The second-hand six-unit press with Vits high-speed sheeter cost £1.7m and can output up to 70,000 sheets an hour. The Website’s unit uses Kodak Electra XD plates and features remoist gum facility, pattern-perforating unit and GMI closed-loop colour control.
Managing director Graham Glynn said his company planned to fit the press with plough-folding units to enable a wide range of folded products to be finished inline.
He added: “The 16pp press replaces a 32pp Manroland Polyman, so it will increase efficiency and reduce waste but not increase overall capacity – there is still overcapacity in the industry.
“The Manroland was starting to show its age. We wanted something with less waste, better quality, faster speeds and quicker makeready: on the new machine it is 30 minutes, half the time it took on the old press.
“We wanted to focus on quality and the Goss is the closest a web press can get to sheet-fed quality,” he said.
The investment follows a big spend in 2012 that included a 12-colour Heidelberg SM102 with cutstar and Corona C12 perfect binding line. The Website (Leeds) offers high-volume web offset and cut-sheet print for travel, charity and mail-order sectors.
Glynn said his company was one of the largest independent commercial printers in the UK, with a £12m turnover, 120 staff and strong environmental credentials – under 2% of its waste goes to landfill.
“We believe that our mix of presses reinforces our reputation as one of the most versatile, flexible and highest quality commercial printers in the country,” he said.
Glynn added that The Website had recently launched a direct-mail division to offer data processing, response handling, high-speed laser personalisation, poly wrapping and envelope enclosing.