Sound Leisure, a Yorkshire-based manufacturer of jukeboxes, has invested in a Mimaki UCJV300-107 printer/cutter to help it produce unique designs for its clients.
The family-run business, which says it has been ‘riding high on the vinyl revival,’ has a global customer base that ranges from private customers to corporate clients.
‘A large part of the process of delivering a totally unique, custom jukebox for a corporate client involves accurately colour matching all the elements of the unit,’ outlined Sound Leisure director Mike Black. ‘Where we’re using powder-coated metal, painted wood, different veneers, fabrics, clear and white vinyl and other materials in the process, the Mimaki’s ability to print to 85-90% of the substrates has allowed us to bring colour matching completely in-house.
‘Even though we purposefully don’t run the printer 24/7, it’s there as a resource for our designers to push their boundaries,’ added Mr Black. ‘Having that capability in-house simply confirms our obsession with delivering an extremely high quality product, because we can continually revise and improve the components we are producing in a closed loop manner, which simply would not be possible if we were working with external suppliers.’
Sound Leisure made its investment through authorised Mimaki partner Granthams and worked with them for a number of years before committing to the UCJV300-107.
‘The purchase had to make financial sense and naturally, we carefully consider every investment the business makes,’ Mr Black finished. ‘It took about seven years of evaluating digital printing technology before deciding that the latest Mimaki went from being a ‘nice to have’ to a ‘we really need it’ and we worked closely with Granthams to assess its capabilities. Their technical knowledge and advice has proved invaluable.’
