CARROLLTON, TX – To help owners of FASTSIGNS® sign and graphics centers know what to expect from new technologies such as wide-format, digital full color printers, FASTSIGNS International, Inc. maintains a 3,300-square-foot printer testing and training area various where printers, inks and media are evaluated, the company said.
Now housed in the printer testing area at the company’s Carrollton, Texas headquarters are seven different digital printers, which are loaned to FASTSIGNS® by printer manufacturers. Currently, FASTSIGNS has water-based printers, a wide range of solvent printers, UV-curable flatbed and non-flatbed printers, and hybrid printers under evaluation.
The nearly 500 FASTSIGNS® centers in six countries are major users of digital printers, with all new stores required to open with the equipment and with most established owners also adopting the technology. For example, 50 FASTSIGNS® centers over the last 18 months have purchased UV-curable printers, whose ink instantly dries and adheres to almost any flat, smooth surface. Because UV ink does not evaporate, it is more efficient, requiring less ink to produce a good quality image. Flatbed UV printers can print directly on surfaces such as acrylic, wood, glass and metal.Digital printers often represent the single largest equipment investment that a FASTSIGNS® center owner makes, said Jim Hunt, director of technical services for the sign and graphics franchisor. Explaining the concept behind the printer testing, he said, “Our owners don’t have time to test a piece of equipment. When we learn about a new print technology and determine it might be a fit for a FASTSIGNS® center, we work to get it in here to evaluate firsthand if it’s right for our business,? he said. “Our owners need to know what works and what doesn’t.?
The company’s seven technical service representatives test models of printers against each other, as well as types of printers against each other, said Hunt. “We apply our understanding of the FASTSIGNS® business model, considering what we print on and what products we print. We understand what a FASTSIGNS® center needs, and what the product has to offer from a durability, cost and application standpoint.
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