Printvision is a business that was conceived in a bedroom by two budding entrepreneurs, Ash and Krit Patel.
Twenty one years after the ambitious brothers
made the bold decision to found Printvision as codirectors, the company has just invested over £1.5million in two 3m wide digital printers, a 3.2m wide digital cutter from AG/CAD and a new 14,000sq/ft facility.
The journey to this latest investment has seen
Printvision follow business trends and exploit
opportunities for over two decades. This has noted the
Leicester company undertaking everything from graphic
design and the printing of flyers, leaflets and brochures
through to packaging, stationery, indoor and outdoor
signage, LED light boxes (Tension Fabric System),
exhibition stands, FSDUs, flags and fabric production,
and much more.
When the business received an enquiry for roller
banners and pop-up display units at the start of
the century, Printvision bought its first large format
printer. Since then, Printvision has invested in litho
and further roll and flatbed digital printing technology
from HP, Mimaki, Epson and Oce, as well as laminating
equipment. Entry into the exhibition sector has seen
Printvision double, and in some cases treble its yearon-year
turnover consistently for over a decade. The
phenomenal growth is testament to the commitment
and dedication of the staff and the strategic vision of the
management team, all backed by the latest technology.
Fabric for success
This vision has seen the company carve a niche in fabric
and textile printing and displays, something that first tookoff
in 2016. Then, in October 2017, as part of a concerted
effort to seal its position ahead of its competitors as a
truly niche manufacturer specialising in wide format roll
media, Printvision installed a EFI VutekFabriVu3.4m wide
digital fabric printer and a 3.2m wide Mimaki UJV55-320.
With the new investments printing flags, tablecloths,
gazebos, and various textiles for exhibition stands and
displays at speeds never before thought possible, staff
could no longer manually cut fabrics at the pace the printing
machines could complete their tasks. This meant some
cutting being outsourced and additional staff being deployed
to hand cutting to help keep control of the bottleneck.
However, precision, control and lead-times were also
becoming a cause for concern.
Enter The DYSS
Printvision anticipated the need for a digital cutter solution
and spoke with AG/CAD about a DYSS X9 at the 2017
Sign & Digital exhibition. Commenting upon the decision
process, Managing Director, Ash Patel says: “We were
outsourcing some of our cutting work and the remaining
work was already beginning to overwhelm our staff, creating
a bottleneck. The recent arrival of the Mimaki UJV55-320
and the FABRIVU 340 would have compounded all the
bottleneck, labour and outsourcing issues even further if it
wasn’t for the timely arrival of the DYSS X9.”
“We looked at the necessary technology at the Sign UK
show and AG/CAD and their DYSS brand stood-out for us.
We liked what the DYSS had to offer, we liked the approach
of AG/CAD, the price was attractive, the build quality was
outstanding and we realised the technology available would
be a genuine asset to our business.”
“As our experience with the cutter grows we have also
come to realise how important aftersales service is and that
is where AG/CAD has really excelled, helping us overcome
issues and guiding us along the way. Assistance is available
immediately without waiting for a ticket or a call-back, and
when we have had minor learning curve issues that needed
AG/CAD to visit, the next day service has been brilliant.”
High-end DYSS cutter for high-throughput print
Printvision opted for the top-of-the-line spec. DYSS X9-
3230C digital cutter with a 3.2m by 3.2m bed, the UK’s first
X9 installation of this size. “With two 3m wide high-output
printers, we needed a very capable cutting machine. With
the DYSS X9, we have that machine.”
The DYSS X9-3230C incorporates a revolutionary
motion control system with state-of-the-art drive technology
that gives control, speed and power. The innovative drive
technology also eliminates backlash to improve precision
and repeatability.
“The new FABRIVU 340 is currently printing 490
tablecloths in a day; this would have previously taken 10
days. We are also producing a batch of 532 flags that
are printed both sides. These 2m flags for fuel station
forecourts now take 3 days to produce instead of around
3 weeks. The DYSS X9 has no problem keeping pace with
these high production speeds. Not only has it removed our
bottleneck, it has also eliminated our outsourced cutting
costs and freed up staff from manual cutting tasks.”
It’s a material thing
The DYSS X9-3230C has a 3-tool Combo head with a
reciprocating knife tool, a powered rotary blade tool specially
designed for flag mesh and textiles, plus a high-frequency
router spindle. It is also equipped with the K-CUT Vision
system that enables Printvision to process everything from
Vinyl, Acrylic, Dibond, Correx and fluted boards through to
more challenging materials such as flags, display polyester
and tent fabric with unparalleled precision.
AG/CAD flies the flag for fabric cutting
The powerful high-frequency routing spindle and the highspeed
reciprocating knife tool have a reputation for carving
through the toughest materials with ease. However, the
unique characteristics of fabrics and textiles, especially
media for flags, pose an entirely new challenge.
For general customers that process standard roll-fed
materials like paper, plastic films and vinyl, roll unwinding
is normally provided by a relatively simple passive Roll-Off
device. However, the potential wrinkling and stretching of
porous textiles are a totally different proposition. AG/CAD
overcame this perplexing challenge with a sophisticated
dynamic tension roll-feed solution on the DYSS.
Fitted to the rear of the DYSS X9, the auto
tensioning system applies a constant tension to fabrics and dynamically adjusts the forces on the material as
unwinding takes place which eradicates creases and
wrinkles forming. Different materials and roll widths
require different tension levels, so to cater for this
the system has an almost infinitely variable tension
control feature allowing quick and simple adjustment
by the operator for each material. By cutting fabrics
and textiles with the consistent tensionspecifically
required for each, Printvision ensures unsurpassed
cutting precision whilst preventing any deformation
that could compromise the precision and cut quality.
Completing the package for the fabric cutting
process, AG/CAD also added a pull out collection
device at the front of the X9-3230C for catching the
processed roll media without disrupting work-flow.
Concluding on the acquisition of the DYSS X9, Mr
Patel says: “The investment in the DYSS X9 and the
wide format printing technology is already opening
new doors for our business and changing the way we
look at future opportunities. We envisage the new
print and DYSS combination will grow our business
by more than 60% in a short period of time. The new
machines have extended our capabilities massively
whilst giving us a unique market position for extrawide
large format work and of course specifically for
the printing and cutting of roll media and fabrics.
The DYSS is the perfect complement to our wideformat
print machines and we are extremely pleased
with our purchase.”
