Tim Tomblin, Owner, Tiato Sign & Digital.
Mimaki faithfulist and die-hard investor invests in the UV LED technology He is the driving force behind his successful start-up which serves national high street stores
CMYUK, Shrewsbury: Tiato Sign & Digital has invested in Mimaki UCJV300-160 UV print and cut technology from CMYUK. Tim Tomblin founded the business. He has worked with Mimaki wide-format technology since he was 16 years old.
Tim began his journey with two Mimaki JV300-160-160 solvents, a Mimaki cutter CG160FXII (Mimaki Easymount Laminator), and a Mimaki Mimaki JV300-160-160s. It produces seasonal window displays for retailers nationwide that use a mix of vinyls and in-window graphics.
“I’ve always stuck with the brand. The equipment is well built and solidly reliable, the colour and quality of the output is really good, and it’s very easy to work with,” he says.
The move to UV LED technology is a response to the company’s growing high street retail clients, all of which demand fast turnaround times. Mimaki UCJV300-16 provides instant dry prints with integrated cutting, which have significantly increased throughput speed at the Amesbury-based company.
“It was the curing times and the ecological issues around solvent that led me to UV. We used to have to wait for the print to dry before we could send it out with the older solvent printers. I am able to print, cut, then despatch the same day. This saves me up to half of my time. If the solvent was not working properly, we would need to delay sending replacements to our clients. The new UV printer allows us to reprint, still despatch on the same day, and not upset our customers,” says Tim.
Mimaki UCJV300-160-160 can print 7 colours (C,M, Y.K, Lc. Lm. W, Cl), however Tiato chose to use a double-white configuration instead of White and Clear. The printer also has 4 ink layers, a resolution up to 1200dpi. “A lot of our work for leading retailers involves skin tones, and the ability to print with Light Cyan and Light Magenta really adds to the quality of the skin tone,” says Tim.
It has been a major game-changer for the company to be able to print white. “If retail staff are going to apply graphics to glass themselves for example, we can print white to cling, and they can just fit this to the inside of a window. White is massive for us,” he adds.
Last month’s installation of the printer has allowed the company to decrease its outsourcing by just 5%. It was previously twenty percent. “The purchase of this printer means that we can now do just over 95% of everything we need in-house with the equipment we have – it’s rare that we have to put something out now. We can also offer environmentally-friendly banners and vinyls by investing in UV. It’s something we’re increasingly being asked about, and we want to make sure we have all the latest solutions on offer,” he says.
Tiato has already produced work for a museum using PVC-free vinyl from CMYUK’s sustainable materials portfolio that offers proven high performing alternatives to all popular sign and display applications.
Says Tim, “I am impressed with CMYUK, its customer service and am looking forward to revisiting the showroom in Shrewsbury in the near future. It is a business that I believe in and has worked well over the three previous years. Retail display is our speciality, and our investment in Mimaki technology is key to servicing our growing customer base in the best way possible.”