Acorn Press secures new contracts with Ricoh install

Richard Stuart-Turner Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Commercial printer Acorn Press has significantly expanded its POS services and secured a number of new contracts after taking on new kit from Ricoh.

The Swindon-based business underwent a management buyout in September 2021 and has since invested heavily in certain areas of the business – including wide-format – to enhance its offering.

The company was already running a roll-to-roll machine in-house for work including large posters and pop-up displays but required a new printer to address a rise in demand for specific types of work and installed a Ricoh Pro TF6251 UV flatbed printer in June.

The business said incoming enquiries it could not previously produce in-house included Corex and Foamex work. It had also secured a contract for a large finance business that included certain POS material, which it was having to outsource at a cost of around £300,000.

With the new Ricoh printer, it said it could now bring this, and other signage work, in-house.

"We decided on this model as it has the roll-to-roll option and also offers white ink," said Acorn Press managing director Simon Evers.

"The main factors for selecting the Ricoh solution were the cost-effectiveness of running the printer, the speed of the machine, and the fact that the samples we produced for the finance company matched previous work very well. The machine offered everything we needed to facilitate that project."

Recent work printed on the new Ricoh has included estate agent Corex boards, signage on 3mm, 5mm, and 10mm Foamex; aluminium Dibond and acrylic, and POS strut cards on rigid display boards.

"The roll option means we can print on most substrates and have also produced floor graphics, wallpapers, and window displays on ultra-clear vinyls," said Evers.

"There seems no limit to the variety of POS we can produce and with the printer's speed we are producing work same day for certain customers.

"Since the machine was installed, we have had so much demand and enquiries for all sorts of work; it has opened new avenues and helped us win new contracts."

The Ricoh machine was installed alongside a new VeloBlade flatbed water cooled CNC router from Vivid Laminating Technologies. Materials such as wood, acrylic, and plastics are printed on the Ricoh and then cut on the 2.5x1.6m router to produce applications such as banners, posters, and kiss-cut stickers.

"We have quite a broad customer base and those customers are buying POS products, which we can now offer alongside our litho and digital work," said Evers.

"The Ricoh machine is being run on a single day shift currently and is constantly being used."

Founded in 1979, Acorn Press also runs kit including a B1 Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 106-5XL litho press and Konica Minolta digital printers.