To be installed in July, this second EFI Pro 16h UV LED hybrid printer will be used solely for printing exhibition floors.
Poole-based Quadrant2Design is a dedicated exhibition contractor that works directly with end-users. Its mission is to enable customers to reconfigure and re-use their exhibition stands in different spaces, at different events, time and time again. Customer artwork can be stored free of change when buying more than one stand a year and reused and repurposed for future events.
Since 2014, Quadrant2Design has been the sole distributor for the modular Prestige Events System in the UK involving total graphic coverage. The business terms this the ‘100% Graphic Look’, enhanced by photo-floors that extend graphics into this traditionally overlooked area.
“We’ve invested in a second EFI Pro 16h to increase capacity and build in a level of redundancy. If there’s a mechanical issue, which is a rare occurrence, we can continue production because we work in an industry that has very short turnaround times, big peaks in demand, and we cannot fail on a deadline. If the floor isn’t down on the morning of a show’s build day, there’s not going to be a stand,” says Ross Pike, Operations Director.
“Everything is done in-house, nothing is subcontracted out from the design, printing, finishing, installation, project management, and logistics. The new Pro 16h will help us maintain this,” says James Vicefield, Marketing Manager.
Quadrant2Design is unique in that its printed floors are an integral element to its stand build services.
“There are practical things that customers are doing with their floors,” says James. “One of our clients has QR codes printed on it so visitors to the stand can enter competitions. Printed floors also help with threshold issues – getting visitors onto stands through the utilisation of clever graphic tricks enticing them to take that vital step,” says James.
For its floor work, the business prints direct to 2mm expanded foam PVC product rather than carpet to ensure a sharp photographic finish. The EFI Pro 16h is an industrial 1.6m wide, hybrid printer that handles the heavy flooring rolls. The material utilises the printer’s hybrid flatbed which, with its powerful vacuum, holds the material in place during printing to ensure accurate output.
“Using a roll-to-roll process wouldn’t work using this type of floor material due to the inherent density inconsistencies in the expanded foam. The Pinch rollers would create a stretch in the material, so any continuous graphics running across the 1m wide drops we produce wouldn’t line up, creating anomalies in logos and print patterns,” notes Ross.
“The reliability, consistency, no-nonsense production, and the size of the printer is what really works for us. The routine maintenance is straight forward and keeps the printer running without issue. It’s a true workhorse and delivers what we expect.
“There are not many 1.6m wide hybrid printers in the market that have such a compact footprint, and as we know the Pro 16h was designed to go through a standard sized door. Despite having a large facility, space is incredibly valuable to us because we allocate a significant portion of it to prebuilding our stands. We fully assemble each stand to verify the quality of the structure, ensure the correct hardware is installed, and confirm that the printing of graphics and flooring is flawless. Customers can even pre preview them in advance, therefore with two EFI Pro 16h hybrid printers, plus all our other printing and finishing equipment, space was a major consideration,” says Ross.
Says Ross: “We’re delighted with the guidance and service that CMYUK has given us. Over the past 12 months, we have printed over 14, 000 sq. m of flooring alone. Our investment in the EFI Pro 16h printers has been a major contribution to our success, and the installation of a second model will increase capacity, increase volume output, and support further growth.”
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