Inkjet & Digital Printing

REAL Digital kicks off 2014 with major investment in two Screen Truepress Jet 520 digital web presses

Tuesday 21. January 2014 - Investment to drive growth by award-winning cross media company as it aims to achieve £19 million plus turnover

In a major investment REAL Digital International (RDI) has invested in two high-speed 128m/min Screen Truepress Jet520 colour inkjet lines to service its expanding personalised digital print business. Both presses have been installed in a newly fitted out production hall at its Croydon facility and are in the process of being commissioned, with live jobs planned to be on machine before the end of January.
Headed by David Laybourne, managing director, Barry Stephens, production director and Chris Tagg, sales and marketing director, the multi award-winning company has grown steadily since it began in 2004. RDI has a reputation for handling complex direct mail and loyalty card campaigns which generate significant value for their blue chip financial, retail and telecoms clients. Today the company employs 137 people and is forecast to achieve over £19 million turnover this year as a result of its investment in the Screen presses.
The Screen Truepress Jet 520s were chosen after extensive evaluation of all available inkjet technologies. Ultimately, the Screen Truepress Jet’s ability to deliver consistent quality colour print at speed led RDI to make the investment.  “These innovative presses will generate growth for us,” says David Laybourne. “The market for short-run campaigns is increasing and 150,000-200,000 print runs are becoming the norm for fully-personalised colour digital. There is a lot of growth around plastic card fulfilment for loyalty schemes and membership renewals and, as a result, we needed faster presses to enable us to meet deadlines and add more print capacity to the business. Screen delivers the best all round performance coupled with ease of use, maximum production uptime and optimum price. We also wanted a partner that will listen to us, work closely with us and has a long term technology development strategy. Screen’s vision for the future was an important factor behind our decision.”
The 520mm width, web-fed Screen Truepress Jet 520s at RDI are both equipped with the Screen’s EQUIOS front end and linked inline to Hunkeler finishing systems. They join a range of sheet-fed and continuous feed digital presses including five iGen 4s and the original RD inkjet presses.
“We are more than simply a print business,” says Chris Tagg. “We are an added-value data and fulfilment company where creative dynamic print is just one element of our range of services. Our skill is working closely with customers to understand their supply chain needs and processes and to help them streamline the efficiency and improve the effectiveness of their transactions and campaigns. We help our clients to forge ongoing personal communication with their customers which delivers benefit to everyone involved.  Everybody in the industry talks about innovation, but how many actually deliver it?”
RDI’s expertise in managing data and ensuring end-to-end data integrity and audit trails is driving print volumes, driving growth and, as a result, driving investment in the best automated printing and finishing technology.  “2014 promises to be an exciting year for us with everything in place to take our business forward,” says David.
“REAL Digital is a highly creative and energetic company that has a strong vision for the future of its business,” says Brian Filler, President of Screen Europe. “RDI and Screen’s Truepress technology are a perfect fit and their decision to choose this is a major endorsement for Screen engineering and our long-term product development plans.”