Brisbane’s Civic Media is the first company in Australia and second in the world to install a Fujifilm Inca Q40i flatbed UV printer as it races to keep up with demand from new contracts.

Civic is refocusing itself away from construction towards the point-of-sale market and has already seen success in winning new contracts.

Civic managing director Adam Middleton says, “Queensland has been lacking in good point of sale advertising and many of the contracts go to Sydney and Melbourne firms, so we want to bring some back,” he says.

Civic has already doubled its revenue in the past three months and hopes to leverage its new technological advantage over other firms to win more contracts and continuing investing in better and faster printers.

“We’ve already won contracts away from bigger firms just because we have this printer and they don’t,” Middleton says. “We hope this will put us on the map and increase our profile because a lot of people don’t know about us.”

He says Civic wants to become one of the biggest printers in QLD in both the construction and point-of-sale markets and plans to buy a new printer of this type in the next 12 months.

The Onset press, released last September, can print in 1200dpi resolution at 305sqm per hour– which is 61 full-bed sheets, and features a 15-zone vacuum table, UV sensor system, and mechanical substrate height detectors that automate many process to reduce downtime.

The printer’s UV cured inkset means signs and billboards can survive two years of outdoor exposure while unlaminated with fade and water resistance, particularly useful for Civic which is known for construction site branding, fence coverings, shadecloth, billboards and banner mesh.

Middleton says the Q40i’s speed and quality appealed to him as the company’s five-metre Uvistar UV roll-to-roll machine and Acuity LED 1600, bought only last year, were already reaching capacity and he didn’t want to sacrifice quality.

“Everyone is after the best quality as well as fastest speeds these days, it’s a hole we wanted to fill,” he says. “The printer’s speed is unbelievable.”

Middleton talks up Fujifilm’s customer support, saying it makes them more reliable to clients.

Fujifilm Australia business development manager Steve Howland says the strong relationship between his company and Civic goes back two years and Middleton comes to him first for new equipment.

“I get on very well with the owners, they know we’re going to look after them not just through the sales process but give them strong customer support,” he says.