Press Releases from Insignia Signs

Company news/Digital Printing

Insignia Signs use Mimaki Print & Cut system to offer stunning decals, signage and liveries.

When Rob Loveday moved into his new 2000sq ft premises last year, he did it not just to physically expand his established Insignia Signs business, but to fit in a state of the art digital graphics setup as well. Now, boasting a full system purchased from, and installed by one of Hybrid's authorised Mimaki resellers; Andersons, he has all the technology that has enabled him to create some highly regarded work for a whole host of different markets.

With a booming customer base, mainly centred around the Poole and Bournemouth area, he is able to serve a staggering array of needs, and his tightly knit team have recently created work ranging from a van wrap for Marwell Zoo, to full race liveries for the Crescent Suzuki Moto GP team, that can be seen racing at the world's top tracks throughout the season.

When we went to visit, the steady stream of customers coming through the door kept Rob's staff occupied in the studio, whilst his fitters and signmakers were busy out the back, producing die-cut stickers, signage and liveries from their Mimaki JV3 full solvent printer and CG-FX cutting plotter. Sited in a very well organised mezzanine area, along with a Shiraz RIP and PC, which were also supplied by Andersons, they are complemented by one of their wide format laminators that Insignia use where extra abrasion resistance is required. By all accounts, it was an interesting experience getting the equipment 4m in the air, but now it has been in place for almost a year, other than expressing a desire to not move premises again, Rob is delighted with how things have progressed:

"We've taken our customers on to a new level since we've installed this system," said Rob, "and whilst I'll never have a word said against our old cutter, the digital print and contour cutting has allowed us to provide a full service to our customers, across a really broad market."

With over 10 years experience in the sign industry, and a passion for motorbike racing, Rob not only serves that market - from simple race graphics right through to full artic wraps for championship teams, but takes his skills to almost any application. Indeed whilst we were with him, it was the number of new customers coming through the door who had been recommended by existing customers that struck us.

One of Rob's colleagues, Emma Hodgson, a design graduate with a keen eye for detail, has been instrumental in creating work for the Mimaki printer and cutting plotter. Already an expert using Illustrator, the Mimaki FineCut plugin supplied with the cutter has been a great success. Delivering die-cut stickers, especially to the bike trade has removed tedious and expensive hand trimming, and made it a simple and automated process. One job, of which she is justifiably proud, was for the local exhibition centre in Bournemouth's winter ice rink promotion;

Having created a superbly montaged image and incorporated it in a striking poster design, this promotion was wheeled out across a range of media, including bus sides, poster work and banners - all created on the Mimaki JV3, and it was this flexibility, and range of materials that first attracted Rob to the system that Anderson's had to offer;

"We knew we wanted digital print, but because of the customer base we had, we didn't want our equipment to restrict us to any particular area.

"If you take one of our Superbike race teams as an example, we've done everything from simple cut, coloured vinyl sponsors' logos, through bike liveries, that are digitally printed and laid over the spray painted body work panels, right up to the full articulated lorry wrap for their team vehicle. Doing all this, on just the two machines, across such a diverse range of materials has been very satisfying, and profitable."

Insignia Signs can be found at the Nuffield Industrial Estate in Poole, and purchased their Mimaki full solvent print and cut system, comprising Mimaki JV3-160SP full solvent inkjet printer, Mimaki CG-160FX cutting plotter, FineCut software, Shiraz RIP and Anderson's laminator from Shaun Thompson at Andersons - one of Hybrid's authorised resellers.

Contact:            Insignia Signs – www.insigniasigns.co.uk or 01202 667700
                        Andersons – www.andersons-uk.net or 01420 563646
                        Hybrid Services Ltd – www.hybridservices.co.uk or 01606 860044