Enjoying a dominant footprint and featuring a rich array of hardware and applications, it would be reasonable to assume that most of PacPrint’s circa 4,000 visitors, ‘hopscotched’ their way around the bustling Graphic Art Mart stand, pausing to enjoy the plethora of live demos, hands-on workshops and technology showcases on offer.
The BRM CO₂ laser cutter/engraver can cut through a range of substrates up to 15mm thick
“Whilst we like to think we offer something for everyone, there was definitely a lot of interest in DTF at PacPrint,” says Peter Townsend, Business Manager from Graphic Art Mart, whose stand featured a fully integrated Mimaki Direct To Film solution, which included the Mimaki TXF 375 dual-head printer, supported by a custom-built powder shaker and heater.
“We entered the DTF market about 18 months ago, but there have been plenty of advances in the film and ink technology even since then, and we find
Peter Townsend, GAM Business Manager that the Mimaki transfers adhere to almost all textiles, making them ideal for short runs and on-demand production, especially because there is no cutting or weeding, so the printer uptime and output is very high.”
Graphic Art Mart is also a distributor of French brand Chemica, who supply a wide range of transfer films and printable media, and Townsend adds: “their cold-to-warm peel film and instant-peel film in particular, are giving some really vivid colour reproduction and fast turnaround times.”
“There’s also a real industry focus on sustainability, so we showed some transfers printed onto PET film, which is recyclable, and the shaker unit’s built-in filtration removes airborne contaminants during curing, and vents breathable air.”
Race to Finish
The Flex Mura Plus 160 XY Cutter was amongst the range of finishing equipment showcased by Graphic Art Mart at PacPrint“Arguably the highest area of interest at PacPrint was around finishing equipment,” continues Townsend.
“Graphic Art Mart enjoys some really strong partnerships in this area as well and we fielded a lot of interest in our cutters and laminators, again able to showcase a number of genuine advances in technology.”
Designed in the Netherlands – ‘European quality at an accessible price’ notes Townsend - the BRM CO₂ laser cutter and engraver set about its precision business, cutting through acrylic, plastics, leather, even wood – able to cut up to 15mm thickness. “This is absolutely the kind of kit our signage customers have been asking for: it’s accurate, versatile and safe, and at a price point that offers a realistic ROI.”
A large format 1700x3200mm Colex flatbed cutter and router was also running live on the stand (which is also available in a more compact 1700x1700mm). With a conveyor table design, the Colex supports continuous jobs such as kiss-cut vinyl rolls, foam boards, coreflute and even thick acrylics and thin aluminium.
Reaching even further into the stand, a FLEXA MIURA PLUS 160 Automatic XY Cutter was busily demonstrating its ability to cut 50m rolls in under 3 minutes, unattended, with simultaneous horizontal and vertical trimming automatically picking up crop marks.
In the background to all this hardware activity, and against a theme of a Signage Playground, the Graphic Art Mart team also ran daily: 
Graphic Art Mart theme for PacPrint was Colour Me Fun
- Vehicle Wrapping masterclasses
- Windows and Walls masterclasses (including brickwork, recesses and glass prep
- a Caldera Prime automated prepress workflow and media optimisation workshop
- real world demos of Mactac
- an explainer session on PVC vs non-PVC media, ref emerging trends in greener printing
- and a deep dive (with Jay Kroll) into adhesive science and specialty installations
Townsend says: ‘The stand was designed to ‘engage’ and we’re confident we achieved that, but obviously the focus now is to translate this interest into sales.”
The Graphic Art Mart stand included hardware from HP, Roland DG, Mimaki, BRM, Colex, CWT, Flexa and Keencut, as well as a broad portfolio of pressure-sensitive films, substrates, and application tools from Avery Dennison, Arlon, Aslan, Mactac, Chemica, Siser, and General Formulations.
