Vanguard at Wensco Grand Rapids

Vanguard dropped by Wensco in Grand Rapids Thursday, December 5th to offer insight into Vanguard to a small audience that attended the private event. Jim Peterson from Vanguard led the event that featured the VK300D Series Flatbed UV LED Printer. Those in attendance learned about the printer, Vanguard’s history, and what distinguishes them.

Front and Center: UV Printer
The featured flatbed UV LED printer was the main talk of the event. Peterson started the evening going over the printer as a whole, then discussing the finer details. The ink was featured at length, discussing how to keep the ink vicious and how to individually flush lines and when. The daily maintenance was simple and would only take up to five minutes. Moving on to the bed of the printer, the substrate was able to float around as if it was on an air hockey table. The design of the bed allowed you to move around the substrate with ease and the pins along the edges helped you find the right location before locking into the desired spot. Once it began printing, Peterson explained the how the printer worked with the lights and an overlapping printing method for a smooth finish. The LED bulbs had heat control that wasn’t just off and on. It could go from 100% to 0%, however much heat you needed, or didn’t need, to print with was available to you with the Vanguard printer.

Price Point
The Vanguard printer’s price was something Peterson didn’t shy away from. He was very upfront in saying that it will cost a lot up front, but ink costs save you money in the long run. At an estimated ten cents per square foot of ink, and an additionally 10 cents per square foot of white, using the ink was relatively cheap. Where things could get expensive is what substrate you print upon. With its high print quality and low cost per square foot of ink, it is estimated that the Vanguard pays for itself in six months.
Vanguard Over Others
“We’re not making machines to mold your business around; we make our machines to fit around your business” Peterson expressed. As he began to talk about Vanguard’s roots and values, he continually stated the value they placed in their customers and maintaining a long-lasting relationship. He also encouraged people to come to them with their issues about their printers and the industry. They enjoyed finding solutions to problems sign manufacturers face.

Vanguard often does not give out extended warranties for several reasons, but the main one being that you would spend the same amount on the warranty you might not use on fixing the machine. They also don’t shy away from allowing customers from ‘having the keys to the kingdom’. After a three-day free training at their Atlanta Georgia headquarters Vanguard will consider you certified to work on your printer. From there they are only a phone call away for help. If they can’t solve your problem over the phone, their goal is to have an able, knowledgeable body at your doorstep to help within 24 hours. They have certified technicians across the U.S and more being certified every month.

Peterson was quick to answer any questions and provided everyone with great insight on the Vanguard UV flatbed printers and the company of Vanguard. It was a great learning experience to hear about Vanguard. A big thank you to Vanguard for coming out to Wensco in Grand Rapids and talking at the private event.