ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. — Imagic is big into large-format digital printing. As in train wraps and tunnel graphics big. The 50-employee firm invested in Screen’s Truepress Jet W3200UV HS high-speed inkjet flatbed printer to drive the next big stage in its development. 

“We were investigating flatbed systems before the high-throughput W3200UV HS became commercially available in 2014,” recalled David Allman, a partner in Imagic. “The quality of the standard speed W3200UV impressed us greatly. When Screen later presented us with the high-speed model of the printer, that certainly made us sit up and take notice.”

People have been taking notice of Imagic’s imaging magic since 1989. Located a few miles from Hollywood in Burbank, Calif., the “Media Capital of the World,” the boutique print shop started life as a high-end studio catering to moviemakers and world-renowned lensmen. Movie companies and creative agencies contracted with Imagic to finish one sheets and perform expert photo retouching. 

“The pace of evolution in the digital world keeps accelerating, and the movie industry embraced digital technology very early on,” Allman said.

So did Allman. The former representative for a distributor of graphic arts equipment joined Imagic in 2003, bringing with him expertise in transit and outdoor advertising. It wasn’t long before Imagic branched out into vehicle wraps, banners and wallscapes. All the while, Imagic never strayed from the high-caliber imaging that serves as its calling card.

With three buildings on the same street in Burbank and sales offices landing clients in major U.S. metropolitan areas, Imagic prints and installs visually striking graphics destined for train stations, subways, airports and some of the most challenging viewing situations imaginable. Roll-fed and flatbed printing equipment handle complex jobs using banner material, 48-point card stock, polyvinyl chloride foam board and styrene. Eco-solvent, latex and UV-curable printing systems have replaced solvent-based machines over the past four years, in keeping with Imagic’s commitment to the environment and California’s strict emissions standards.

The newest addition to the fleet features a 62.9 x 125.9-inch table with a zoned vacuum bed. Screen’s newly developed printhead modules deliver 1,000 dpi image quality with high-density Truepress CMYK inks plus light cyan and light magenta and two white channels. Additional printheads hike the maximum running speed to 1,614 square feet per hour, compared with 914 square feet per hour achieved by the standard version of the Truepress Jet W3200UV. 
 
“The speed and performance are exactly what we wanted,” Allman said. “The W3200UV HS prints amazingly at a fairly good clip. Images are sharper, and colors are more brilliant. Registration is extremely tight for printing on the front and back of substrates. We feel the superior quality will open up markets with more discerning clients and expand opportunities in existing applications, such as high-end architectural graphics.”

For Imagic, the Truepress Jet W3200UV HS represents a step up from previous flatbed equipment. 

“Historically, print service providers have been skeptical whenever manufacturers claimed that a machine can print up to X square feet an hour,” Allman pointed out. “In a printing environment, you would cut the estimated speed in half to get sellable quality at real production speeds. Based on what we’ve seen and also on the reputation that Screen has amassed over the years in the printing and publishing industries, we fully intend to run the W3200UV HS at 1,600 square feet or more an hour.”

Screen USA will present daily demonstrations of the Truepress Jet W3200UV HS in Booth #2081 at SGIA Expo 2014, October 22-24 at the Las Vegas (Nev.) Convention Center.