Printvision is an exhibition and retail print powerhouse supercharged by EFI VUTEk technology and CMYUK–supplied PONGS® textiles.

Brothers Ash and Krit Patel know a thing or two about wide format digital printing and dye sublimation, and so they should. The siblings have been offering wide format digital print services since 1996, and in 2011 became early adopters of large-format digital textile printing.

Their family-owned company specialises in fabric printing, POS display systems as well as bespoke products and solutions. While the company is a major trade print supplier in its own right, it also services a large and growing customer resale base through its www.printvision.co.uk, an impressive and prodigious collectanea of everything digital for the B2B space including exhibitions, retail, outdoor, event and digital displays. Its fabric offerings include every type of flag product imaginable as well as tents, gazebos, banners, printed furniture, PoS stands, counters, barriers and crowd control. You name it, Printvision has it, and if they don’t, well they’ll make one just for you.

“We facilitate customers of all sizes and provide a tailored end-to-end print management service,” says Krit Patel, Managing Director. “There is no project we will not consider and we can print to more materials than most companies.”

Two years ago, the company moved into a purpose built-factory, part of an investment worth £3m. This included the purchase of several new machines 2 x EFI VUTEk FabriVu 340s dye sublimation printers, Monti Antonio 901 heat press, and an EFI VUTEk LX3 Pro, a hybrid flatbed/roll fed LED printer.

The investment in this new equipment also allowed the company to open itself direct to retail brands. The establishment of a design department to create original artwork, plus an ability to install large retail jobs throughout mainland Europe and the UK has made this latest endeavour a very attractive proposition.

Customer service, experience and market knowledge is the triumvirate that has made Printvision the company that it is today, all of which is underpinned by a continual investment in technology.

“We were one of the first companies in the UK to move into digital textiles and so we’ve got a great deal of experience,” says Patel. “We go well beyond your basic flags and tablecloths. For the retail industry we do everything you would expect, such as lightboxes and TFS, but we transcend. We work with stretch and we do tubular. We produce counters and a great deal of bespoke work out of wood and aluminum for example, so we’re versatile in what we can do with PoS. We manufacture in the UK and outside of it. We also have a sourcing department. Our products are very different, and that’s why retailers like us."

Patel admits that digitally printing textiles can be a tricky business, and therefore guiding clients to the appropriate products and solutions is key.

Technical knowledge he says, is not always a given with buyers, and this is where really good customer service comes into its own. Large retailers that are looking to produce rollouts in multiple hundreds of stores across several countries, Printvision provides everything it can to make sure that outcomes meet or exceed expectations, so offering mock-ups and samples are just part of the service, but ultimately it’s about trust and reliability.

“We also know how to create long-lasting beneficial client relationships. We always give the right guidance and advice, brands know they are safe in our hands,” he says.

Ultimately, the reliability comes down to the machinery, and right at the core of Printvision sit the mighty FabriVu 340 dye sublimation printers. Featuring four-colour printing with exceptionally wide colour gamut, these printers have ultra high resolutions of 2400dpi. They print direct to textile or to transfer paper with the ability to changeover from one to the other.

“These are sheer workhorses which are exceptional when it comes to quality, colour richness and production speeds,” says Patel. “We’re servicing retail, trade and on-demand resale customers, and we know that with this dye sublimation duo, we have the capacity needed to deliver, and should any machine go down, we’ve got a back-up. They embody what Printvision stands for – excellence, innovation and true dependability.”

Backup is something that PrintVision has been enjoying from CMYUK, the UK’s largest independent supplier of digital printers, cutters and materials. Its digital textiles team has introduced the much lauded German-made PONGS® digital textiles to the company, replacing unstable, unreliable non-European materials. It has also updated colour management processes on the two FabriVU 340s to ensure true colour matching especially with Pantones across the wide spectrum of textile applications and products.

CMYUK’s Key Account Manager Damien Clarke said, “The switch to PONGS® materials from a company with Printvision’s calibre demonstrates both the strength of CMYUK’s material offerings and its technical support.”

Printvision is now predominantly using three PONGS® textiles including PONGS® SoftImage Elastico FR, a crease-resistant and stretchy knitted textile perfect for pop ups, Tension Frame Systems (TFS), table and chair coverings; PONGS® Direct-Tex Softimage Contrast Black Back textile, a high quality polyester material with a total block out black reverse, perfect for expo walls and backdrops; and PONGS® Softimage Creaseless Premium FR, a true, creaseless display textile designed for TFS, banners and table cloths.

“PONGS® materials are a perfect fit for our retail and soft signage offerings,” says Patel. “They are quality products with excellent reproduction and image sharpness. Where there is stretch, there is excellent recovery too. Our clients have already noticed the considerable benefits from these products.”

All products printed on the EFI VUTEk FabriVU 340