Inkjet & Digital Printing
Creating a future in print
Wednesday 09. July 2008 - COLOURSCRIPT PAINTS GREEN FUTURES WITH SCREEN INVESTMENT
Reinforcing its position as a serious operation was the reason behind Colourscript’s investment in a B1 Screen PlateRite 86000E high-speed thermal platesetter. Not only has the processless system helped secure the London E16 operation ISO14001 and ISO9001 it has also set it well on the path to transform its £1.2m turnover into £2m by this time next year.
Director Steve Williams explains: “We have been in operation for about 18 years, first as a typesetter and then as a repro house. Last year we merged with another printer and since then have we have been building on the existing client base. In that time we have invested more than £450,000 in new technology. We have also built up a good reputation and work a lot with design agencies and print farmers.
“We knew we needed to get our ISO accreditation as customers were demanding it. I think it also makes the difference between a serious company and one that is just a general operation. To do that we needed to look at ways of addressing out waste and processless CTP seemed the best way to go.”
The system, supplied by SOS in Loughton, features field upgrade productivity as the customer’s workflow grows. It is equipped with SA-L8800II automatic feeding and runs Fuji Pro-T Plates. The Trueflow Suite it uses increases prepress productivity – with pre-flight, colour conversion, imposition, trapping and Ripping.
Before investing Mr Williams undertook extensive research to ensure the system installed met the companies varied needs. He says: “We read articles, approached suppliers, talked to people in the industry and got as much feedback as we could. I think the PlateRite is fast becoming the industry standard platesetter. The Fuji plates also seemed slightly ahead of the market.”
And the investment has paid off: “We are able to run much smoother and, as the platesetter punches the plates as well, it cuts out a time-consuming process. There is less cleaning up and I like the fact we are operating in a cleaner environment. Now we don’t have gallons of waste and we don’t need to pay someone to come and take it away. It is a much more responsible process. The quality of the proofs are remarkable as well. We also produce plates for other printers and so far we haven’t had any complaints.”
As for the Trueflow SE, Mick Gerard, also a director, says: “It gives us more flexibility than the old system on proofing and that saves us time as we can set queues up and then send them at the click of a mouse.”
Mr Williams concludes: “We are serious about what we do. We want to be around for a while and build up a name in the trade. The next thing we are looking at is FSC accreditation.”