Finishing & Screen Printing

Optima is optimistic about the potential of its Polar 66

Thursday 09. August 2012 - Optima Print, a family run and owned business, is ousting an older 52cm laser cutter with the more robust Polar 66 guillotine in order to offer its customers a better quality finish faster.

“We already have Heidelberg presses. You can’t go wrong with Heidelberg, you can’t get better,” says Darran Squires, a director. “So we had no hesitation in selecting the Polar 66, a more robust and quality cutter. Our previous purchase was dictated by our premises but three years ago we moved to our present site in Oldbury, five miles from Birmingham city centre, and can now make a better selection.”
Optima Print did investigate the secondhand market but finding that Polar guillotines of 13 years old were still commanding prices as high as £7,000 to £9,000 they felt that buying new was a sound investment, providing a real workhorse with a sound retained value. Better and faster cutting will give its existing customers a better service but it will also give Optima the confidence to take on additional work.
“We have been cautious about our investment in the current market conditions. We have found that many of the bigger printers have gone bust and as a small, niche business we are able to pick up new business. We serve a UK wide base stretching from Scotland to Kent and Essex and London, serving customers of all sizes, big or small, contract for a local business or individual,” says Mr Squires.
In addition to its litho capacity it also has two digital presses and the Polar 66 will be used to cut work coming off both technologies. It will operate on a flexible day pattern.
“The Polar will take the guesswork out of cutting. The clamping pressures and the size of the cutting table make it better to work with and the programmability is very intelligent,” says Mr Squires.