ProCo installs UK’s first Agfa Jeti Tauro

ProCo has become the first UK company to invest in an Agfa Jeti Tauro H2500 LED machine as part of a circa-£500,000 kit investment.

The UK-based marketing services printer also bought an Agfa Anapurna RTR3200i, trading out two older Anapurnas, with total investment in print kit reaching around £400,000.

An additional £90,000 was spent on a Crest RSC3200 X-Y cutting system, a Matic Cronos Ultimate sewing station and a Bobis Multi Applicator, which were supplied by print and finishing equipment supplier Atech.

The addition of the new Anapurna and the Tauro will increase production speed and give greater flexibility of substrates for clients, particularly given the Tauro’s ability to use primer to aid ink adherence and its night and day multilayer print capability.

The investment represents a significant step change for ProCo’s large-format division, which was established in July 2015 when Carl Jackson joined the company as large-format manager. 

Jackson said: "Being the first to install the LED Tauro is really exciting. The new capabilities it will give us mean that we can offer our customers an even stronger mix of services coupled with quicker production speeds. Agfa’s engines give us the ability to meet our customers’ growing demands for more complex products, all at the fantastic quality we’re known for." 

Launched at FESPA in its LED form, the six-colour (CMYK plus light cyan and light magenta) 2.5m-wide hybrid UV Tauro can reach speeds of up to 275sqm/hr. It has continuous and automated feeding and takes a wide range of flexible and rigid media. The machine uses Ricoh’s 7pl Gen 5 printheads.

The roll-to-roll 3.2m-wide Anapurna prints at a maximum speed of 127sqm/hr and comes with air-cooled LED-UV curing as standard. It also prints in six colours (CMYK plus light magenta and white).

The additional finishing kit was carefully considered to complement the print engines. The Crest BSC3200 cutting system will allow off roll straight trim jobs to be finished quicker, leaving ProCo’s Elitron CAD cutter (also the UK’s first table with conveyor and roll off table acquired two years ago) to handle more complex cut to shape work. 

The Cronos sewing station gives the team increased capacity to deal with fabric applications, in particular to offer silicone edged stretch frame graphic solutions in-house, keeping pace with increased demand from customers. The Bobis table will increase efficiency when it comes to mounting vinyl and laminates to rigid substrates.  

Jackson continued: "Atech is definitely our go to for finishing kit. We know we can rely on it for great advice and the company is really clued into what we are trying to achieve. The new kit we have installed is testament to that and will support our aim to grow ProCo’s large format department and the solutions we can provide for our customers."

ProCo CEO Jon Bailey said, "At ProCo it is all about our customers – their requirements are becoming more complex as they look for even more innovative solutions to maximise impact and engagement with their customers."

"We are always looking to develop ourselves and our offering to ensure we meet client demands and the investment we are making in our large format department is helping us to do exactly that. Both to ensure we are geared up to deliver the right solutions and to be able to progress and grow the business for our people too," he concluded.