The Vomela Companies, based in St. Paul, Minnesota, is expanding its dye-sublimation graphics production capacity with the addition of an EFITM VUTEk® FabriVU® 340i+ printer with in-line fixing to fulfill increased demand for soft signs. The printer Vomela acquired is now on display and operational in the Electronics for Imaging, Inc. Stand this week at PRINTING United, North America's largest printing expo in Las Vegas.
After the show on October 21, Vomela's new high-end printer will head east to be a key production solution in a 35,000-square-foot facility in Maplewood, Minnesota, for Visual Impact - an out of home (OOH) advertising, retail, hospitality, and event graphics company that Vomela acquired earlier this year.
"Soft signage is a growing category for our company with applications in event, retail, and the out-of-home advertising market," said Mark Auth, CEO and President of Vomela. "This inline fixation capabilities of the VUTEk FabriVU 340i+ will help to increase our speed to finish and create shorter lead times."
A Productive Soft Signage Solution That Can Make An Impact
With the addition of the showcase printer, Visual Impact will have additional premium event and convention signage production capabilities for its Midwest customers. Vomela anticipates demand "to spill over into retail, too, in the form of POP displays and more OOH advertising, such as airport signage," according to Teri Mascotti Vomela's head of brand marketing.
"Our company exists to create impact through design and finished product," Mascotti continued. "Quality is an important consideration when selecting this piece of equipment." The FabriVU offers a broader application range and excellent resolution."
To that purpose, the VUTEk FabriVU 340i+ printer has ultra-high resolutions of up to 2,400 dpi and three level grayscale printing with drop sizes of 7, 12 and 18 picoliters. Its printhead optimise ink drops for smooth transitions and optimum sharpness with no overlay. As a result, illuminated cloth displays and other visuals benefit from dramatic four-color printing with a wide color gamut, rich blacks, and deep color saturation.
A New Growth Engine for High End Display
The new printer purchase comes as Vomela rapidly expands its national position as a major provider of display graphics. In addition to acquiring Visual Impact, the business also acquired Vomela West, a plant in Santa Fe Springs, California, that also operates EFI super wide Format inkjet printing equipment.
"We are thrilled to support The Vomela Companies' continued growth, and we're excited that the company has chosen EFI and our cutitng edge soft signage technology," said Ken Hanulec, Vice President of worldwide marketing for EFI. The VUTEk FabriVU 340i+ printer produces amazing, high-end graphics with remarkable efficiency, producing work that is ready to finish right away. It's the ideal way for Vomela and Visual Impact to build on their stellar reputation for quality and productivity."
More Sustainable Direct-to-Fabric Printing
The VUTEk FabriVU 340i+ model produces premium results using high end, water based dye-sublimation inks for exhibit grpahics, backlit graphics, retail fixture wraps, and front lit graphics, as well as block out banners, flags and fabric interior decor. When printing directly to cloth, its proven in-line fixation technique eliminates the need for a separate heat press. In high quality backlit mode, the four color printer can print at speeds of up to 1,791 square feet per hour, or up to 5,172 square feet per hour in outdoor print mode.
Sustainability is still a major focus for the companies and corporations Vomela and Visual Impact service. Soft signage images stand out in this context because they are simple to keep and reuse, as opposed to traditional displays graphics, which are frequently presented once and then discarded. VUTEk FabriVU printers are also known for their efficiency and reduced waste. The viscosity is medium. Geniune EFI Inks for FabriVU series printers contain high dye concentrations, which means less water and less energy required or drying. In addition to using up to 30% less ink than competing dye-sublimation systems, the EFI VUTEk FabriVU 340i+ offers an ink recovery mechanism that saves more than 95% of the ink used by other dye-sub printers lose during purging.
For more information on EFI VUTEk 340i+, please contact our local Dynagraph representatives.
Source: https://www.efi.com/library/efi/documents/3219/visual_impact_fabrivu_release_final_en_us.pdf