FOSTER CITY, CA – August 20, 2007 – EFI, the world leader in color digital print servers, superwide format printers and inks, and print management solutions, reports that the FASTSIGNS center located in Nashville, Tennessee, has leveraged its investment in superwide format printing to drive significant business growth.
FASTSIGNS Quote
"We first implemented superwide format flatbed printing about two years ago," says Scott Snoyer, owner of the Nashville FASTSIGNS center. "Adding flatbed technology radically changed our business, and we quickly outgrew our first piece of equipment. Replacing it with EFI's VUTEk QS2000 has given us increased capacity, flexibility, speed and unbelievable quality that has put us on track to 20% year-over-year growth and ranked us at the very top of the Fast Signs network in terms of performance."
VUTEk QS2000
The VUTEk QS2000 offers superior image quality on both rigid and flexible substrates up to 80 inches (2 meters) wide and up to two inches (5.08 cm) thick, with changeover from flexible to rigid substrates in less than a minute. It features High Definition Printing at speeds of up to 750 square feet (70 square meters) per hour. The QS2000's six-color printing offers outstanding clarity and its seventh color presents new opportunities using white ink.
EFI Quote
"FASTSIGNS is a great example of how a small business can leverage technology to attain accelerated growth," said Chuck Dourlet, vice president of marketing, EFI VUTEk.  "With just 5,000 square feet of production space and 14 employees, Snoyer has taken his business to the next level with a combination of his vision and the capabilities he has acquired with the QS2000, especially the ability to broaden the range of applications he can efficiently produce by using white ink in the production process."
Superwide Applications
The applications Snoyer and his team are producing include:
- Signage for Goodwill stores: "When Goodwill opens a new store," says Snoyer, "there are 400 to 600 small promotional signs that need to be produced, carrying messages such as ‘20% off,' ‘buy one, get one free,' etc. Previously, these were cut-out vinyl letters mounted on white plastic.  Now we print them in bright, primary colors with a lot more style."
- Mall Signage: Snoyer produces a significant amount of mall signage for special events, holidays and other uses.  He is provided with preprinted offset shells, and prior to acquiring the QS2000, vinyl lettering was mounted on white plastic in the center of the sign to provide the special messaging. "Now that we can use white ink," adds Snoyer, "we overprint the offset shells and include more color, including logos and images, in one step for a more attractive sign that is still very cost-effective."