Focusing on the customer and always striving to open up new markets has seen Flexpress Ltd double its turnover in the last two years. Part of this strategy to enter new markets, led the Leicester based company to buy an Océ Arizona 360GT flatbed UV printer. An investment that was soon followed by a Dyss X7 CNC die less flatbed cutting/creasing system from AG/CAD.
Steve Wenlock, managing director of Flexpress, said: ‘Our business didn’t have a large format flatbed printer but I knew it would open new markets for us, so we made the commitment.’
With the printer installed and operational, Flexpress was keen to install a digital cutter knowing that it would enable it to explore new avenues such as production of display units, kiss cut stickers, calendars, show and swatch cards, Foamex boards, life size card and board characters, and much more. The company knew this would take it beyond the capabilities of alternate print suppliers without large format flatbed printers.
Even complex shapes can be cut.
Mr Wenlock said, ‘We compared the Dyss to alternate cutting machines on the market and the most staggering factor was cost. We also looked at second hand machines from alternate suppliers and whilst the cost was then comparable, the capabilities of the Dyss were significantly better.’ As a result, Flexpress opted for a new X7 CNC digital cutter.
Mr Wenlock continued, ‘The cutter’s build quality is exceptional and it is capable of doing everything we need and more.’
The CNC cutting table is now running for up to five hours a day with almost every print job on the Arizona being transferred to the machine.
‘The versatility we have been afforded by the cutter makes us more profitable than the multitude of print manufacturers that can only do vinyl banners with no CNC cutting,’ he continued. ‘The Dyss has put us in a niche market whereby we can be our own cost centre by providing the complete service.
‘It has opened a whole new market, as customers are coming to us for prototype work and print batches from one to 1000. We are winning this work as the Dyss has given us capabilities beyond that of our competitors. This has been proven by a dozen other new customers we have picked up. Many of our new customers include print manufacturers that do not have the capability to conduct accurate CNC cutting work.’
Steve Wenlock ‘plays’ on a guitar cut with the Dyss.
Previously, Flexpress used to Javelin cut its Foamex boards and this would take anything up to 15 minutes per board; with the new cutting table a board can be cut in under a minute – saving considerable time and making each job a cost effective and profitable exercise. With three cutting heads on the cutting table, the new solution offers the flexibility to cut anything from stickers and cardboard through to Foamex, Di-Bond, MDF and aluminium with extremely fast changeover times between jobs.
Cutting boards has also improved, as Mr Wenlock continued: ‘Our accuracy is pin point and every job is 100% correct with impeccable edge finishes. When we previously cut by hand, the shop floor staff would have to gauge accuracy by eye and the cutting mark would often be lost. This would result in the adjacent job and its edge accuracy being compromised. The Dyss has eliminated this issue with its K-CUT Vision System that guarantees precision and speedy processing, regardless of the complexity of the form to be cut.’
