Wide Format Imaging

When Glenn Dewhirst of Prism Creative Inc. went to ISA this year he was looking for a new printer that would not only increase his productivity but would also offer him the chance to print on a variety of substrates. He found all he needed in one product?the Toucan LT from Mutoh.

The new Toucan LT combines the best of Mutoh technologies from their Toucan and Falcon II Outdoor family of printers. There are two models accommodating media widths of 64- or 87-inches. The LT has six print heads delivering resolutions up to 1440 dpi at typical productions speeds of 200-sq. ft. per hour.

"We chose the Toucan LT 64-inch printer because of it's output quality, and the cost of the machine was very competitive with the market. It was also easy to use and produces very little wasted media or ink on jobs," says Dewhirst of Prism Creative Inc., a full service creative advertising and design shop located in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada.

"Right away we could see much better productivity. With the Toucan LT, we were able expand our media options. Virtually everything you can output to whether it be adhesive vinyl, vehicle vinyl, backlit mesh banner, and window per vinyl, fabrics, various vinyl banners, and various paper stocks, you name it we have printed on it. The printer is extremely versatile," reports DeWhirst. "We never again have to sacrifice quality regardless of the substrate we print on," he adds.

The Toucan LT is the only printer in its class to include a heavy-duty media feed and take-up system for effortless unattended printing. "The Toucan LT has helped us increase production and profits by allowing us to tackle large jobs overnight, leaving day-time business hours free for more hands-on applications. Equipped with a heavy-duty feed system, the Toucan LT is designed to accommodate 220 pounds of media, even during unattended print runs. This has made a huge difference to our bottom line by eliminating man power in the equation in most cases day or night and as well improved turnaround times," says Dewhirst.

That feature came in handy on a recent big project for Canadian shopping center developer Ivanhoe Cambridge for their Oakville Mall location. Prism produced and installed about 4000 sq. ft of mural applications in an area where Ivanhoe Cambridge was building a new addition to the mall. "Original watercolor paintings were scanned and blown up to in some cases 20x30 feet and installed. Printing much of the job overnight allowed us to get it done even faster and not fall behind on other projects," he concludes.