market, the FABF team recently attended the leading trade shows Sign and Digital UK, the annual showcase for the sign making and digital printing industry held at the NEC,Birmingham in March, and Fespa 2015, the largest and most extensive international wide format print exhibition for screen, digital and textile print technology held in Cologne in May.
‘Having funded the general and commercial sheet fed market extensively for many years and with our own experienced and dedicated print team, FABF is well placed to offer financial solutions to fund new and used equipment to clients operating in the growing digital sector,’ said Matthew Gilbert, sales director at FABF.
‘FABF is also happy to consider VAT deferrals to assist with cash flow. This means we pay the VAT to the supplier and the client repays FABF the VAT once it is claimed and received via HMRC,’ he added.
Using asset funding provided by FABF, London-based Abacus Print is replacing a Konica Minolta Bizhub Pro C65hc digital printer with a new Heidelberg Linoprint CV press, launched earlier this year. ‘The extra new features of the Linoprint CV enables Abacus to offer its customers added value benefits and improved overall quality not available elsewhere,’ said managing director, Jonathan Luck.
Funded by a lease purchase over 36 months, the new press offers a fifth colour white or clear varnish application alongside 80 or 90 A4 pages per minute speeds. It can handle stocks of 52 gsm to 360 gsm and, depending on feeder selection, 330 x 488 mm standard sheets or 330 x 700 mm banner formats.
‘Giving a litho-like feel to the work, the big difference is the ability to print on longer 700 mm sheets, which opens up the opportunity for producing personalised presentation folders, 6pp A4 or landscape A4 brochures, not possible on B3 printers,’ added Mr Luck.
Meanwhile, at Bristol-based AllSigns Visual Communications Ltd continued investment in digital print technology has enabled the company to develop new skills and extend its services at lower cost and higher speed of production. ‘With help from FABF, we’re committed to keeping track of, evaluating and investing in new technology where we see real benefits to our customers,’ said AllSigns’ director Graham Wood.
Financed by FABF, AllSigns has expanded its wide format print and finishing capabilities with the purchase of an EFI VUTEk QS2 Pro UV hybrid roll/flatbed inkjet printer and a Zund G3 XL-3200 cutting and finishing table. AllSigns installed the six-colour, two-metre wide printer to meet demand for high-end, wide format graphics with the Zund G3 XL-3200 cutting table speeding up finishing.
Serving the UK and European markets, the company had previously used roll-media solvent inkjet printers for wide format applications. The VUTEk QS2 Pro printer’s flatbed-printing capabilities give AllSigns direct-to-substrate printing on rigid media, eliminating the time and expense of mounting graphics onto other materials. ‘With faster production speeds, white ink capabilities and greyscale options we are able to offer a vast variety of solutions to our clients,’ added Mr Wood.
The state of the art Zund G3 XL-3200 cutting table allows AllSigns to finish printed media quickly and accurately on a multitude of substrates, from soft signage, banners and flags through to rigid materials such as MDF and Dibond with great speed and precision.
