The 5-metre UV LED printer replaces an older machine to increase capacity, automation, and textile graphic production alongside an EFI M3h hybrid.
Ottimo Digital has invested in an EFI VUTEk Qx5r 5-metre super-wide UV LED printer, supplied by trade distributor CMYUK. The installation replaces an older 5m machine, providing increased speed, automation, and production capacity as demand accelerates across the company’s super-wide display graphics division.
The acquisition follows the purchase of an EFI VUTEk M3h 3.2m hybrid printer from CMYUK earlier this year. Operating in tandem, the M3h handles rigid substrate printing on materials such as Foamex, while the Qx5r delivers high-volume 5m roll-to-roll output for exhibition textiles and large-format graphics. The Qx5r incorporates white and clear ink capabilities, double-sided printing, heavy roll handling, and automated inline slitters that read file parameters to adjust cutting positions without manual intervention.
Commercial Director at Ottimo Digital, Craig Boxley, highlighted the operational impact of the inline slitting system, stating, “We send a lot of wraps out on separate cores so crews on site can grab exactly what they need. On the old machine the team had to manually set the slitters, which slows everything down. With the Qx5r, the slitters are built in, they read the information from the file and move automatically. The phrase ‘game changer’ gets overused, but in this case, it really is going to speed things up massively for us.”
The 5m roll-to-roll platform has been installed in a dedicated production unit adjacent to the firm’s main facility, expanding operational floor space while enabling testing on new foldable textile substrates supplied by CMYUK.
Boxley added, “When I started here over eleven years ago, we were running jobs off basic paperwork. It worked then, but it just wouldn’t cope with the volume and complexity we handle now. We’ve invested heavily in automation on the front end so we can process jobs really fast. The M3h and the new Qx5r are the production side of that same strategy, now we can produce as fast as we can process.”
Boxley concluded, “With the M3h and now the new Qx5r, we’re investing in the future of the business. We’re making sure that we keep abreast of technology to better support our customers and build a production platform that we can scale for years to come.”