UV Printer Unlocks Trio of Capabilities for Kansas In-plant

ADA-compliant signage is a necessity, so when the facilities department at Kansas State University (KSU) was looking to offload its sign work, University Printing eagerly accepted the challenge.

Ryan Moran, large-format and digital production supervisor, prints a sign on the new LogoJET UVx90R-SE at Kansas State University.

So started the hunt for a new piece of equipment. Anne Oswald, director of the Manhattan, Kansas-based shop, says not only was ADA compliance on her in-plant’s wish list, so were rigid signage and promotional products capabilities. She also wanted to be able to customize jobs and fulfill orders quickly.

“Often, the construction projects or the renovation projects, they'd be waiting on [ADA signs] so that they could have an inspection to get their permit for occupancy,” Oswald says. “So, we want to shorten the turnaround times on those.”

Tons of research and conversations with current users led Oswald to the LogoJET UVx90R-SE UV-LED direct-to-substrate printer, which can print substrates up to 24x36” and handle 3D objects up to 6” tall.

“We needed something we could print the ADA signs with, but we also wanted to be able to print to rigid and do the customization,” Oswald says. “We were pleased to find the one piece of equipment that would do all three.”

Since training on the printer at the beginning of January, the University Printing team has produced everything from license plates to foamboard posters. Oswald says the shop also got a rotary attachment to print on cups, and recently ordered a new attachment that enables printing on promotional products like golf balls, baseballs, and poker chips.

For Oswald, the ability to handle this range of work helps the in-plant better support the university — and is the main reason she was able to get approval for the printer to begin with.

The new LogoJET UVx90R-SE at Kansas State University.

“Being a university, we do a large volume of all three things: the ADA signs and the rigid signs and the promotional products,” she explains. “The volume is definitely high enough to justify the cost of running those in-house rather than sending them out — especially with the promotional products, because it's very expensive to do those short runs [externally] because they have minimum orders. So, people end up ordering a lot more than what they really need. But we can do it pretty affordably in-house.”

That helps customers save money and time. For instance, the in-plant can do same-day yard signs, which customers have been excited about.

However, being able to do quick turns is much more than a nice-to-have feature.

“We get a lot of last-minute orders for personalization and signs, and even the ADA signs,” Oswald says. “It's much quicker to be able to do it in-house.”

While University Printing has already done a variety of work with the LogoJET, the team is eager to try new things — especially while classes are out for summer break. Oswald recalls being inspired by a layered print she saw being done on the LogoJET during the Association of College and University Printers conference earlier this year.

“I'm anxious for us to try something like that,” she says.

She has no doubts that her team’s creativity will uncover new ways the shop can support its parent organization.

“We've really just scratched the surface of the capabilities,” she says.