Offset Printing
Statex steps up long perfecting productivity
Tuesday 01. September 2009 - Newcastle printer Statexcolourprint will next month take delivery of its second B2 ten-colour press in two years. The new press is the latest generation Speedmaster XL 75-10-P with Inpress Control automated inline spectrophotometry and Autoplate XL simultaneous plate changing.
“We were converts to long perfecting two years ago and that decision was exactly right. Now we have looked and are very impressed with this new generation Speedmaster equipment and it helps us help our clients by having equipment that runs faster with less wastage,” says James Dark, joint managing director and co-founder of statexcolourprint with Graham Minett. “Our workforce is very adaptable and they are looking forward to operating a press which embraces the latest technology.”
For a company which boasts it is “thinking in colour”, closed loop colour has been important and to date it has achieved that with Image Control. On the new press it is moving to Inpress Control which will continuously monitor colour and register throughout the run as before but will now automatically adjust on press settings rather than relying on the operator to monitor, scan and adjust.
The company handles a broad range of work but it includes art books, Report & Accounts and general commercial work – much of it colour critical. Although the ten-colour machine will primarily handle two sided process colours with specials or seals it is not unthinkable it will handle two pass work. This month Statexcolourprint handled a 15 colour job where exact replication was paramount.
“This press pushes the boundaries of print. It takes us closer than ever to printing by numbers,” says James. “We did look at rival machines but we have always had Heidelberg and probably always will be because we are very happy with the reliability and service we get.”
Like its first long perfector, a CD 74-10-P, this latest press will be highly flexible in the range of papers and boards it can handle. The new Press Center technology with Intellistart will help shave makeready times but the combination of Inpress Control (which minimises start up time and waste) combined with automatic and simultaneous plate-changing will impact even further. This is important for a company handling a broad range of order sizes, from £1,000 to £100,000 plus.
Statexcolourprint reviews press technology regularly and any purchase must offer it the environmental, quality and colour credentials that have secured its portfolio of certifications: ISO 90001, 14001, 18001, FSC, PEFC, Investors in People etc
The new long perfector joins a battery of B2 and B3 presses running around the clock six days a week, with maintenance built into the schedule when staff can undertake cleaning and preventative work to ensure maximum reliability, performance and quality at all times.