The Big Ink Tank drives up capacity with Anapurna Ciervo H3200

Print Solutions

UK large format printer The Big Ink Tank is preparing for growth having successfully installed an Anapurna Ciervo H3200 hybrid UV-LED inkjet printer from Agfa.

Founded in 2009, the company provides high impact large format print and installation services for a wide range of clients and applications, such as exhibitions, signage, and gallery and museum graphics. These are manufactured at an industrial unit near Coventry, where a team of six utilises a fleet of specialist equipment to turn concepts into reality and ideas into physical products. The Big Ink Tank team offers design and artwork origination services to customers, as well as handling fitting and installation.

Owner Ty Power said,’Everything we do is pretty much bespoke, and our margins are based on adding value through creativity and service rather than just chasing volume.

‘End to end services mean our team must be agile and flexible. Each of our team needs to be capable and able to get hands-on with everything we do and willing to get stuck in.

‘That means our print technology similarly has to be reliable, flexible, and capable of really high quality output because our work is on show in some very demanding environments.’

The Big Ink Tank recently upgraded its equipment portfolio with an Anapurna Ciervo H3200.

This wide format hybrid inkjet printer works up to a width of 3.2 metres using UV-LED inks in six colours. The printer can be operated in roll to roll or flatbed configurations, with quick release tables at the infeed and outfeed on either side of the print engine allowing switching between formats in a matter of minutes. The Big Ink Tank’s work is split roughly 60-40 in favour of roll to roll printing.

Ty said, ‘This flexibility is a nice bonus for us as it means we can handle the broadest possible range of work without too much hassle. We make every effort to batch work and schedule our production appropriately but having that capability makes life even easier.’

The Anapurna Ciervo H3200 model has replaced an Anapurna H3200i UV-LED wide format printer that was installed in 2018. This was a major investment for The Big Ink Tank as it was the company’s first new wide format printer having previously printed using a pre-owned inkjet printer from another manufacturer.

‘Our previous inkjet printer put down a lot of ink; it was very heavy and expensive when you are printing full coverage exhibition graphics and signage. With the Ciervo model, the ink laydown is noticeably lighter, but the image looks better. That is a big plus when you are handling all sorts of materials,’ said Ty.

He added, ‘Moving from our older RIP to Asanti was probably the biggest worry. But after a few weeks it just became normal. Asanti is so intuitive and user friendly that now we would struggle to go back. We have got preset board and roll sizes, common jobs set up, and it is all very straightforward for the team.’

Ty continued, ‘The decision to bring in the Ciervo H3200 model was a strategic step for us as a business.

‘In reality, the Anapurna model we originally had was a fantastic machine and we could easily have carried on using it. We seriously weren’t looking at anything else but it is like a car and at some stage, however good it is, the value starts to drift and technology moves on.

‘The new platform has given us a real leap forward. For example, the print quality of the Agfa wide format inkjet printer we were running was perfect for the work we were doing but as technology has moved on, the new model’s print quality is even sharper and smoother. This is a genuine benefit as we are being asked to print more signage for exhibitions and museums, so the expectations for print quality and legibility are naturally higher. With the Anapurna Ciervo H3200, we can print this type of work without any trouble.’

For exhibition work, the uprated production throughput of the Ciervo H3200 has been a boon. What used to be a full day’s printing is now done in just over half a day. As Ty explained, ‘Realistically, because of the way we feed and handle boards, the throughput is about double.

‘The nature of exhibitions means you often get artwork dropped on you at the last minute. With the Ciervo, we can increase the speed, get things turned around quickly, and still be confident in the result. It has given us a lot more headroom when everything lands at once.’

Ty concluded, ‘We have effectively doubled our throughput without needing a bigger team. For a business of our size, that is huge. It gives us a solid five year platform where we know we have got the capacity and quality to grow without constantly worrying about whether the press can keep up.’