The Garvey Group, a network of advertising, marketing, print production, support, and fulfillment divisions located in the Midwest, has become the first printer in the United States to install Screen’s Truepress Jet2500UV grand format UV inkjet printer. The installation took place in January 2009 and since then the company has been consistently producing high quality tightly calibrated grand-format work on the new printer.
 
“The new Truepress Jet2500UV grand format inkjet printer gives us unique capabilities that we never had before,” says David Nolte, vice president of sales for The Garvey Group. “The Truepress can print up to 1500 dpi at very high speeds in full color plus opaque whites on substrates up to 1.9” thick. We also have our machine color-managed with our Certified G7 status which allows us to match printed pieces off our presses or expand the color gamut for products that are stand-alone. We can print roll-to-roll 91-inches wide x 160-inches or flat bed 91-inches wide x 52-inches long. In addition, this press features brand new UV ink technology offering a VOC-free output and flexibility and light safe not found in traditional UV ink jet. It is ideal for point-of-purchase, point-of-sale, floor graphics retail signs, banner, bus shelters, transit advertising, fabric, metal, wood, plastic, paper and board.”
 
In order to offer the highest quality on the new Truepress as well as its other offset presses, The Garvey Group recently received its G7 Master Printer status from the International Digital Enterprise Alliance (IDEAlliance), the global leader in developing, educating, and validating best practices in media, publishing, and information technology. The Garvey Group is one of just 370 companies worldwide to achieve this distinction. G7 Master Status identifies printing companies, prepress service providers, and agencies that have been trained to use the G7 Proof-to-Print Process, a calibration method that allows printers to reliably achieve a close visual match from proof to press. Earning the qualification signifies that a company uses the most modern technology and techniques required to ensure color fidelity throughout the printing process.
 
Weeks of intensive review to earn G7 Master Status
 
“Our company underwent several weeks of intensive review by a G7 expert consultant, who measured and tested our company's presses and evaluated their proofing system against known G7 standards,” explains Nolte. “To maintain our G7 Master status, The Garvey Group will undergo a yearly re-qualification.”
 
Introduced at Drupa 2008, the Truepress Jet2500UV is a versatile grand-format inkjet printing system designed for markets that demand high-quality, high-speed printing. It is compatible with substrates and applications ranging from point-of-purchase materials to posters, banners and textiles.
 
"The detail of printed images is what really sets the Truepress Jet2500UV apart from other inkjet machines," says Dennis Muraro, general manager of the Garvey Group's commercial printing facility in Milwaukee, Wis., where the Truepress is installed. "The Truepress Jet2500UV not only has the ability to print images at a higher resolution than competing inkjet printers, but the variable dot technology helps produce superior quality when imaging fine detail or high-density areas," Muraro adds. "If you compare images printed on the Truepress Jet2500UV with images printed on other inkjet equipment, the Screen images look superior."
 
The Truepress Jet2500UV offers the perfect balance of speed, quality and productivity on diverse substrates up to 1.9" thick and 98.4" wide. It achieves output speeds up to 726.5 square feet per hour, making it one of the fastest high-level digital printers. The Truepress Jet2500UV combines efficient handling of rigid substrates and the flexibility of reel printing for rolled media. It affords minimal setup time, low print waste and the ability to print directly onto thick panels or flexible materials cost-effectively.
 
“We continue to work on profiling all of the many different substrates for use on the Truepress,” says Greg Ebert, prepress manager for the firm’s Milwaukee facility. “We’re using the ORIS Press Matcher workflow software to automatically convert digital files to our customer profiles or industry standard profiles that match our hard proofs.”

The Truepress Jet2500UV uses a grayscale head with eight levels. It comes standard with four process colors and is optionally available for printing up to seven colors, including a pre-white function. UV-curable ink makes it possible to print on a wide variety of substrates with consistent color and quality. The Truepress Jet2500UV offers high resolution up to 1,500 dpi.
 
The Garvey Group has positioned its new press as a high-quality machine to produce prototypes, sales samples, and small production runs on all types of substrates, sizes, and thicknesses. “Everyone has been extremely happy with the results,” says Nolte. “We have exceeded our clients’ expectations with the level of quality that comes off our new machine.”
 
Unique applications
 
"We are very impressed by the flexibility of the Truepress Jet2500UV," Muraro adds. "We already see some unique applications for backlit displays, point-of-purchase materials, prototype printing and projects using thick substrates."
 
Once the press completes printing the job, the firm’s post-press department begins finishing with its new GBC laminator. The laminator can apply over-laminates, matte, dull, hot or cold gloss and adhesive applications. The Garvey Group also recently installed the first Zund G3 2XL-1600 router/cutter/plotter to trim any size steel rule die-free, all from vector art based to give exact cuts, scores, perforations, hole cuts, and kiss cutting. The company has the ability to grommet and heat-weld any project. The Zund G3, introduced at Drupa 2008, features solid heavy-duty construction, user-friendly operation, reduced energy consumption, high productivity, and cost efficiency.
 
“The Zund G3 offers us much faster speeds,” says Ebert. “It saves us time on setting up jobs, the software is easier to use, and in total the cutter is one-third faster than Zund’s previous XL models. The Zund is so fast we’re going to look into new avenues of revenue to cut vinyls, window graphics, and department store graphics. It’s been a great addition and gives us a total solution.”
 
The Garvey Group is a network of advertising, marketing, print production, support, and fulfillment divisions located in the Midwest and dedicated to the design, production, and distribution of graphic and electronic communication materials. Founded in 1919 and headquartered in Niles, Illinois, The Garvey Group has additional facilities in the Wisconsin cities of Sturtevant, Oak Creek, Racine, and Milwaukee. The Garvey Group’s growth has been driven by consistent ownership—three generations of Garveys—along with dedication to professionalism; utilization of the latest technologies; personal service; an eye for detail; and the quality, security, and accuracy of its work.