Saica Pack installs a Mimaki JFX200-2513 EX UV LED flatbed printer from CMYUK
Saica Pack, the corrugated packaging arm of the Saica Group has installed a Mimaki JFX200-2513 EX UV LED flatbed from CMYUK. The new printer has been installed at its newly built flagship packaging manufacturing facility at Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland.
This marks the third Mimaki JFX200-2513 EX that CMYUK has supplied to Saica Pack in the UK. The first model was installed at the business’ central design facility at its UK HQ operation PM11 in Manchester five years ago. A second model was sited in Wigan for use by the Northwest office technical team in 2018.
All three flatbeds are specifically used for prototyping across a diverse client base such as FMCG, e-commerce, and large brands.
“We utilise the Mimaki JFX200-2513EX primarily for product development. We use it to print directly onto corrugated board to help customers visualise packaging concepts and this can be anything from a single sample up to 100 prototypes. It’s fantastic in the sense that it allows clients to improve their speed to market,” said Matthew Pomorski, Creative Marketing Manager, Saica Pack, UK and Ireland.
Livingston facility
The Livingston site is set to become Saica Pack’s flagship packaging facility in the UK. Providing increased capacity and capabilities for customers using the latest technologies, it will also introduce sustainable packaging solutions to Scotland in line with the Group’s environmental commitments.
The new facility includes an impressive new Customer Experience Room and Technical Office in which the Mimaki JFX200-2513 EX UV flatbed alongside Kongsberg digital cutting table and CAD equipment that will play a central role. Here customers will spend time with designers and project managers to visualise concepts in 3D. This service will enhance the company’s ability to provide complete end-to-end packaging solutions and greatly enrich the customer experience.
“The set-up in Livingston was developed so we could create a real customer experience within the business. We’ll be able to run innovation days with the idea that the customer will spend a whole day with us, develop packaging solutions and leave with fully printed samples of the concepts we create on the same day. We also have customers that require really small runs for one-off launches that are below our minimum order requirements for production. Having the Mimaki gives us the added flexibility to provide small one-off runs for these types of requests, adding to the level of service we can provide our customers,” said Louise Morgan, Scotland Region Technical Office Manager.
In Scotland, Saica Pack’s Technical Office staff will be trained to use the Mimaki flatbed.
“The addition of this new technology to our business not only improves the service we can offer our customers but it has also been key in helping develop our designers. We have a lot of multi skilled talent within the team and this has allowed them all to branch into new areas of training and development that wasn’t possible before. With support and training from CMYUK we will be able to build our teams knowledge to get the best out of the machine and quality we can give to our customers,” added Louise.
Mimaki – the power of 3
Buying the same piece of kit from the same supplier three times over a five-year period says a lot about Mimaki technology and CMYUK customer service.
“The printed samples that we produce are able to feature white ink, spot varnish and embossed areas. Accurate colour reproduction, impressive speeds and ease of printing onto our corrugated substrate have added a new dimension to our digital mock-up service. We have also found the Mimaki very useful for producing bespoke Marketing and Display Material. The range of finishes and ability to print onto a diverse range of substrates enables our teams to unleash their creativity.
“We have been pleased with the excellent level of customer service, support and training provided by CMYUK and would recommend it as a supplier,” said Matt.
The Mimaki JFX 200-2513 EX is the industry’s best-selling UV-LED curing flatbed printer that combines high-value-printing with high productivity. Features include embossed printing that creates a raised textured surface due to its ability to lay down multiple layers of ink. It features an 8ft x 4ft bed and delivers high quality output thanks to an automatic ability to detect missing print nozzles and when it does, it is able to perform self-recovery. In addition, the Mimaki utilises an advanced algorithm to print optimum gradation patterns on each pass, significantly eliminating any banding on the print.
Saica Group is one of the largest European players in the development and production of recycled paper for corrugated board that has a production capacity of 3.5 million short tons of paper. It has more than 10,000 employees across Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, United Kingdom, Ireland, Turkey, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the USA. It is comprised of four business areas: production of recycled paper for corrugated board (Saica Paper), waste management and environmental services (Saica Natur), production of corrugated packaging (Saica Pack) and flexible packaging (Saica Flex).