Offset Printing
The Color Co prepares for increased production power!
Tuesday 31. July 2012 - A larger format will meet increased demand for litho production at The Color Co, a Cheltenham based company that started in digital printing, diversifying into litho printing seven years ago.
It has recently taken delivery of the latest generation B2 size Speedmaster SX74-5, replacing one of its two Speedmaster SM 52-5-P five colour machines.
The Color Co is among the first in the country to have this technology. In addition to the five-units, the machine comes installed with the latest colour management software, enabling the company to match any corporate colour accurately, speedily and in an environmentally friendly way. Color Co has also opted for advanced prepress technology in order to allow automatic communication between prepress and production. Customers can rest easy that their print will be top quality time after time.
“We are unusual in going from digital to litho; most companies have gone from litho to digital. We are finding that demand for litho is growing faster at the moment and this press swap means a doubling of output and will give us the potential to add at least another half a million of capacity and will relieve loading pressure at peak periods,” says Ashley Wainwright, managing director.
The company at present handles approximately 23 trade magazine titles with runs of 5,000 to 50,000 and there is a concentration of production for this work at the end of each month. But it also remains a strong and active player in the commercial printing sector, too, producing a large range of material including brochures, flyers and business stationery. It also has a number of blue chip customers on its client list.
Growth at The Color Co is well planned. This move to B2 was on the agenda three years ago and was key in the company’s decision to buy a Suprasetter which has just been upgraded in-house from B3 to B2 format. It grows with the company. The high end finishing equipment now includes guillotines, folders and a 20 station stitching line capable of handling the larger format print.
On the new press the company will have Easy Control, Heidelberg’s latest spectral device, which is very easy to use. The system measures print control strips mounted on the print sheet parallel to the cylinder and adjustments are made automatically. It can cut time between jobs by five to ten minutes. It doesn’t come pre-loaded with Pantone or HKS special colours but these can be loaded by the customer and archived, making it ideal for corporate colours.
Color Co. has doubled its turnover since its move away from a retail site to a 7,500 sq ft purpose built factory four years ago. This is part of a planned £2m investment plan over the next three years. This move has marked its first step into five-colour litho production and investment has continued regularly since.
The company produces high quality and competitively priced print to companies both in Gloucestershire and nationwide. It has a strong investment record and a reputation for listening to, and working with, its customers to ensure it provides the products they demand to a standard, timescale and price that is needed in today’s business environment.