Worcester - North Yorkshire, UK-based Dalesflex Signs & Graphics Ltd was founded eighteen months ago to serve the ever-expanding market for vehicle wraps, alongside traditional wide format print applications. 

In order to better serve these markets, the company decided to replace its aging Mutoh Rockhopper printer it had initially acquired with a newer, more efficient model.  Andy Walls, Dalesflex’s company director, explains, “We were pretty confident that we wanted to stay with Mutoh printers, so we started searching the Internet for suppliers of these machines.  We spoke to a number of companies and in mid-2013 settled on making the purchase of a Mutoh ValueJet 1624 through Stanford Marsh Group Graphics.”

Stanford Marsh was established 50 years ago and has been providing informed and impartial advice since its inception, thereby helping customers to make the right decision for immediate and long-term business requirements. The Stanford Marsh Group Graphics (SMGG) division was established in 2010 to focus on the graphics industry and has a dedicated sales force, service engineers and nationwide technical support coverage. 

On the selection of SMGG, Andy Walls explains, “As a new business, we were keen to work with a company that could simplify the whole purchasing and installation process.  The company offered us an end-to-end service from recommending a solution through to sorting out a way of leasing the chosen system – thereby helping us to retain more of our cash reserves. 

Targeted at the sign and display market, the Mutoh ValueJet 1624 printer appeals to both start-up and established businesses, and is suited to the production of long-term outdoor applications.  These might include full-colour posters, banners, backlit signage, POS displays, external notices for buildings, production plants and construction sites as well as adhesive signs and stickers.  The ValueJet 1624 is also an excellent choice for durable, photo-realistic prints for indoor usage.

The Mutoh ValueJet 1624 is covered under Mutoh’s standard warranty and – on the recommendation of SMGG – Dalesflex opted to deploy Mutoh’s Bulk Ink System (BIS).  Andy Walls states, “SMGG were very knowledgeable on what the Mutoh system could offer.  They correctly advised that buying the bulk ink would be significantly more cost-effective than purchasing individual cartridges.  The Mutoh BIS enables us to keep the running costs of the machine down, whilst sticking to OEM inks.”

ONYX’s RIP was installed on the machine and SMGG also provided training for the Dalesflex team on the software.

Dalesflex has already put the machine to good use with a short-turnaround piece of business won shortly before Christmas.  Andy Walls says, “On our previous printer, the project would have taken weeks.  However, with the new Mutoh successfully installed, we managed to print 250 linear metres of media in just three days.  It was unreal – the machine just ate the media!  If anything, our only issue following installation relates to the fact that we need to retrain our practices to keep up with the printer.”

On working with SMGG, Andy Walls concludes, “I would highly recommend SMGG.  The company offered us the best deal out of all the parties we contacted and made the purchasing and leasing process as seamless as possible – so smooth in fact, that I barely realised another finance company was involved.  The guys there are incredibly helpful and we know we have their support and back-up in the extremely unlikely event that we encounter any technical issues.”

For more information on Stanford Marsh Group Graphics, please visitwww.smgg.co.uk