Pressroom

XL productivity increase spurs CtP purchase at Marstan Press

Thursday 19. March 2015 - Marstan Press has built a 2,000 sq ft mezzanine CtP suite adjacent to the pressroom to house a second CtP device, having found plate demand up as a result of installing its Speedmaster XL 75-10-P long perfector.

Having converted from a Presstek to a Suprasetter five years ago, there was less need to research again so the decision to add a second Suprasetter was relatively straightforward. It has taken the A 75 model which can output 22 B2 plates per hour.
“We knew the new XL 75-10-P would be productive but we were in a position where we were having to plan our work around how many plates we could output rather than how fast the press could produce so we had to invest. We are an all Heidelberg house so it made sense to buy another Suprasetter,” says David Wood, production manager.
The company is a convinced Heidelberg consumables user. It buys ink in drums for its ink pumping system, fount and Saphira Chem-free plates from the Brentford hub. These plates fit with the company’s environmental credentials. It is ISO 14001 and FSC Chain of Custody certified.
The company is beginning to see the benefits of its networked workflows. It has been linking up a Tharstern MIS system with Heidelberg Prinect workflow modules, including Pressroom Manager.
“It takes time to feed in all the information to maximise the available information but we are now getting really good feedback on costings and timings. We can see where we do and don’t make money and we can estimate with more accuracy as a result,” says Mr Wood. “We are still in the training period but this is really valuable data and the management even have mobile apps so we can even monitor when we are away from the plant.”
The Bexleyheath plant operates 24/6 and runs to Heidelberg IS12647-2 Colour Club standards to meet its customers varied printing needs.