TCS takes on MOHR guillotines
“We became a reseller about two weeks ago and being an expert in guillotines, as opposed to say book binding equipment, people know us for guillotines,” said Dean Stayne, sales manager of the Nottingham-based company. “The range is ideal for the high-speed, digital sector. By bringing the process in-house, it will enable printers to work more efficiently and plan effectively for future business growth,” he added. The Mohr 56, 66 and 80 guillotines have 560mm, 660mm and 800mm widths respectively. The three models come in a more basic ECO version with a smaller screen, and the top end NET cutters, with an 18.5″ touch-screen display, barcode reader and 1,998 program memory positions. “The ECO version will probably be more popular than the NET because it is cheaper,” he said of the machines ranging in price from around £15,000 to £20,000. “Its functions are also adequate for many jobbing printers.” Typical users of the Mohr 56 would be digital printers and small copy shops with SRA3 kit such as Xerox, Canon and Ricoh machines. MOHR 66 is aimed at SRA2 digital work, while the Mohr 80 was targeted at larger scale digital outfits and B2 litho printers. Stayne said the the Mohr brand was recognised for precision and quality and and joins a TCS product portfolio that includes CP Bourg, CCM Premier, Challenge Machinery, Zechini and Bagel....
read moreNew binder at Holywell Press opens growth potential
The single-clamp machine, supplied by Intelligent Finishing Systems, was bought to meet a growing demand for short-run reports and perfect bound books. One of the first jobs was a 7,600 run for Oxford University’s Brasenose College. “We used to send finishing to local firm Overload but that stopped trading, which left a bit of a hole in our capability,” said managing director Ben Burrows. “We wanted to respond immediately to short-run requests. The quality of the kit is very, very good, nice square backs and fast. “But I also wanted to be sure the quality of the Horizon matched the quality our customers were used to. We didn’t want a compromise in the quality of the book or for our customers to notice any difference between jobs,” said Burrows. He also liked the intuitive touch screen set up of the 500bph system, which cost around £30,000, and the variable software enabling the single clamp to be pre-set for the next book block in the job queue. Burrows’ 12-staff company was launched in 1890 by his great grandfather Harry Burrows. Clients include Oxford colleges, medical and IT sectors and local businesses, helping the business to clock up an annual turnover of £800,000. Other kit includes a Xerox 770 bought two years ago and litho machines including a five-colour Sakurai 575, two-colour Heidelberg MOZP and a two-colour Speedmaster 52 B3 machine. The investment in the binder prompted Burrows to consider the provision of online ordering, he said: “A lot of our customers still like us to go and see them but with an online service we can also cater for those that prefer to upload work themselves.” “The new addition gives us flexibility on price and turnaround times. Minimum order costs were creeping up and we had to consider transportation times to and from the finisher. Now we can more easily offer a same-day service.”...
read moreNew binder at Holywell Press opens growth potential
The single-clamp machine, supplied by Intelligent Finishing Systems, was bought to meet a growing demand for short-run reports and perfect bound books. One of the first jobs was a 7,600 run for Oxford University’s Brasenose College. “We used to send finishing to local firm Overload but that stopped trading, which left a bit of a hole in our capability,” said managing director Ben Burrows. “We wanted to respond immediately to short-run requests. The quality of the kit is very, very good, nice square backs and fast. “But I also wanted to be sure the quality of the Horizon matched the quality our customers were used to. We didn’t want a compromise in the quality of the book or for our customers to notice any difference between jobs,” said Burrows. He also liked the intuitive touch screen set up of the 500bph system, which cost around £30,000, and the variable software enabling the single clamp to be pre-set for the next book block in the job queue. Burrows’ 12-staff company was launched in 1890 by his great grandfather Harry Burrows. Clients include Oxford colleges, medical and IT sectors and local businesses, helping the business to clock up an annual turnover of £800,000. Other kit includes a Xerox 770 bought two years ago and litho machines including a five-colour Sakurai 575, two-colour Heidelberg MOZP and a two-colour Speedmaster 52 B3 machine. The investment in the binder prompted Burrows to consider the provision of online ordering, he said: “A lot of our customers still like us to go and see them but with an online service we can also cater for those that prefer to upload work themselves.” “The new addition gives us flexibility on price and turnaround times. Minimum order costs were creeping up and we had to consider transportation times to and from the finisher. Now we can more easily offer a same-day service.”...
read moreHeidelberg targets new Polar at cost-conscious customers
The new Polar N 115 is aimed at packaging companies with straightforward board cutting needs and commercial companies with a limited product range and a more basic cutting requirement, said the company. The115cm-wide basic N model joins the N Plus and N Pro versions and will be available from this September. It will cost under £50,000 but still feature a large touch screen, Formica air tables and a strong programming capability, said marketing director Mark Hogan. “Over the years we have added many features to the cutters to make them more suitable for the complex world of modern print and finishing. But a lot of customers like packagers or smaller commercial set ups just need to trim down sheets. “Many of the features therefore aren’t necessary, so we have created a machine properly targeted at that type of customer. Even big printers sometimes don’t have cutting as an integral part of their offering.” Heidelberg product manager for Polar in the UK Paul Thompson said the “budget-conscious machine” would fulfil the needs of companies requiring a limited range of cuts with little need for automation. “But it retains the core features of the Plus range including the 18.5in touchscreen. So for buyers that do not need extensive storage and programming features or all the proven options of the higher specified models it is going to be a very productive machine,” he added....
read moreHeidelberg targets new Polar at cost-conscious customers
The new Polar N 115 is aimed at packaging companies with straightforward board cutting needs and commercial companies with a limited product range and a more basic cutting requirement, said the company. The115cm-wide basic N model joins the N Plus and N Pro versions and will be available from this September. It will cost under £50,000 but still feature a large touch screen, Formica air tables and a strong programming capability, said marketing director Mark Hogan. “Over the years we have added many features to the cutters to make them more suitable for the complex world of modern print and finishing. But a lot of customers like packagers or smaller commercial set ups just need to trim down sheets. “Many of the features therefore aren’t necessary, so we have created a machine properly targeted at that type of customer. Even big printers sometimes don’t have cutting as an integral part of their offering.” Heidelberg product manager for Polar in the UK Paul Thompson said the “budget-conscious machine” would fulfil the needs of companies requiring a limited range of cuts with little need for automation. “But it retains the core features of the Plus range including the 18.5in touchscreen. So for buyers that do not need extensive storage and programming features or all the proven options of the higher specified models it is going to be a very productive machine,” he added....
read moreNovograf invests in Kongsberg XP44 cutting table
The machine, which was ordered though supplier Esko, is due to be installed at the East Kilbride company at the end of August. The XP44 will help produce the company’s portfolio of large-scale graphics products, including wall and window graphics, displays, signage and floor graphics. Operations manager Alan Marshall said: “It is easy to use and that helps us be more creative, productive and turn work around faster. We also liked the size of platform it offers. There are no longer lots of 500 to 600 sheet jobs. Plenty are only three or four sheets and we need to handle them cost effectively.” The new machine will replace two older Kongsberg tables. Marshall added: “We have four Kongsberg tables that are more than 25 years old and they still work well.” The XP44 is designed to cut packaging and POS displays from CAD drawings and includes automatic loading and unloading. It can handle a wide range of materials including foam, foamboard and plastic corrugated. “One of the main considerations was to be able to work with coarser and thicker materials. We currently handle a lot of film but nothing above 5mm,” added Marshall. “We work in a lot of niche markets and design and develop every project to fit the customer’s requirements. That means we need to innovate continuously to help them achieve market differentiation. The table will help us become slicker with our production,” he said....
read moreNovograf invests in Kongsberg XP44 cutting table
The machine, which was ordered though supplier Esko, is due to be installed at the East Kilbride company at the end of August. The XP44 will help produce the company’s portfolio of large-scale graphics products, including wall and window graphics, displays, signage and floor graphics. Operations manager Alan Marshall said: “It is easy to use and that helps us be more creative, productive and turn work around faster. We also liked the size of platform it offers. There are no longer lots of 500 to 600 sheet jobs. Plenty are only three or four sheets and we need to handle them cost effectively.” The new machine will replace two older Kongsberg tables. Marshall added: “We have four Kongsberg tables that are more than 25 years old and they still work well.” The XP44 is designed to cut packaging and POS displays from CAD drawings and includes automatic loading and unloading. It can handle a wide range of materials including foam, foamboard and plastic corrugated. “One of the main considerations was to be able to work with coarser and thicker materials. We currently handle a lot of film but nothing above 5mm,” added Marshall. “We work in a lot of niche markets and design and develop every project to fit the customer’s requirements. That means we need to innovate continuously to help them achieve market differentiation. The table will help us become slicker with our production,” he said....
read morePaperlinx opens Shanghai office and mulls China imports
According to the company, local staff, to provide “local knowledge”, will man the Shanghai office. The merchanting group said the new office would complement its strategy to simplify its face-to-market by merging the Robert Horne, Howard Smith and Paper Co brands under the Paperlinx banner. However, the biggest impact could be a renewed focus on importing Asian paper into the EU. According to Paperlinx executive director Andrew Price the company already sources “significant volumes” of products for its Australia, New Zealand and Asia operations from China. Something he said Paperlinx was looking to replicate in Europe. “Opening an office in Shanghai gives us the opportunity to leverage our procurement power globally; this will further enhance the group’s supply chain efficiency and better fits with a group-wide commitment to streamline processes, as well as eliminate both cost and inventory duplication,” he added. Price stressed that before paper grades and other products, such as those aimed at industrial packaging and sign and display applications, are imported to the EU, the manufacturers would have to meet a number of criteria, including corporate, social and environmental responsibility. “As the largest independent paper merchant in the world, in as much as we’re not tied to any one paper manufacturer, we’ve already been approached by a number of mills in Asia that want to increase their footprint in Europe. But from a quality perspective it’s important to have a local office that can verify quality and negotiate,” said Price. “It might be a while until we have Asian paper products here in Europe though, because we want to be sure we choose the right local partners.” He also said that the sales office would also be used to help Paperlinx customers to source products in China, further bolstering its recently launched ‘web stores’ initiative. “We’ve got these web stores that offer 500 products, now what we can do is open up sourcing in China. So, if a printer has a customer that needs promotional products for example, then we can now offer those though the printers web stores.” According to this week’s poll, more than two-thirds of printers are happy to use paper grades sourced from outside the EU. Have your say in our poll on the right....
read morePaperlinx opens Shanghai office and mulls China imports
According to the company, local staff, to provide “local knowledge”, will man the Shanghai office. The merchanting group said the new office would complement its strategy to simplify its face-to-market by merging the Robert Horne, Howard Smith and Paper Co brands under the Paperlinx banner. However, the biggest impact could be a renewed focus on importing Asian paper into the EU. According to Paperlinx executive director Andrew Price the company already sources “significant volumes” of products for its Australia, New Zealand and Asia operations from China. Something he said Paperlinx was looking to replicate in Europe. “Opening an office in Shanghai gives us the opportunity to leverage our procurement power globally; this will further enhance the group’s supply chain efficiency and better fits with a group-wide commitment to streamline processes, as well as eliminate both cost and inventory duplication,” he added. Price stressed that before paper grades and other products, such as those aimed at industrial packaging and sign and display applications, are imported to the EU, the manufacturers would have to meet a number of criteria, including corporate, social and environmental responsibility. “As the largest independent paper merchant in the world, in as much as we’re not tied to any one paper manufacturer, we’ve already been approached by a number of mills in Asia that want to increase their footprint in Europe. But from a quality perspective it’s important to have a local office that can verify quality and negotiate,” said Price. “It might be a while until we have Asian paper products here in Europe though, because we want to be sure we choose the right local partners.” He also said that the sales office would also be used to help Paperlinx customers to source products in China, further bolstering its recently launched ‘web stores’ initiative. “We’ve got these web stores that offer 500 products, now what we can do is open up sourcing in China. So, if a printer has a customer that needs promotional products for example, then we can now offer those though the printers web stores.” According to this week’s poll, more than two-thirds of printers are happy to use paper grades sourced from outside the EU. Have your say in our poll on the right....
read moreXeikon to test Trillium technology
The Belgian manufacturer previewed Trillium (then known as Quantum) in March 2012, and showed a concept single-colour unit at Drupa. It has now advanced to the point where a four-colour high-speed press is ready to go into testing. The firm aims to take on high-speed colour inkjet devices from suppliers such as HP, Kodak and Canon/Océ. Michael Ring, president of Xeikon America, said: “We’re able to address inkjet costs and speeds, but without any limitations to area coverage or image quality, which seems to be a void in the market today that can’t be addressed by any other digital technology.” Trillium technology prints at 1,200dpi using toner particles that are around 10 microns in size, compared with Xeikon’s existing 28 micron particles. It also differs from Xeikon’s current range because it uses an intermediate transfer cylinder. Xeikon director of document segment marketing Danny Mertens said one of the most important breakthroughs with the technology was ‘micro-gapping’ between the cylinders, which involves a gap of just five microns. “This is almost impact printing. With micro-gapping we are very close in those contact zones, the toner particles only have to jump a very small distance to develop the image,” Mertens explained. “The look and feel of the print is totally different, because the toner layer is a lot smoother and smaller.” He added: “If you compare us with other technologies we are probably the most accurate next to traditional print in transferring and developing an image, and that’s an important differentiator for the quality of the image but also the speed.” HP Indigo also uses liquid toner, but Mertens said the Xeikon method had major differences. “Our implementation is what we call high viscosity liquid toner. We do not evaporate or fuse out the carrier oil, we recycle it in the system. So don’t have to evacuate any vapours out of the printing press.” The print width of the Trillium press is 500mm and it can run at 60m/min, printing on substrates from 60-250gsm. Mertens said the duty cycle was a minimum of 5m A3 prints per month and described the machine’s footprint as “compact for the speed offered” at 11x5m. The beta site will be a producer of high-quality direct mail. Xeikon has also tested the de-inkability of the output, which Mertens said was at the same level as its current products. “It was almost a design specification from our side because we see it as very important.” Pricing was not disclosed, although Xeikon said it would be a “significant” investment After beta-testing, field tests will begin in Q1 2014 and run for six months, followed by full commercial launch. Meanwhile parent firm Punch International has confirmed that it is in advanced talks with an unamed party over the possible acquisition of Xeikon at a share price of €5.85. It is the company’s first announcement on the issue since it revealed in a statement in January that it was in early stage talks with a possible buyer....
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