Potts Print has bought its first Agfa wide-format printer, a Jeti Tauro HD2500 LED, to support a growing volume of work in this sector, and replacing two previous machines.
The North Shields printer has a well-established litho operation but for the past decade has expanded its offer to include digital printing, direct mail, personalised packaging, large format print and a storage and distribution solution for its customers. The business supplies print promotions, point of sale and high-volume mailings to a variety of business sectors including local NHS Trusts, universities, local authorities and retailers.
Potts has been supplying large format print for several years and in 2014 acquired its specialist supplier, Digital XL, itself a 14-year wide-format veteran at the time. With it came Dan Tarbit, now deputy director of the large format team, who explained, ‘We had the top of the range models with our incumbent wide format printer supplier, so we decided to start getting sales representatives in from alternative suppliers mid-2022. We needed more production speed, ideally an upgrade path to support us as we grow and wanted to ensure there were environmental benefits too. Agfa stood out by a mile.’
After demonstrations including on difficult media, at Agfa’s Mortsel, Belgium, site, Mr Tarbit was convinced: ‘[The] Jeti Tauro engine was the best fit for our business today and at the right price point. It is a hybrid machine offering roll to roll and flatbed media feeds and whilst on paper it is three times faster than our old machines because we can run with multiple sheets on the Tauro, we can now run up to nine times faster on some jobs, so the speed is mind-blowing.’
The Tauro was delivered in June 2023 and the company is reporting ‘great quality’ results and a projected 60% saving on inks, thanks to lower purchase cost and Agfa’s Thin Ink Layer Technology reducing usage too.
Mr Tarbit added, ‘Agfa has a really solid brand offer and a great range of machines for the wide format market. Their staff are on the ball with their experience, knowledge and professionalism. Their machines are reliable and with their quick back up service it gave us the confidence to go for one engine to replace the two that we had.’
The new printer is driven by the Asanti workflow software, which has commonality with the ECO3 (formerly Agfa) Apogee system used to drive platesetters in the litho part of the business and so presented a short learning curve for Potts’ operators.
