New Flatbed Right Fit for UT Austin

Space was limited, so a small footprint was essential. That’s one thing Richard Beto knew for sure when he started making plans to add flatbed inkjet printing to his in-plant’s portfolio of wide-format equipment at The University of Texas at Austin. The new machine, a Mimaki (Booth C8123) JFX200-2513EX printer, installed in January, seems to be the right fit.

Beto, director of UT Austin’s 50-employee Document Solutions department, began sourcing the new flatbed printer in 2019, when the annual PRINTING United Expo was held in Dallas.

“On the floor at PRINTING United,” he says, “I saw things I thought we could do and sell.”

While he shopped equipment from several flatbed manufacturers, Beto says the Mimaki unit was at the top of his list, given its footprint, its price point, and the strong recommendations of in-plant colleagues. Further, the flatbed — the in-plant’s first Mimaki machine — complemented its existing Colex (Booth C6422) cutter.

The move to acquire a flatbed, Beto says, was driven by a people-focused production bottleneck. Mounting substrate to rigid boards was slowing production. Not only has that bottleneck been eliminated, Beto says, “clearly, we can do a lot more things we weren’t capable of before.”

The shop is utilizing the flatbed to produce directional and event signage. Further, the flatbed is being used to print directly onto acrylic or Plexiglas, then installed to walls using stand-offs, to create permanent signage for museum displays. 

By installing the flatbed printer, the in-plant has not only added new capabilities, but has added value, and Beto believes the new capability has kept customers from looking off-campus for this type of work.

“We’re easier to work with,” he adds.

Beto says Mimaki provided three days of training on the JFX200-2513EX, and his staff quickly took to the new device.

“I’m really fortunate to have a staff that embraces the idea that if I drag something in there, I know somebody is going to learn it,” he says. With the flatbed, that “somebody” was Greg Hitchens, the shop’s electronic prepress technician. Hitchens says faster production of rigid signs, where the need for mounting is eliminated, has been beneficial. He adds that this process is also producing less waste, reducing the shop’s environmental footprint.

Hitchens says the shop has been doing “lots of foamcore signs.” He says this and other work has kept the flatbed printer running, which is good for revenue. Other materials used include Coroplast, Gatorboard, and acrylic. 

The enthusiasm with which The University of Texas at Austin team views its new Mimaki flatbed unit is a strong testament to the value new technologies can bring to in-plant operations. In sourcing the new machine, Beto took full advantage of the PRINTING United Expo, which provides the widest choice of technologies and solutions for in-plants and companies across the printing spectrum. 

“It’s almost committing a sin to miss that event,” he says.