CabinetMaker+FDM - October 2011

PRODUC TION

by Karl D. Forth

karl.forth@ccimedia.net

UV printer upgrades
signmaking capability
New UV printer can
reproduce a graphic
image to print on a variety
of wood and uneven

Anderson Cojet can be used like an automatic screen printer, so only one sign can be made if that is what’s needed.

surfaces.

In the signmaking business, appearances are everything. MarketCraft builds displays, signs, and fixtures, and a new UV printing capability has helped boost what it can offer customers.

“Customer service is the foundation of our success,” John Johnson of MarketCraft says. “We listen closely to the customer’s needs and adapt our services to meet their expectations. We are very innovative in our approach and not much scares us. We have almost every manufacturing process in house, and if we don’t, we have partners who do. Our ability to provide single source manufacturing is a real value to our clients.

MarketCraft, located in Newberg, Ore., has customers in retail grocery, clothing, and sporting goods stores. “Primarily we serve the retail and trade show markets, along with designers and architects,” Johnson says. “MarketCraft also provides many varied services to other shops that may not have all the processes we do in house.

“We can take a project from concept to completion. We have everything in house, including basic woodworking, CNC woodworking, cabinetry, finishing, printing, UV printing, and metalwork including CNC plasma cutting, sheet metal bending, welding and fabrication.

“We’re trying to minimize the number of vendors that a prospective client has to go to.”

Who: MarketCraft Where: Newberg, Oregon Employees: 6 At a glance

Product: Retail signs and trade show displays

Web site: www.marketcraft.net

Digital UV printing

The addition of an Anderson 2412 Direct UV flatbed printer upgraded MarketCraft’s printing capabilities. MarketCraft does a lot of non-traditional printing on a wide variety of substrates. A lot of the work is adding logos to tables, desks, informational plaques and other surfaces. They also do a lot of traditional digital graphics on Sintra and Styrene for displays and signs.

“Typically for wood products we apply a light sealer, print, then finish with a clear coat,” Johnson says. Other substrates are typically just cleaned with alcohol and put directly onto the machine, which can be used like an automatic screen printer, so quantities don’t matter as much, and only one sign can be made if that is what’s needed.

“We chose the Cojet because we

The addition of an Anderson UV flatbed printer upgraded MarketCraft’s printing capabilities, which include non-traditional printing on a wide variety of substrates.

were able to specify the type of backing system, and also the height of the gantry and that allows us to print on nontraditional materials,” he says.

“We have printed directly to plywood, MDF, sheet metal, perforated metal, stone, six-panel doors, every plastic imaginable, styrene, plexiglass, foam board, Bio Board, cardboard and chipboard. The printer uses UV-cured ink so it requires no finishing or laminating. If a finish is required we typically use a waterborne clear lacquer.