Page 22 - Print21 Jan-Feb 2020

Wide Format Printing
Cactus buys second
Fujifilm Acuity Ultra
Cactus Imaging has added a second Fujifilm Acuity Ultra to its stable, the eight-colour inkjet grand-format machine joining its existing four-colour-plus-white printer.
Pioneering wide format print producer Cactus Imaging has installed its second grand format Fujifilm Acuity Ultra in the space of
12 months, and the latest comes with a higher production capability.
The new Fujifilm gives oOh!Media-owned Cactus the same high resolution and quality of its first Acuity Ultra, says Nigel Spicer, general manager, but doubles its capacity and speed by doubling the number of heads.
“We decided to add the new
Acuity Ultra on the experience of
the first one: the quality, speed, and the ability to print on a variety of different substrates and different elements. It doesn’t just do billboards – it does fabrics, self-adhesives, wallpapers and so on.
“We will use it mainly for billboards and street furniture, but it will also complement the growing market outside of billboards, such as high-end retail, commercial design, and window graphics. It’s a versatile machine,” he says.
According to Spicer, 2019 was fruitful for Cactus, which has a strong market position going into the new year.
“We’re really pushing hard and looking forward to 2020. The market seems to be in a good place, and we’re anticipating producing a lot of square metres for a lot of different clients,” he says.
Cactus installed Australia’s first Fujifilm Acuity Ultra printer at the end of 2018, which it showed off in February last year at an open house event in conjunction with Fujifilm Australia and Fespa Australia (then the SGIAA).
Speaking at the open house to launch the new printer, Keith Ferrel said Cactus was always looking for new solutions to please clients.
And then there were two: Nigel Spicer, general manager (right) and Glenn Moffatt, production manager, with Cactus Imaging’s second Fujifilm Acuity Ultra
“We are always keeping on top of developments. We work closely with manufacturers, and often they are asking us for feedback.
“We spend a lot of time on aeroplanes travelling around the world, and we are always thinking 18 months to two years ahead,” he said.
Speaking of the Acuity Ultra, he said, “We have one of the first in the world, and we could not be happier with the quality.” Cactus is a long time Fujifilm advocate.
Cactus produces between 10,000sqm and 20,000sqm of wide format print every day, in a 24 hour operation. Nigel Spicer revealed that the mammoth job of keeping on top of the workflow, materials and scheduling is achieved through the company’s self-developed CPS (Cactus Productivity System).
He said, “Our CPS is the superglue that holds production together.”
Although Cactus is now owned by outdoor media giant oOh! Media, it operates as a stand-alone business. Its parent is one of the big two outdoor media companies. In an exclusive interview in the Nov-Dec issue of Print21, Brendan Cooke, CEO of oOh! Media, told editor Wayne Robinson that print remains a key plank in the outdoor giant’s strategy. He said, “The clients, the marketing agencies, the advertising agencies, they all see the benefit
of classic (print). From a pure advertising point of view, classic provides all the great strengths that the media has always had – it has stood the test of time.”
The Acuity Ultra comes in 5 metre and 3.2 metre widths,
with up to eight colour channels, including white. Ink is a new low film weight Uvijet GS Fujifilm product. Drop size is 3 picolitre, which Fujifilm says delivers the highest quality. It will print at up to 236sqm an hour, or 60sqm an hour in 1200x1800dpi mode. 21
“We’re really pushing hard and looking forward to 2020. The market seems to be in a good place, and we’re anticipating producing a lot of square metres for a lot of different clients.” – Nigel Spicer, Cactus Imaging
22 Print21 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020