Acuity Select: ADS2 Brands

Increased speed, reduced waste

“The methods we previously used for producing both shrouds and optical logos were complex, time-intensive and expensive,” says Wilce. “We had to print the shrouds initially onto clear film – very slowly to ensure the requisite quality and density of colour – and then back them up with white self-adhesive vinyl before thermoforming and trimming. The printing process for the optical logos was equally slow, as we had to use a special adhesion primer and we experienced very high wastage due to static issues.

Our Acuity Select investment, in the summer of 2016, revolutionised the whole process. We slashed our typical turnaround times from four weeks to one, cut our per-unit production costs by more than 60 per cent, massively increased our capacity for large orders, and substantially reduced our waste.”

Specialist ink for maximum quality & durability

“Fujifilm’s Uvijet KV inks are perfect for thermoforming, they’re extremely high-quality and incredibly robust. We’ve had no issues with cracking and our customers have been delighted with the quality. One of our major clients even won a design award in Scotland thanks in part to our work for them.”

Increased capacity

“At the time of the first Acuity installation we were looking to fill an order for 5,000 units for a major brewery customer. Using our previous printing processes we would have struggled to deliver this. Now, a year and half later, we’ve delivered more than 14,000 units to that customer and are working on 2,000 more.”

A second press investment to explore new markets

ADS2 Brands invested in a second press in the summer of 2017 to boost the business still further. “Having created and then filled a lot of extra capacity, it made sense to invest in a second press rather than outsource the additional work that was coming our way. We have a huge range of large brewers among our clients and a second press has enabled us to offer the same high quality products at high speed to all of them, as well as giving us the opportunity to branch out into the water dispenser and soft drinks markets to a much greater extent.

Working with Fujifilm

“Fujifilm has been fantastic to work with right from the start. We have bought inks from them in the past – so we had some history with the company – but we hadn’t invested in Fujifilm hardware before. They have been attentive and very quick to respond to problems or questions, while the presses themselves have been great to work with. Downtime has been minimal, meaning that we have been able to use them to their full potential.”