Woking News & Mail December 2002
If you spotted a distinctive bright pink Ford Focus scurrying around during the recent Breast Cancer Week you may have been impressed with the special spray job that looked like hours of work by a graphic craftsman and air brush wizard.
Well it wasn’t. Like the other nine vehicles in the promotional fleet it was printed by a Woking company that will readily tackle lorries, buses, carpets, even buildings. Pyramid Visuals which has just moved into new premises in Oyster Lane, Byfleet, is able to take this “can do and will do” attitude because they have just spent hundreds of thousand of pounds on a supremely capable new press, the first of its kind in this country. Calling it a large format printer is something of an understatement.
Imported from digital printing experts in Israel it will not only print up to 3m wide and as long as you like, but on virtually any material from canvas to vinyl or the previously mentioned carpet.
Nothing phases this young company that has become the darling of international advertising and promotional agencies desperately seeking new publicity media as traditional above the line advertising loses impact with jaded consumers.
Marketing manager and company director Justin Murray explains: “Our new facilities in this purpose adapted building are really attracting a wide range of customers because the process is so flexible and produces fabulously high quality. “We can apply a totally new livery to a vehicle for instance, and remove it so the van or lorry is back to its old look in 24 hours.
“On the other hand our shrink wrap finish will last for three years or as long as six if it is laminated. Anything the designer conceives can be achieved. It is really up to their creativity and we have our own graphic experts in house who fully understand the capability of this powerful new machine.
“We can print 75 square metres an hour using a six colour process at 720 DPI. We have also installed a hot air welding machine, only the second in the country, which works 10 times faster than traditional methods.
“We have treated exhibition stands at the Paris Air Show for Rolls Royce, wrapped a building in central London and undertaken promotional projects on vehicles for Vimto, Heineken and Adidas. “Of course a lot of our work comes from advertising agencies but we are quite capable of working on smaller projects for local companies. We are being visited by a fine artist from the United States who is so impressed with the quality we can achieve he is considering using us to produce limited edition prints on canvas.”
Pyramid Visuals looks as bright as a new pin with its refurbished premises and new plant but as part of the Pyramid Visuals group its history goes back a decade.
Justin formed the company with other members of his family when he was 19 and uses the title marketing manager rather than director because he thinks his youth (he is still under 30) could work against him. “We were a traditional sign company initially operating out of a stable at my parents’ home in Chobham. We then moved into Woking town but have now made this massive leap. “We are aiming to move our turnover from £300,000 to around one million in about six months which is very necessary given the investment we have made.”
Justin is confident. After all, he has got just about everything else wrapped up.