Modular Zünd G3 helps Bobcat Digital expand

Print Solutions

Bobcat Digital has installed a Zünd G3 L2500 as part of an investment package from CMYUK, which will help it expand and evolve.

The Newport Pagnell based print company was founded around three years ago by Robert Blackburn and Louise Owen, who spotted the growth of digital print and signage production while working at a litho printing business. Until recently Bobcat Digital, which is now a team of nine, was relying on a 1.3 metre wide Mimaki printer, a small Xerox production printer and hand tools for cutting.

It has a customer base spanning retail, exhibitions and, increasingly, construction – hoardings and health and safety signs are now regular work. To meet demand the company decided to invest in a new EFI Vutek wide format printer from CMYUK, but this presented the problem of keeping up with additional output using hand finishing techniques.

‘We wouldn't have been able to handle the additional work by hand cutting,’ explained Robert Blackburn, ‘so we went to Sign and Digital UK 2016 and looked at several cutting machines on show there.

‘We saw the Zünd and then spoke to a number of local companies who use Zünd equipment – there is obviously a reason why so many people buy them!’

The Bobcat team visited Zünd's demonstration centre in St Albans to see the Zünd G3 in more detail.

‘That was a real eye opener,’ continued Robert. ‘The flexibility of the machine's modular construction means that we can see what it can do then add to it and change it at a later date, without a big initial layout.’

Like all Zünd digital cutting tables, the Zünd G3 is designed with robust components and tools that can be combined to create the ideal system for each individual customer, while allowing changes, expansions and upgrades in the future. Its adjustable, energy efficient vacuum generators help materials up to 50 mm thick stay where they are during processing to produce the perfect finish, and intelligent safety features protect operators from its powerful cutting tools.

Currently the cutting table is used mainly for X-Y cutting on standard Foamex board and routing and engraving on acrylic, wood and thick Foamex to produce commercial signage. The business hopes to expand in 2017 after further exploring the Zünd's present capabilities – and how additional and alternative tools can better serve Bobcat's customers.