Intro: DRP has installed a new Full-solvent UNIFORM Cadet printer from printMAX.
Dale Parmenter MD and founder of DRP Group should be a happy camper. His company that reached its silver anniversary milestone last year is a great example of innovative, upward evolutionary growth.
To enhance and underpin further its impressive arsenal of services, the company has just installed a new UNIFORM cadet 54-inch wide Full -solvent inkjet printer supplied by leading London-based digital printing supplies company printMAX.
“We had an HP PS500 for five years prior to this, which we initially got in to produce A1 sized structures to accompany our proposals for interactive work,” says Ben Wallace, Design and Print Manager at DRP.
“But we realised that we needed a far more flexible printer that could cope with output on a wider variety of substrates but more importantly was robust when it came to outdoor work.”
DRP Group specialises in all areas of presentation and communication offering an array of creative, multimedia and eventing solutions such as conferences, roadshows, awards and product launches all from an in-house team.
The in-house design team consists of several members dedicated to specific areas such as 2D and 3D motion graphics;, Interactive CD-ROM/DVD authoring and 2D Print and Branding, the latter of which covers all display work for events including signage, building wraps, vehicle livery, and display graphics.
“We really felt that we had outgrown our HP printer, and although we still use it, we just needed a far more flexible machine, one that was much bigger which meant that we also didn’t have to outsource as much work. We were also keen to look at the new generation of full-solvent machines because more often now we are being asked to produce exterior graphics and signage, and also with the capacity in-house to produce exterior, long-lasting work we can really push the boundaries of what we do creatively for our clients,” says Ben Wallace.
One of the company’s largest clients with which it has a long standing relationship is travel company Thomas Cook. This year as in previous years, DRP was responsible for the entire production of Thomas Cook’s annual staff conference in Turkey involving some 1800 delegates, including all the print and branding work.
However, this time the new UNIFORM Cadet, DRP produced a whole host of branded signage which was not only apparent at the airport when delegates arrived but which also could be found in and around the hotel as well as the venue and stage set.
DRP also created all the design work for the ancillary literature such as luggage tags, hotel welcome packs and delegate info packs.
“This was one of the first jobs that we carried out on the Cadet, “ says Ben Wallace. “The flexibility of this printer in terms of the substrates that can be printed on it as well as its size meant that for the whole Thomas Cook conference in Turkey all we outsourced this time was the giant banner that graced the back of the stage. Having the Cadet in-house has enabled the service we offer on the print side to be more efficient, more productive and far more cost-effective.
Like its HP system five years earlier, DRP purchased its Uniform Cadet printer through printMAX, one of the leading providers of large format digital printers/consumables to both the technical and professional colour UK market.
“We got the HP from Printmax as well as consumables and have always had a good relationship with the company which has always provided a good service. We went to Sign UK and had a look at all the machines on offer but were very impressed with the UNIFORM Cadet, and then spoke to Printmax,” says Ben Wallace.
DRP purchased the Cadet with Printmax under one of its tailored leasing deals. “We’ve pretty much gone down the same route as we did with the HP printer, “ says Ben Wallace. “We now own the HP and we might go that way with the Cadet unless we upgrade to a larger machine, which is a possibility. However, the machine is already paying for itself.”
printMAX installed the Uniform Cadet and took staff members at DRP through the technical side of the machine. However, because of timescales, DRP staff have not been able to take advantage of the one-day UNIFORM training day that comes as standard with the purchase but intend to follow up on this as soon as possible.
“Despite the fact that we didn’t have a chance to do our one-day training course because of the Thomas Cook conference, we were thrown in at the deep end with the Cadet but were given great support and back up from printMAX.,” says Ben Wallace. “We’re excited about this machine and expect that we will be increasing our work load because of it. Already we have some great projects lined up that have been made far more viable both economically and logistically because of this full-solvent machine.”
