A family owned company since 1972, Oakley Signs & Graphics is continuing to stay ahead of the competition by recently installing three Fujifilm Acuity Advance HS X2 flatbed printers, experiencing a remarkable increase in production. A Des Plaines, IL-based print company specializing in real estate yard signs and political signs, Oakley has achieved success as a nationally approved sign supplier to more national real estate franchises than any other sign company in North America.
“We cater to real estate offices, including independents and national franchisees,” said Brett Levitt, co-owner, Oakley Signs & Graphics. “The ‘For Sale’ sign in a front yard is a realtor’s number one marketing tool.”
Recently, Levitt reviewed the cost analysis of maintaining their screen print shop, and the need to move to a wide format workflow was quite apparent.
In September of 2013, Levitt added his first Acuity HS X2, and not quite three months later, in November, he added two more HS X2’s.
“We conducted a pretty exhaustive search of options, and our decision came down to a few things, quality of print and service,” said Levitt. “Once we saw the Acuity HS X2 performing better than the others, our minds were made up. We can’t afford downtime, and the quality had to be there, and when we compared the others to the HS X2, the quality is better (on the HS X2).”
Most projects at Oakley Signs & Graphics are double-sided and the need for speed and efficiency was critical to this high-volume printer.
The Acuity Advance HS X2 inkjet printer offers the highest quality output in a wide format UV digital press with a print area over 8 feet-by-10 feet. The X2 is designed for print applications on oversized substrate or those who want maximum productivity by running two 4-foot-by-8-foot boards. “There is another company that offers the two-bed solution, and I nearly went that route. But what led me to purchase three Acuity’s is the service we receive from Fujifilm, and my comfort level with Fujifilm,” said Levitt. “The service and quality we receive (from Fujifilm) played a big part in our decision. Fujifilm has always stuck by us, and we stick with Fujifilm.”
Initially, Levitt was surprised by the ease of use of the Acuity HS X2.
“They need very little daily maintenance, consequently the HS X2 as made us more efficient in what we do. We are able to get better output simply because it’s easy to use and were able to use the double bed, which is a stand-out feature, along with the quality.”
”With the three HS X2’s, it’s like having automation without having automation; this meets our needs due to the sizes of substrates we work with daily (and how we tile things). I like having more production time with the double beds, and that equals more print time,” said Levitt. “If the head is moving, I’m getting double the finished product.”
“The color consistency between the three Acuity printers is impressive,” said Levitt. “Since our three Acuity’s moved in, we haven’t talked about down time. With the HS X2’s we are getting a huge increase in production as a direct result of the double bed. Production doesn’t stop, virtually no down time.”
“I will be very hard-pressed to go to a machine that does not have this double bed feature,” concluded Levitt.
