A new EFI™ Pro 16h  flatbed/roll-to-roll hybrid wide-format printer is giving MSP Design Group the ability to expand offerings and its customer base with high-quality LED inkjet print. The printer has been the next positive step in the businesses’ continued expansion to meet customers’ needs. The printer’s versatility, with its ability to deliver high-quality images on traditional and specialty media up to two inches thick, was a prominent factor for MSP, which is using the printer to produce signage and a wide range of ad specialty products.

A long-time provider of screen printing and embroidering, apparel and promotional products, MSP adopted a new mission in 2015. “We want to do it all for all of our customers and meet all of their needs|, explained CEO Dan Clarkson. Their new focus moved MSP to grow from being primarily a seasonal business to one that has work year-round. Much of that growth has happened by selling more display graphics signage.

A high-quality, productive alternative to outsourcing

The higher volumes MSP saw in display graphics lead to outsourcing for production, which reduced margins and spurred a serious search for a new wide-format production solution, resulting in EFI’s Hybrid Printer. The EFI Pro 16h is designed to give users the lowest total cost of ownership, superior image quality and access to the widest range of substrates and applications. It prints on both flexible and rigid substrates up to 65 inches wide in four colors plus white ink, delivering near-photographic quality at resolutions up to 1200 dots per inch. MSP can print saturated colors and smooth gradations with true four-level, variable-drop grayscale print capability at speeds up to 976 square feet per hour. Plus, the EFI Pro 16h’s “cool cure” LED technology requires less energy than latex or traditional UV printers and enables the use of thinner and specialty substrates that cannot withstand the heat required with latex and UV.

Versatility creates new opportunities

Size was key for MSP because space was an issue; Dan Clarkson did not want a large table machine. He also liked the printer’s productivity, flexibility and its ability to print on a variety of materials. When seeing examples of what the printer can produce in a demo that featured unusual and unique applications, Clarkson could immediately envision how it would help MSP bring in new business. Resulting in Clarkson saying, “There’s a lot of stuff that we can do now that we couldn’t before”.

Sales started to grow shortly after the printer went into production at MSP in late 2019. MSP’s customers now look to the company to produce signage and a broader range of ad specialty items. And, in terms of the quality those customers receive with MSP’s new LED-inkjet digital print offering, “they love it,” Clarkson said.

About EFI

EFI™ is a global technology company, based in Silicon Valley, and is leading the worldwide transformation from analog to digital imaging. We are passionate about fueling customer success with products that increase competitiveness and boost productivity. To do that, we develop breakthrough technologies for the manufacturing of signage, packaging, textiles, ceramic tiles, and personalized documents, with a wide range of printers, inks, digital front ends, and a comprehensive business and production workflow suite that transforms and streamlines the entire production process. (www.efi.com)