Aahs Signs Adds EFI VUTEk LED Hybrid Superwide-Format Printer

Electronics For Imaging, Inc. said California-based Aahs Signs purchased an EFI VUTEk LX3 Pro superwide-format printer with an EFI Fiery proServer Premium digital front end (DFE). The company plans to leverage the hybrid flatbed/roll-to-roll printing device to expand its online novelty gift-production business.
 
“About three years ago we started creating and selling products online, through Amazon and eBay. The business is doing well, but with our previous capacity, we couldn’t keep up with demand. With the new VUTEk, I’ll be able to fulfill the growing demand for our products and grow that business,” said Gurmeet Sawhney, president and CEO of Aahs Signs.
 
A look at its Amazon store reveals a catalog of life-size cutouts of celebrities, desk plates, plaques and an assortment of other novelties.
 
“That side of the business is growing much faster than the traditional signs and point-of-purchase graphics, and it’s where the future lies for us,” Sawhney said. “We’re adding new products all the time. The VUTEk LX3 Pro positions us to take advantage of this opportunity because we can go from concept to production in days.” 
 
The press has roll-to-roll and flatbed versatility, LED curing technology, and 126-inch width. It prints on a host of substrates up to two inches thick, reaches speeds of 3,400 feet per hour, and prints in eight colors – plus white. 
 
“I looked at other devices. But after doing a thorough analysis of throughput, quality and speed, we decided on the VUTEk. It was the only printer that I felt could deliver. It was the whole package,” Sawhney said. 
 
With the printer, Aahs Signs – a company that counts Universal Studios Hollywood Theme Park, Univision and Hilton Hotels as clients – can meet rising demand for specialty applications for the architectural and décor market. For example, Aahs prints acrylic panels for a client that then forms the panels into lighting fixtures that are installed in hotels.
 
“Before we acquired the VUTEk, it would take too long to produce these specialty orders. Now I can take large orders and produce them twice as fast, allowing me to take on even more business,” Sawhney said.
 
“I had always wanted a VUTEk but never thought it was within my budget,” Sawhney added. “But as soon as I bought it, I said, I totally get it now. This is it.” 
 
Aahs has a 13,000-square foot production facility in Commerce, a suburb in southeastern Los Angeles, and three gift stores in Irvine, Santa Monica and Encino.