Framingham State University Builds Business With Flatbed Inkjet Printing

These days, the move into flatbed printing may seem more like a necessity than an opportunity for in-plants. The signs they produce are the “bread and butter” elements of their wide-format offerings — the day-to-day work that proves their value.

For most in-plants, their move into wide-format begins with an investment in roll-to-roll equipment. To produce rigid signs they had to print them on a flexible substrate, then mount them onto a rigid backer — a process both time-consuming and labor-intensive.

A flatbed inkjet printer solves that, enabling direct printing onto rigid substrates. But it can do so much more, especially as shops begin to realize the possibilities.

Discovering the Benefits

“We’ve had it for about three years,” says Dillon Handy, Print Services supervisor at Framingham State University (Framingham, Massachusetts), about his in-plant’s Xanté X-16 flatbed printer.

One big driver for the purchase of the flatbed, Handy says, was the ability to produce lawn signs internally; the shop used to outsource them. And while he says the Xanté is not the fastest printer on the market, “it gets the job done. It’s nice to have the flexibility to do short runs in a short timeframe.”

The flatbed has also proven valuable in its ability to — with the use of a jig — produce name badges for the university. Handy says that previously, name badges were produced outside the shop at more than five times their current in-house cost of production.

Asked about the applications his shop produces with the flatbed system, which features an 18x24" print bed and print height adjustment up to 7.75", he lists signage, ID cards, golf balls, baseballs, water bottles, Mason-jar style glass mugs, as well as subsurface printing on acrylic.

“It’s an ever-evolving thing,” Handy says. “If we’re confident in the ink adhering to the surface, we’ll try it,” he adds.

Getting started with the flatbed system, Handy says, was relatively easy. He adds that while the system worked “pretty much out of the box,” one complication was getting the machine into the building — a task that required four people. Once the printer was in place, he says, a technician flew in to do the installation and training.

While the Xanté wasn’t difficult to learn to use, he says, “it was different. Lots of little things to learn about.” The tech helped his team learn how to use an optional rotary attachment, which makes possible the printing of cylindrical objects, such as water bottles.

Handy says the flatbed has improved the value the in-plant brings to the university. Once the shop started using it to offer such a wide range of items, and university departments saw the possibilities and the ability to save money, he says, “it has changed the viewpoint of the department.”