Successful Melbourne print company Resolution Imaging has built up a sound reputation in hard signage, providing a full service, from design to putting the signs in place.
In February, the company installed an Esko Kongsberg XP cutting table. Darren Watkins, director at Resolution Imaging, says the XP delivers on all the performance requirements. He says, “We need a machine with a robust build that offers reliability and provides the software at the front end to complete the work. The Kongsberg XP is the third Esko table we have purchased.” Resolution Imaging still runs its older Esko Kongsberg XL cutting table. He says, “It is a good machine, about seven years old. We can use it mainly for milling. We mainly use the Kongsberg XP for cutting boards; anything from ReBoard and print board to expanded PVC and polypropylene.”
The company deals with a fair amount of work in the signage and retail display sector. Its clients include corporates and advertising agencies. It also completes work for other printers. Watkins has found the new table easy to use and more productive than other tables. He says, “It is a lot faster than the previous model, which has helped enormously. It’s a better cutting solution not just because it is more robust than the other machines we have looked at but also because it just keeps going. We don’t run 24/7 but I am sure the machine would run non-stop without any problems at all. It just keeps going."
“It is also easy to use. I think it would only take you about a half days training to be able to run the XP. Basically, you throw the sheet on the table and it almost cuts itself. And the jobs can be quite complex. For example, there are not many jobs we do that are just a square cut. Our work is shape-cut and three-dimensional, especially with the ReBoard material.”
At the front end, Esko offers the i-cut Suite, which provides applications for preflighting and editing; for optimized sheet layout; for registration; for the automatic prepress production process.
Watkins says, “We run the i-cut Vision Pro system on it. Using the Esko software, and ArtiosCAD means we can do full 3D mock-ups before we go to the cutting table. We can actually show the client a 3D PDF before we commit to print. Everyone has an idea of what they want but seeing it in 3D makes it really clear for them. Often we will design and the customer can apply their graphics to our design or we can do it for them.
“Signage here is quite competitive, so speed becomes a factor in the work we do. Some of the cutting can be really intricate and customers expect work to be completed quicker; that is normal now. We have established a niche in the shorter run part of the market. That suits us and the Kongsberg XP cutters give is the ability to produce the variety of work that comes our way.”
Resolution Imaging began as a film business. Watkins says, “Of course, now we don’t do any film. We are pleased with where we are now. You have to have good people working for you and you need to give those people the best equipment, so and then you can attract the best customers. In the long term, he sees the relationship with Esko continuing. He says. “The Esko software forms an integral part of our process and we will keep using the hardware as well. It is good to deal with people you understand and who understand you.”
Esko
www.esko.com
Resolution Imaging
www.resolutionimaging.com.au
