SOS sells three Roland EU-1000MFs in as many months

Printing equipment supplier, Service Offset Supplies (SOS) has announced its third sale of a Roland EU-1000MF flatbed printer in the last three months.

The EU-1000MF offers features including a liquid-cooled LED lamp system and a four-zone vacuum bed, with both four-colour and six-colour models available. The press is designed for printing on a range of materials including PVC panels, foam panels, corrugated cardboard, and aluminium plates.

The latest purchase of the 1.2m x 2.4m UV LED machine is from Isle of Wight printer, Meridian 3, which is aiming to meet a growing customer demand for more personalised, bespoke, and unusual products.

Explaining this shift in customer desire, Meridian 3’s managing director, Baz Smith, says: “We first got into the flatbed market when a customer asked us to produce bespoke jigsaw puzzles.

“We decided to give it a try and bought an entry level A1 size machine. We were delighted when the market took off – we became jigsaw specialists – and then expanded into producing all kinds of promotional products, especially personalised notebook covers.”

Describing the impact of the changing demand, Smith adds: “The workload got so high in the run-up to last Christmas we were working 24-hour days, so improving our capacity and productivity this year was a must.”

The Roland machine was seen by Meridian 3 as a high-quality, technologically capable machine from a reliable manufacturer. Smith explains: “It’s faster than our old machine, with better software, but also bigger, meaning we can print multiple jigsaws at once.”

After his success opening a niche market with jigsaw printing, Smith is keen to find equally novel opportunities for the EU-1000MF to open up, saying: “It will print on a wide range of materials but we’re already using it very effectively on wood. For instance, we’re making wooden medals for a local sports club, which look great.”

Baz also praises SOS as a supplier, adding: “We had one or two minor teething issues with the Roland, but one of the true strengths of SOS is they are always approachable and genuinely look after their customers. They’re not happy until we are.”

Meridian 3 was founded during lockdown in 2020 by Smith and his co-directors, who formed their own company following the closure of their previous employer. Baz Smith’s son, Asa, has also recently joined Meridian as a director. The company has reported a turnover that has risen over 10% in the past year, to a current level of £320K.

SOS, which celebrated 50 years of service in 2022, offers a plethora of supplies and equipment to the UK market, including wide-format printers from Liyu, Roland DG, Fujifilm, and Epson.