Offset Printing

Hartgraph looks forward to new press, new premises for New Year

Tuesday 30. December 2014 - Hartgraph will open at newly purchased premises in the New Year. The 30 year old company is moving from Loudwater to Amersham, about five miles, and doubling its space.

The 14,000 sq ft freehold site has been fitted with bespoke utilities and a new mezzanine floor and offices have been built over a production area with a much better physical layout.
Ahead of the move Heidelberg has built a Speedmaster XL 75-5+L with Inpress Control which Hartgraph has purchased to replace an older press. The existing SM 52-5 and Linoprint C751 will move across during the Christmas-New Year break.
The new and highly productive XL 75 will need a higher plate output and so the company elected to replace a Screen PlateRite CtP device with a Suprasetter from Heidelberg and to source its consumables, Fuji plates and Saphira chemistry, from Heidelberg. It is also testing the XL inks.
“We need the Speedmaster XL to keep up with demand and to keep the standards high,” says Tony Brooks, joint managing director with Steve Walters. “Two of our operators have just come back from a one week course at Brentford and are blown away by the potential of the XL, in particular Inpress Control. Everyone is very positive about the move and investment, knowing that it will make us even more efficient.”
The fifth unit will handle special colours and the coater will ensure work can be taken direct to finishing for rapid turnrounds and an aesthetic finish. The company has fitted a pile turner alongside the feeder which will enable them to handle turned/perfected work at maximum efficiency.
Hartgraph will also benefit from digital workflows, with the addition of Prepress Manager and Pressroom Manager. These Prinect workflows enable job data to be moved through the plant speedily and accurately, ensuring start up times and waste are reduced. The automation of Inpress Control mean that register and colour is continually monitored throughout a run and there is also the potential to draw off real life, real time data for optimum business decisions.
“We believe this investment will create more opportunities with both existing customers and new buyers and certainly envisage expanding our cartons work alongside quality commercial print,” says Mr Brooks. “This sets us up for the next ten or 15 years. We will be more efficient and set for expansion, including more recruitment.”