John Brailsford is over the moon with the decision to change an investment plan to replace a Xerox Color 100 with a like for like press. Instead, John Brailsford Printers, a business started by his father 35 years ago, chose to invest in a six-colour Iridesse, capable of printing silver, gold, clear toner or white. It took delivery of the new press in June and has has spent the time since testing, experimenting and using the press to a certain finesse to enhance what the customer ordered.
“When we started looking at the start of 2020 we were thinking of another Versant, but we were persuaded by our long term rep Sarah Timlin that it would not take us beyond where we are,” says Brailsford. “I had always thought the Iridesse would be too expensive.”
After running the numbers from the start of this year, the extra cost, if any, would be minimal, while the company would gain the additional colours, the ability to print a long sheet and the improved quality of CMYK printing. The low interest rates available also had an impact, he admits.
And the calculations are checking out. “We get a lot of mileage from a silver or gold toner cartridge and it gives an enormous uplift to the margin we can sell its value for. Buying this is a better decision than opting for another Versant,” he explains. “I don’t believe there’s another press on the market that gives you what the Iridesse does for us.”
The machine copes with jobs that had given the company headaches previously. From the digital side, one job demands a 70% lilac tint with reversed out type for a book cover. The Iridesse copes without the expected banding and crisp reversed out type. “The customer never complained, but we had always been a little disappointed with the result from the Versant, but the first time we switched to the Iridesse the job was spot on,” he says.
From the offset world, the new Xerox press prints a solid black that had previously been printed on its Presstek DI machines. On these the company slows down to ensure enough ink is applied followed by an uncertain wait for the ink to set properly. While the 4,000 sheet job is more expensive to print on the Irisdesse, the simplicity of doing so and the instant turnaround because the sheet is immediately dry, has meant the job has switched.
Normally the cross over between the digital press and its two DI machines is around 2,000 sheets, says Brailsford.
The most popular additional colour is silver, which the company has used to enhance the lift of an image in order to demonstrate to customers what is possible using the technology. “And we can also show them the effect of gold under an image, or applying a spot varnish to a logo. They are not used to us being this creative. We no longer have to print and laminate a sheet before applying a foil.”
The foil used to enhance the printed image is clean and sharp, crisper than using a conventional foil or inkjet technology.
The white toner has enabled the company to produce window film graphics for the first time. “There are lots and lots of possibilities,” he adds. “We are now producing Christmas and greetings cards using silver and gold to enhance what we print in a way that was never possible before. We have printed filigree work for invitations, have created hologram like effects and thanks to the long sheet can print eight-page DL with concertina folds, print A4 landscape booklets or six-page A4 brochures – all things that we could not print before.”
The press uses a Fiery controller, so was simple for operators to pick up, aided by a user friendly interface and operator replaceable components that have kept the machine running. It is a question of following the sequence on the screen, Brailsford explains. “We have only had one service call since installation,” he says. “Because a sensor on a tray had failed.”
The investment has since been followed by installation of a four-head drill and HP Latex large format printer to open options to print outdoor display graphics. It replaces a Xerox 770 and relating its Versant with inline GBC finishing to handle the everyday work.
