Adare SEC has continued its relationship with Ricoh, installing the flagship Pro VC70000 continuous feed inkjet press at its Huddersfield factory.
This follows on investment in a pair of Pro VC60000 inkjet presses at Drupa in 2016, these replacing two IP5000 inkjet presses that had been installed in 2014. The new machine will extend the range of substrates that the business can use and represents a more productive platform than the VC60000.
The investment balances a spend on inserting and enclosing equipment from Bluecrest last year. This was put to good use in handling the print Minister’s letter to the nation that signalled the start of the continuing Covid-19 pandemic.
The company says that the new Ricoh will help bring faster print speeds, shortening turnaround times and improving quality where needed on direct mail work. Inline scanning of what is printed will deliver the integrity that customers are looking for it adds.
“In addition to being able to do everything the existing VC60000 can do, this will also enable us to print at a higher ink coverage on a broader range of paper types, ideally suited to direct mail applications,” says CEO Rachael Nevins. The press can reach speeds of 150m/min and can print on coated papers with heavier ink coverage without a priming coat at 1200dpi, thanks to a redesigned drying section and paper path.
Adare SEC had invested in further enclosing lines in July last year as part of a three-year multi-million pound investment cycle. Nevins says: “Over the past six months, and despite the challenges presented by Covid-19, we have continued to invest because our vision for the business remains the same – to be the trusted expert of choice for contemporary integrated communications.
“We are piecing together a formidable portfolio of technology and hardware, all of which will allow us to continually enhance our capabilities, processes and expertise for the benefit of our clients.”
It also has a strategy of mirroring the capabilities across its Huddersfield and Nottingham plants for resilience and to meet any demand for faster turnaround and longer run work. There is also a plant in Redditch with a combined capacity of 750 million mailings a year.
