Holywell Press has replaced a 15-year-old machine with the latest Heidelberg Speedmaster CX75 4.
The four-colour B2 press has replaced a Sakurai 575 and will double capacity at the commercial and book printer. This is thanks to LE UV curing, which delivers fully dry sheets, as much as significantly reduced makeready and faster running speed, says managing director Ben Burrows.
The curing technology replaces the need to apply a coating to protect the image and has allowed the company to invest in a four-colour press rather than a five-colour machine that would be too large for the space.
“The Sakurai has treated us extremely well,” says Burrows. “But we felt it was time for a change and decided that the CX with LE UV was the right machine to go for.” The company first looked at the CX75 at Heidelberg’s UK showroom in Brentford three years ago. “The footprint of the machine was key and it fitted into the space we had perfectly. We liked the quality of the build of the press, the way it handles sheets, quality and consistency. That’s why the press went on our wish list three years ago.”
The machine was installed at the start of November and has already delivered in terms of quality and performance. The company has told customers that thanks to instantly dry technology it will be able to deliver jobs the same day and, says Burrows, Holywell has proved this. “We produced 750 copies of a 96pp plus covers book, which we printed, folded, gathered and perfect bound to be ready for the customer at 1pm,” he says. “That’s almost same as morning delivery.”
The new press is running with Fujifilm’s process-free plate supplied through Heidelberg. By the time the plate has been cleaned of the non image area, the sheet is in place and the press is ready to run. “We have been working process-free for some years. It is key to us getting rid of chemistry in the studio and plate making,” Burrows says. “The environmental aspect of what we do is really important.”
It is too soon to compare energy use between the new machine and the one it has replaced, but it is already proving to be significantly more productive.
“Our customers will benefit from the improved sharpness and vibrancy of the print even on uncoated recycled paper – something many of our customers prefer to use for environmental reasons,” Burrows says.
“Our customers were very happy with the quality of our work before, and they are discerning customers, but until we got the new machine we didn’t appreciate how far the technology has moved. The quality and consistency of the CX is superb. We are absolutely thrilled.”
