Offset Printing

Tyneside company expands with move to full colour B2 production

Tuesday 23. July 2013 - Making its debut in B2 full colour production is Harlow Printing in South Tyneside which will install a Speedmaster SX 74-5-P+L this September.

The company has a number of presses to handle the current workload and is looking to expand its portfolio with the Speedmaster SX 74 which will complement the SM 52 Anicolor purchased less than two years ago.
“We have a base of work that we currently sub-contract so the justification for the investment comes from existing business. We do a lot of work for the NHS which traditionally has been business forms and spot colours, but over the last five years there has been a significant increase in requirements for full colour printing,” says managing director Richard Walker.
The Speedmaster SX 74 has been specified with Easy Control, one of Heidelberg’s family of four spectral devices. It has the ability to “read and learn” Pantone colours, enabling them to be repeated quickly and easily and to ensure quality consistency throughout a run and from run to run.
The company has converted a nearby 12,000 sq ft premises, which previously had been rented out, for its two full colour presses. The SX 74 will be delivered there and Heidelberg will transfer the B3 Anicolor to run alongside it. The rest of the manufacturing remains in the existing 40,000 sq ft factory and in addition the company has a 22,000 sq ft warehouse.
“Although we think there will continue to be ups and downs in the economy we are fortunate in that we have longer term contracts that allow us to plan ahead and to invest with confidence,” says Mr Walker.
The company has specified Prinect Pressroom Manager which will be linked in to the latest generation Prinect Analyse Point, enhancing the KPI reports it produces on every aspect of its business using a Tharstern MIS system.
The company had already upgraded its prepress and finishing facilities in readiness for the expansion in output.
The company holds ISO 9001 quality and ISO 14001 environmental accreditation.