Potts Print (UK) will be joining the elite of the Elite when a second Manroland Sheetfed Roland 700 Evolution Elite is commissioned in the coming weeks.
The second B1 press has been ordered less than a year after placing the order for what was the first Evolution Elite in the UK. It arrived at the end of last year, prompting almost immediate discussions about the companion press. This has now started to arrive at the Cramlington factory in Northumberland.
The second press has five printing units, compared to six on the first. While buying the first was not an automatic choice for the print business, despite its long association with the manufacturer, chief executive Shaun Johnson said at the time, the follow up order would have been simpler to confirm once the first machine had lived up to expectations.
He says now: “We were very pleased with the first one so it was a no brainer to purchase another, that’s our print room finished with two B1 presses, a B2 and a B3.
“The Manroland is a very user friendly machine so the printers have taken to it quickly and we have definitely seen more efficiencies in all areas, especially with less waste and high speed on long runs.”
Operations director Michael Johnson has said: “It is clear to see what a massive improvement it has made to our print capacity and quality. Makeready times have improved dramatically along with the huge reduction in waste sheets thanks to the inline colour measurement and dynamic control. We are seeing big reductions in running times due to great speeds in plate changeover and blanket washes.”
Manroland Sheetfed GB managing director Peter Redmond adds: “Very early on, Potts saw the benefits of running the latest technology. The company is investing for the future and setting themselves up for the next ten years. We are really pleased to have two of the machines running in the same factory.”
Potts produces both carton work and commercial print, but has stayed away from UV printing, using coatings instead to protect the printed surface. Johnson adds that a growth in packaging work over the last 18 months while maintaining volumes of commercial print helped confirm the decision for a press capable of producing both types of work.
Among the recent commercial jobs produced, the company has printed Who is your neighbour?, a children’s book to raise awareness and funds for The Voices of the Children, a charity that is active in Ukraine.
The new machine includes the 2,000th unit of the B1 press that Manroland Sheetfed has produced since launching the Evolution model at Drupa in 2016.
