29 January 2007 After diligent research for a more productive way to print, mount and finish high quality display materials, CSI/Infinite (CSI) of Falls Church, VA, has installed an Inca Digital Columbia Turbo wide format digital inkjet printer, sold by Inca Digital's distributor, Fujifilm Sericol. CSI, originally one of the largest composition and typesetting tradeshops in the Metro DC area, has focused on large format, grand format, and short-run color printing since the late 90's. Utilizing cutting-edge technology coupled with a highly skilled 60+-person workforce, the company provides high quality printing and graphics solutions, delivered with fast turnaround times, all at reasonable prices. In December of 2005, CSI merged with Infinite Photo & Imaging, a graphics production company specializing in high-end museum display work. Although they had inherited a flatbed printer from the merger, CSI continued looking for a more productive wide format flatbed printer, knowing it would be a valuable tool for their retail customers. The printer would create retail and trade show graphics on a wide variety of substrates. The company conducted a 4 1/2-year long investigation of all flatbed printer options and manufacturers. "Some people recommended hybrids, but just about everyone we interviewed said it was used primarily as a roll-fed or flatbed, not both," says Rob Harris, CSI co-owner. "You can't do both things very well on one machine. It sounds like a great idea, but it never works in practice. There has to be some sort of sacrifice, be it speed, ease of use, or even quality. Since we already owned a solid roll-to-roll machine, we really wanted the best dedicated flatbed press we could find." Before purchasing the Columbia Turbo, Harris and his team made a number of visits to Fujifilm Sericol in the US, and even Inca Digital's headquarters in the UK. "We considered less expensive and slower printers, but were concerned that we would quickly outgrow them," comments Harris. The most obvious thing CSI noticed was the speed-ten times faster than their 'legacy' flatbed printer. Two years after its launch, the Inca Columbia Turbo is still the world's fastest digital UV flatbed printer, printing onto rigid or flexible materials up to 1.5" thick and 126" x 63" in size. Producing high quality, repeatable results at speeds up to 1,720 sqft/hr it is ideal for a wide range of applications including large format advertising, signage and exhibition graphics printing. "CSI jobs that used to take us 4-5 days can be delivered the same or next day," notes Harris. A month after the installation in CSI's newest facility, the whole process has been smooth. "Both the Inca Digital and Fujifilm Sericol people have given us a lot of support with the introduction of the Columbia Turbo printer in our business" says Harris. "Although we haven't tested a complete range of substrates, the Fujifilm Sericol Uvijet ink system prints onto almost anything from paper and board to a wide range of plastics." He concludes," The Fujifilm Sericol ink gamut has been great. The colors we're getting are extremely vivid." The Columbia Turbo has proved its versatility. For example, CSI had planned a small run on their direct-to-plate offset press. Unfortunately, the press had some difficulty with feeding the custom stock. Although it's not something they would do on a regular basis, they ran the 2-sided job on the same stock on the Columbia Turbo. "The Columbia Turbo's drive system and the fact that it is a dedicated flatbed allowed us to achieve exceptional printing accuracy," says Harris. "CSI knows from talking with customers that printing budgets are being stretched tighter and tighter. No one is satisfied with the one and two-color print jobs that used to excite people just a few years ago. Clients are now demanding full color in every job. Throw constant revisions, short product cycles, and shorter turnaround times into the mix and you have a serious dilemma. Throughout our research, we found nothing faster, nor anything close to the quality-even 6-8 color printers," summarizes Harris. "The Columbia Turbo is certainly the best fit for us and for our clients."