PCI Printing Sets New Course with EFI Printers

Seeking a time-saving solution

Nix was also looking for the ability to print directly onto rigid media, and to update cumbersome production processes. Producing foamcore board posters, for example, was an intensive exercise that involved printing on adhesive vinyl, waiting 15 to 20 minutes for the ink to dry before gluing the vinyl to the board, and then waiting another eight hours if the job needed lamination. “It was critical to be able to print directly onto rigid media. We do more than 50 foamcore boards a month, so we were wasting a lot of time,” says Nix.

PCI Printing was incurring a lot of overtime as a result of the labor shortages and time-wasting mounting procedures. Nix and his staff were overburdened, and since they had difficulty meeting customer demand, the company was also outsourcing a substantial amount of printing. All of these challenges and inefficiencies increased turnaround time, erased profits on existing jobs, and limited the ability of the company to take on more business and grow.

It was with these issues in mind that PCI approached Ricoh (Booth 7001), an EFI (Booth 8233) reseller and an existing supplier to PCI for digital toner presses. “I asked Ricoh, ‘What can I do to print directly onto rigid media, cut production time, and take steps out of my process,’” says Nix.

Ricoh recommended the 65"-wide EFI Pro 16h LED hybrid printer. The printer features an EFI Fiery proServer Core digital front end (DFE) — which was beneficial for PCI Printing because the staff was already familiar with EFI Fiery workflows on their Ricoh digital presses.

“I already used EFI Fiery DFEs, and I knew EFI’s reputation in the industry,” Nix says. “Knowing all of that made the decision to add the EFI printer even easier.

“Ricoh has been a great partner for us,” Nix adds. “We’ve been with them for seven years, and they’ve always been there addressing our needs. Whenever someone comes into our shop, they always compliment us on the quality we output, and Ricoh has been a big part of that.”