Art Craft Display Trades Up to Improve Wide-Format Production

Art Craft Display is well established as a leader in the trade show and convention industry. With offices in Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Detroit, Mich., the company continues to exceed customer expectations by providing outstanding services and expertise that has satisfied clients since 1958.

Art Craft Display provides a complete menu of trade show services and products, including well-maintained booth equipment, drapery, furniture, and carpeting. As part of its portfolio, the company also offers wide-format printing services.

The signage and display team at Art Craft Display was in the market for a direct-to-substrate, wide-format printer, and put Agfa’s (Booth 8242) Anapurna H2500i LED through its paces.

“We compared our sample files on the Anapurna against more expensive UV printers, and measured them all at the same quality and the same production speeds,” explains Kam Bechtol, sign department manager, Art Craft Display. “The quality, speed, and versatility of the Anapurna H2500i LED won us over. We can achieve print to finished product six to eight times faster, with exceptional output. This six-color hybrid printer produces banners and larger sign panels up to 98", and it is easy to switch over to roll media.”

To streamline and automate its printing process, Art Craft Display is running Asanti workflow on the Anapurna H2500i LED. Asanti production hub features Agfa’s color management solution, and integrates with the latest version of Adobe PDF Print Engine (APPE). This workflow automates prepress, production, and finishing, minimizing manual interventions. Asanti avoids errors and shortens procedures, ultimately simplifying the printing process.

“With the help of Asanti we can automatically produce straight edge cut files and registration marks directly on the material as it prints, which works seamlessly with our cutting equipment and expedites finishing,” adds Bechtol. “Asanti is a handy tool that makes editing easier.”

“For example,” he continues, “Asanti can automatically, if desired, carry a file-bleed or rotation edit across all art files in a job that has multiple prints on the same material. There is no need to edit each file, which is time consuming for jobs with large quantities. The whole printing process is streamlined.”

With a printing width of 98" (2.5m), the Anapurna H2500i LED combines high quality with high productivity. This high-speed (up to 1,238 sqft/hr) hybrid six-color plus white UV LED-curable inkjet system is ideal for indoor and outdoor applications, on both rigid and flexible media. Its solid, robust design sustains higher workloads. The white ink function creates possibilities such as printing on transparent material for backlit applications, or printing white as a spot color. The efficient Anapurna H2500i LED saves time by printing pre-, post-, and sandwich-white in one run.

“Our clients wasted no time telling us they were impressed with the vibrancy and color saturation of the output of the signs on the Anapurna,” notes Bechtol. “The reds and oranges are vivid, and our signage pops.”

In an industry that depends on getting clients noticed, Art Craft Display is showcasing their new capabilities, and demonstrating their expertise while exceeding their customer’s expectations.

With the help of Agfa’s Anapurna H2500i LED and Asanti workflow, Art Craft Display continues to exceed customer expectations.