Riverside Printers has invested in a JWEI 2131 digital cutting table from CMYUK. The aim is to accommodate in increasing demand for large format work, at the Corby-based company.
The business offers small format and digital wide format services, with the latter now representing around 40% of turnover, compared with approximately 20–25% four years ago.
The JWEI replaces another cutting table that Riverside had operated for around six or seven years. According to director Duncan Raison, the older machine had become slower and replacement parts were becoming difficult to source.
“We’d had our existing Zund cutting table for about six or seven years,” said Mr Raison. “It had done its time. It was getting slow, and we were struggling to get parts for it because it had become obsolete. Sooner or later, we were going to need something to replace it.”
One limitation of the previous system was its inability to process acrylic, requiring Riverside to outsource this work. The JWEI 2131 enables the company to cut and polish acrylic in-house, as well as expand its capabilities in applications including point-of-sale displays and short-run specialist packaging.
“The JWEI is a lot better at cutting and creasing,” added Mr Raison. “If we want to create point-of-sale displays or anything with creases in it, it’s much better at that than the old table. We couldn’t really sell the creasing from our old cutter – it just wasn’t good enough. Now, for short runs, we can do it on the JWEI with no additional tooling costs and far more efficiency.”
Riverside considered alternative cutting systems before selecting the JWEI, citing its build quality, OptiScout software and CMYUK’s support and training as factors in the decision.
The investment is also expected to support Riverside’s trade offering, particularly by allowing it to offer acrylic production that was previously outsourced.
“We’re definitely seeing that area of the business grow,” Mr Raison concluded. “The JWEI gives us the capacity and confidence to push further into wide format production, explore new products and applications. It’s a big step forward for us.”
