Founded in 1983, Colorchrome has become the go-to printer for art consultants, designers, project managers and artists across the country. The large format Atlanta-based printer specializes in art and decor, making it the perfect fit for hospitality, museums, high-end corporate branded events, retail, tradeshows and events.
Colorchome was founded by John Rhodes, who started in the business at 18 while working in a small portrait and wedding photo lab. His love of the industry led him to build a larger niche in the large commercial photo lab space before eventually starting Colorchrome. Its first product was printing custom Cibachrome prints.
Today, Colorchrome’s extensive industry knowledge and wide range of capabilities, coupled with its cutting-edge equipment, tools and technologies, enables it to consistently deliver exceptional quality, innovation and service.
The Challenge
With each new piece of equipment Colorchrome adds to its fleet, there is a review process and intentionality that considers everything from production speeds and color gamut to material compatibility. But ultimately the final decision comes down to load balancing. With a fleet of existing equipment larger than most of many in their market, Colorchrome was not just looking another piece of equipment. They were looking for a solution to a very specific challenge.
As their roll-to-roll requirements were expanding with wall decor projects, The SwissQ flatbed hybrid printer that had been supporting their rigid and roll-to-roll production was slow to setup and overloaded with both flatbed and roll-to-roll jobs.
“Our primary challenge was the need for increased roll-to-roll capability in UV printing,” John says. “While we had several UV printers, including a flatbed printer with roll-to-roll capabilities, it was often tied up, limiting our flexibility. We sought a roll-to-roll solution for UV printing to handle various materials such as window films, wall coverings and other products from Dreamscape, with the aim of achieving high-quality and high-volume output.”
The Solution
While attending the Printing United tradeshow, the Colorchrome team set out to find a way to complement its workflow. Meticulously evaluating every roll-to-roll UV printer on display over the three-day show, they ultimately landed on the Acuity Ultra R2 printer, which had the speed and image quality Colorchrome needed.
“The Acuity Ultra R2 confirmed what we heard about it, and would enable us to produce large runs of specialty wallcoverings and films with white ink at exceptional quality,” says Christian Rhodes, COO. “Bringing in the roll-to-roll UV printers allowed each section of our department to focus on its strengths. Operators skilled in flatbed printing could dedicate their efforts to that area, while those proficient in roll-to-roll printing could focus on that.”
The Results
The Acuity Ultra R2 has lived up to its billing by helping the Colorchrome press team maximize their efficiency and utilize each machine to their fullest potential. “This ensures that work was assigned to where it could be completed most effectively. Additionally, having multiple machines provided redundancy and production capacity, alleviating concerns about downtime and meeting deadlines,” Rhodes says.
Overall, the setup offers Colorchrome flexibility and peace of mind knowing it has backup options available. “The quality of the prints has been exceptional, which was a crucial factor for us given that our clients are artists and our products are meant to be observed as art,” Christian says. “The Acuity Ultra R2 has consistently delivered outstanding quality, exactly what we saw at the trade show and during our sample tests.”
Ultimately, what has mattered most to the Colorchrome team is the Acuity Ultra R2’s efficiency in terms of output per hour relative to its cost. “In this regard, it has been highly efficient, allowing us to deliver high-quality output without exceeding our budget,” Christian says. “This efficiency enables us to tailor projects to fit our clients’ budgets effectively, which has been a significant strength of this machine.”
