Potts Print installs the UK’s first Acuity F

Print Solutions

Potts Print has selected Fujifilm as its partner for future growth and installed two Acuity machines – the Acuity F and the Acuity LED 1600 II.

Potts recently expanded into wide format digital printing, acquiring large format specialist, Digital XL Services in 2014 and, appointing Digital XL’s owners Iain McDougal and Keith McHugh to head up the new division.

Towards the end of 2014, with a view to accelerating the growth of this new division, Iain, Keith and the rest of the Potts senior management team started looking for high quality equipment to help them achieve this. They also wanted to find a supplier whose complete product portfolio and service proposition demonstrated a clear path for the company to grow with that supplier as its wide format division expanded.

After six months exploring the market and meeting with manufacturers and suppliers, a visit to Fujifilm’s Advanced Print Technology Centre in Brussels proved pivotal in Potts’ decision. Keith McHugh said, ‘The Brussels visit really opened our eyes to our potential future in wide format. We were there primarily to look at the Acuity F, as we needed a high performance flatbed to meet growing customer demand. We obviously liked what we saw as we ended up buying that machine – a UK first – and we have been very happy with it. But the decision to go with Fujifilm wasn’t just about the Acuity F – or any other single machine – but about Fujifilm’s product portfolio as a whole and the support they offer along the way.’

Then the Potts team caught sight of the Acuity LED 1600 II: ‘It was an impulse purchase in a sense,’ said Keith. ‘This machine was not even on our radar, but we saw it in action in Brussels while looking at the Acuity F and we recognised its potential for running bespoke, short runs – alongside the longer runs handled by the Acuity F. Together they are a great combination for the business.’

Business development director John Conway is also looking forward to establishing Potts as a formidable presence in the wide format digital sector: ‘With our established range of sheet fed lithographic, short run digital, mailing and fulfilment services, our wide format digital print offering complements and supports our aim to become a ‘one stop’ print solutions company. We work with some powerful brands and have already completed several major projects with them that have included wide format print during 2015. With this latest investment we can now work closely with our clients to deliver a complete project, every time, seamlessly and without compromise on quality or turnaround.’