Joseph Merritt Installs EFI VUTEk QS3200r Superwide Printer

FOSTER CITY, CA—January 15, 2009—EFI, the world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation, today announced that Joseph Merritt & Company of Hartford, Connecticut, has added an EFI VUTEk QS3200r 3.2 meter superwide format roll-to-roll UV printer to its production portfolio. Prior to acquisition of the QS3200r, the shop had an all-solvent superwide format production platform.

Joseph Merritt & Company is a marketing communications firm that prides itself on being able to produce any image on any surface at any time. Founded 100 years ago as Hartford’s first commercial blueprinter, today the company employs 97 people in eight offices in New England and New York.

Merritt Quote
“The VUTEk QS3200r has four distinct advantages for our business,” said Ed Perry, President of Joseph Merritt & Company. “First, it provides us with a greener alternative to solvent printing. Second, it is two to eight times faster than our existing platform, depending upon the application being printed. Third, we can print directly to fabrics to address a growing market need. And fourth, it is less expensive overall to operate than any of the other superwide format printers we have in place. In its first week of operation, it is already proving its value. Although it is our third superwide format printer, it will more than double our capacity with its high throughput and exceptional productivity.”

2007 Grand Format UV Product of the Year: VUTEk QS3200r
The VUTEk QS3200r is an innovative roll-to-roll UV printer that was recognized as the 2007 grand format UV product of the year by the Digital Printing & Imaging Association (DPI). It is an exceptionally high quality, high-speed printer that produces images up to 3.2 meters wide at 1,080 dpi with High Definition Printing (HDP), at the rate of up to 1,850 square feet per hour. VUTEk quality means that even four-point type is rendered crisply. The QS3200r uses specially developed VUTEk QS Series r UV inks that are highly flexible and ideally suited for roll-to-roll applications.

“We are especially pleased with the conformable inks used by the QS3200r,” added Perry. “This will eliminate any issues with inks cracking in applications such as vehicle wraps. Their durability also opens up new applications, such as the 18,000 4’x8’ vinyl mats we are producing for a game company, and the fabric banners and signage that are growing in popularity for trade shows and events.”

Perry points out that fabric banners and signage are lighter weight and less expensive to ship than traditional vinyl signage, and growth in fabric banners is expected to be seven-fold over the next five years. “The QS3200r is revolutionary for the industry with its ability to print directly on fabrics in a high production mode. We are now set up for what we believe to be a major market potential,” he adds.

EFI Quote
“Joseph Merritt & Company is a terrific example of a forward-looking company making the right investments for the future,” said Chuck Dourlet, vice president of marketing, EFI VUTEk. “The QS3200r is ideally suited to deliver maximum growth potential for this 100-year-old firm as they continue to find new and innovative applications for the device.”

For more information about other EFI products, please visit www.efi.com.

About EFI
EFI (www.efi.com) is the world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation. EFI's award-winning solutions, integrated from creation to print, deliver increased performance, cost savings and productivity. The company's robust product portfolio includes Fiery® digital color print servers; VUTEk® superwide digital inkjet printers, UV and solvent inks; Jetrion® industrial inkjet printing systems; print production workflow and management information software; and corporate printing solutions. EFI maintains 26 offices worldwide.