Offset Printing

NB Colour switches from Komori to Heidelberg in three for one press swap

Monday 02. September 2013 - Commercial printer NB Colour is replacing three old Komori presses with a single Speedmaster SM 74-5-P+L, a B2 five-colour with perfector and coater, and it believes the move to greater automation will give it a net increase in productivity.

“The focus of our investment was to become more efficient, a lean manufacturer. Our machines were becoming out of date with virtually no automation and we needed colour control to speed up makeready,” says Doug Nelson, managing director.
The company’s decision to switch supplier was not taken lightly. Options from Komori and Heidelberg were reviewed but Heidelberg offered the best solution and value with the nearly new SM 74, equipped with Axis Control spectral colour measurement.
The ability to cut makereadies from 45 minutes to five or ten minutes, sometimes less depending on the job, was critical to the company’s decision.
The investment marks the first move into coating and the current work and turn delay of 35 to 40 minutes will be eliminated and this alone Mr Nelson believes will recoup a week a month of production.
The company hasn’t previously had a B2 perfector and this is seen as an asset for one existing contract as well as opening up new doors. It is a 2:3 configuration.
“We looked at the Speedmaster XL 75 and our longer term goal is to invest in that model. The floor preparation we have undertaken at the factory is 13 metres long with that in mind; the SM 74 we are getting next week is 9 metres long,” says Mr Nelson.
The three machines going out are one 40 inch and two 28 inch Lithrones. The space vacated will allow the Chorley company to have a greater paper stock and to accommodate more finished work.
In preparation for the faster and higher output of the Speedmaster, NB Colour has invested in a new CtP device which doubles its plate output.
No staff will be lost as a result of this investment. There are currently three minders and they will operate across the double day shifts, either on press or handling logistics and other production issues. Depending on the increased productivity of the press and customer demand, the company will decide longer term whether to retain that shift pattern or to switch either to a single 12 hour shift or to round the clock Continental production.
Most of its commercial work is generated locally with some public sector and agency work. The company also offers a digital printing and finishing service alongside cut-fold-stitch and laminating services. NB Colour was an early adopter of the Stichmaster ST 100 saddle-stitcher.