ST ALBANS, UK - Graphics producer John E Wright has upgraded its ten-year-old PN L-2500 machine to a new G3 XL-3200 system from Zünd, increasing the business's speed, efficiency and capacity.

Nottingham-based John E Wright opted to replace its older cutter as its manual workflow meant operators had to edit clients' artwork to add camera dots and apply colour management. The new Zünd G3 was fitted with Prepare-it software to automate workflow, allowing John E Wright to significantly reduce its studio time preparing files for ripping and cutting.

"Better nesting saves money, as there's no manual guessing. What took hours now takes minutes as there's no physical cutting or preparing," says Alan Edwards, John E Wright's Technical Director. "There's virtually no manual cutting in the building at all now."

Edwards explains that new printing equipment expedited the requirement for a cutting equipment upgrade. "We replaced our HP flatbed printer with a new EFI VUTEk and the increase in speed resulted in a backlog in the cutting department," he says. "Zünd cutters are solid, reliable machines, built for heavy-duty work so we decided to stay with the manufacturer and chose the G3. Our workflow has sped up to the extent that we now have capacity for another new printer."

In addition to the print-to-cut workflow software Prepare-it, the machine was supplied with Zünd Cut Centre software plus a wide range of tooling including the 1KW router, V-cut tool, universal cutting tool, creasing tool and kiss-cut tool for vinyl. The G3 XL-3200 itself is designed with time-saving features including unobstructed access on all sides and an ergonomic control panel.

The G3 has enabled John E Wright to keep more work in house – formerly substrate manufacturers would cut materials to size – and to use thicker substrates. The company now uses more Dibond and 10mm acrylic in its display graphics work, which includes production the of banners, posters, POS and roll-ups – plus, recently, disposable furniture.

Zünd also supplied Packz software with the G3, giving John E Wright the opportunity to offer its clients an alternative product: packaging mock-ups. These are achieved 'in a matter of clicks', says Edwards.

Since installing the new G3, John E Wright has won a number of new prestigious retail contracts through improved workflow and a lower, more efficient, cost base. Temporary and permanent signage, POS displays and a host of other graphics using packaging tools are currently being produced for retail stores, with installations taking place overnight to allow them to stay open throughout these projects.

"It's great to see John E Wright use the upgrade to offer its clients more products and services," says Peter Giddings, Sales Director, Zünd UK. "We've had a relationship with the business for the last decade, servicing its previous PN system twice a year, and while it's still a reliable machine the automation of the new G3 offers many more opportunities."

Edwards adds that John E Wright's operating team was heavily involved in the decision-making process and three operators visited Zünd's St Albans demo centre on John E Wright's second trip to try out the G3, eventually recommending the purchase of a smaller model than originally planned. "The operators have been very complimentary," he says. "I've been surprised by how quickly we adapted to new machine and software – it ticks all the boxes and dropped in seamlessly."