Mortsel, Belgium – Agfa Graphics today announced that Unit Safety Signs (USS), a large Japanese company specialising in the design and manufacture of safety signs and products for the safety industry, is able to handle shorter run lengths and expand its media assortment thanks to Agfa Graphics' Dotrix digital UV inkjet press. The company, which has been operating since 1968, has seen the market for safety signs growing in recent years, and the competition getting tougher and tougher. 

That's what prompted the company to purchase and install Agfa's Dotrix UV inkjet press. One challenge for USS has been dealing with the trend to shorter run lengths and quicker turnaround times requested by their clients. USS have also seen reductions in demand for signs printed on rigid media and board, with the growth seen for signs printed on roll or flexible sheet material. :Dotrix handles them all for USS.

"We also need the ability of the :Dotrix to 'print on demand' and reduce inventory of finished product by turning work around quicker than was possible before. Having efficient production equipment like the :Dotrix in-house is a major advantage for us over our competition", said Mr.Keijiro Kuroda, Production Manager of USS. "We can complete work very quickly compared to traditional print methods.  Unlike the silk screen method the :Dotrix doesn't need a drying oven – this is another cash/energy saving and one that is good for the environment".

Traditional silk screen production is good for producing certain types of print work but it is slow and labour intensive. Analogue silk screen plates are made manually, which takes too much time. For USS, Agfa's :Dotrix works so much faster, and is still able to produce high-quality print using vivid, durable UV inks on a wide variety of substrates.

"USS have clear goals for their :Dotrix. They will be able to reduce the money they spend on subcontracting work to external suppliers for short-run jobs. Additionally, they will be moving more and more work away from their old silk screening production and onto the :Dotrix. USS' non-digital competitors in the safety sign market will find USS setting the pace in their industry", said Tojo Yoshimitsu , General Sales Manager  Agfa Graphics Japan.

The :Dotrix digital UV inkjet press, with a printing width of 63cm, is the most productive UV, single-pass printing press in the industry. :Dotrix is the only digital press able to print with high production capacity on a wide variety of substrates ranging from flexible foils, 20 micron over self-adhesives, to folding cartons up to 600 micron. With its modular construction, traditional UV flexo printing stations that can serve as coating and varnishing alleys can be added to the roll-to-roll basic configuration. Slitting and die-cutting as well as sheeter installations can also be integrated to complete the system.