The triple investment was ignited by the initial decision to purchase a Kongsberg digital cutting table. “We were looking at how to expand the visual display side of our operation and wanted to be more creative. We did our homework, did the article research, and spoke to several people, which led us to Tim Boore [Senior Digital Sales Consultant] at CMYUK and its demonstration centre in Shrewsbury,” says Neil Faudemer, Mailmate’s Managing Director.

The Kongsberg represents somewhat of a finishing revolution at Mailmate. “It’s our first venture with a robotic cutter and we’ve already seen an enormous benefit in time savings. It’s also a first for the Channel Islands, it’s completely unique,” says Neil.

The Kongsberg X24 Edge is the most trusted and reliable digital cutter for signage and display production. Mailmate has chosen the model that includes the MultiCUT tool head that offers 1 kw milling productivity and a camera system, for vision aided accurate cutting. A conveyor feed system for the automatic transport of flexible material has been added, but the beauty of this system is that new tools can be added as and when required, underpinning business growth and building in resilience.

Sorting out the front end

The investment of the Kongsberg kick-started a re-evaluation of front-end production. The company had been running 3 x Roland solvent printers, but while Neil was at the CMYUK showroom in Shrewsbury, he also got a long hard look at Mimaki print technology.

A perfect companion to the Kongsberg X24 Edge, Neil opted for the Mimaki JFX200-2513 EX UV LED flatbed. “We got this on the back of the Kongsberg. It’s a market leader and allows us to print direct to board. It’s also given us the opportunity to move away from solvent to UV inks, which we’ve needed to do. This flatbed offers us greater versatility to meet a wide variety of needs and requirements,” he says.

The Mimaki JFX200-2513 EX flatbed has a reputation for product quality and ease of use. It prints onto substrates up to 50mm thick and outputs resolutions of up to 1200dpi. It offers print speeds of up to 35 sqm/h with no loss of performance when printing white. The new 2.5D technology enables the JFX200 EX to create textured effects with ease. The LUS120 ink set enjoys 170% flexibility and has GREENGUARD Gold certification.

But Neil didn’t stop there. “I looked across the showroom and I saw the UCJV300-160 UV LED printer/cutter. This machine provides us with a diversity of applications, and I thought if they’ve got to transport the flatbed, they may as well transport this one as well,” he says.

The roll-to-roll Mimaki UCJV300-160 is a high-quality printer that has an integrated cutter and an output resolution of up to 1200dpi. Designed for ultimate flexibility, this printer is suited to a wide range of applications including signage and display, exhibition graphics, stickers, canvas prints and much more.

The Channel Island factor

Being a Jersey-based printer has influenced Mailmate’s buying habits. “Geography and support levels are really important for us,” says Neil. “If I’ve got five machines from five different suppliers, I’m going to end up with issues. So, without putting all my eggs in one basket, I try to go with a supplier that is going to give me the support and backup that I require. Our small format printing is Xerox-based, and I’ve just encouraged a competitor to buy a machine like mine because we both need to hold parts on the island, and we can exchange if either of us breaks down. It's very different being on the Channel Islands and therefore support and logistics are extremely important.”

Island printing at its best

Mailmate was founded in 1991and has evolved over the years to provide the widest range of printing and mailing options in the Channel Islands. Now with two large secure facilities in Jersey, it offers a variety of marketing solutions to businesses across all industries, with services ranging from database management and printing to storage and logistics.

The installation of the new suite of products from CMYUK will allow the company to diversify its offerings, servicing its regular clients more deeply and through new applications bringing new customers on board.

Says Neil, “The world is a very uncertain place now, and it’s all about being able to offer a broad range of services. We are finding lots of crossovers – someone may come in for a banner but may then ask for T shirts and business cards for example, and we can do the lot. We’ve never been frightened to invest in new technology and the evolution of our business over three decades demonstrates this. We moved into wide format digital printing six years ago, and we also have a heat press and an embroidery machine in-house, so textile printing is also something we offer, which is particularly good for the sporting and charity events that take place on Jersey.

“Our experience with CMYUK has been a very positive one, and we are looking forward to continuing to build the relationship and working with them more closely.”