Digital Print Products, a division of Flexo Trade Print, recently suffered a major fire resulting in the destruction of its entire line-up of digital printing machinery. Keen to get back up and running, the company has wasted no time in replacing the lost equipment – and the first to respond was SOS, with the installation of two 64-inch Roland roll-fed print-and-cut machines, a TruVIS LG640 LED-UV machine and a TruVIS VG3 640 which uses solvent-based inks.

General Manager Andy Wilcox will remember the night of July 29th 2024 for a long time. “The fire started in an adjacent unit at around 11pm and it took until 3.30 the following morning to put out,” he says. “There were at least two explosions, and when I arrived I advised the firemen to keep the flames away from areas where flammable materials were stored, which prevented something even worse!”

It took 65 fire fighters using 11 fire engines and a drone to put the fire out. The next day, Andy and his staff were faced with a difficult situation. The company’s main business since its formation in 2002 is in Flexo platemaking for the trade. Thankfully apart from some water to clear and drying-out to be done this department was virtually intact and able to function after just a few days. Not so the company’s Digital print department, which was totally destroyed, mainly by heat and smoke damage.

“We had a Roland LEC2-640 UV machine and VSI-640 Eco-solvent which were write-offs,” says Andy. “SOS were very quick to offer replacements, and the installations and training were done ahead of schedule so our digital printing recommenced within three weeks of the fire!”

The Roland machines are like-for-like replacements, with some key differences. “The latest Rolands have some new features. They have different print heads and they generally run faster, and we especially like the high capacity ink cartridges, which are three times the size of the old ones, allowing for longer running times without intervention,” says Andy. “An excellent innovation is the automatic cleaning cartridges which constantly keep the heads clean, and reduce maintenance. Overall, the output quality is as good as ever.”

The Digital print department has been running at the company since 2012, taking orders from trade customers and increasingly from end-users who find the company through a dedicated website. The division continues to grow to the point where it now accounts for 20% of turnover, and produces a wide range of products including posters, banners, floor & window graphics but – most successfully – adhesive labels. On occasion they also produce signage by mounting the Roland output to board. The two new Roland machines use different ink technologies for different applications, and colour combinations including gloss, white, light magenta, light black and light orange, giving Andy and his team the ultimate in flexibility.

Flexo Trade Print/Digital Print Products has a turnover which grew by a fifth last year to well past the half-million mark. It has 9 staff and operates from a 6,000 sq ft premises in Willenhall, West Midlands. It has been an SOS customer for over 10 years. As Andy says - “We have a great relationship with SOS and they have proven to be the right people to call in an emergency!”