The Screen Truepress 560 HDX installed at Bluetree is proving has delivered a significant increase in efficiency over the earlier generation TruepressJet 520HD that it has replaced.
The flagship of Screen’s continuous press portfolio has been in place in Rotherham since the early spring and has bedded in well, despite being the first of its type in the country. It has been on order since the introduction of the press at Drupa.
The uplift in productivity comes through a 150m/min operating speed compared to half that on the older machine. A new higher capacity drying system and higher pigment load SC2 inks as well as makeready features, easier access for service, and instant recovery, faster warm up and greater consistency thanks to temperature control flow through printheads. An inline spectrophotometer enables paper profiling in a few minutes.
The press is installed in a roll to roll configuration and is set up for multi-section book and booklet work for Route1’s trade customers. After printing the reel runs through a Contiweb remoist unit and then its variable weight coating system to ensure that there is no marking on the Hunkeler offline finishing set up.
Route1 CEO Adam Carnell says the new press matches market trends. “The trade print market has changed considerably. Our reseller clients and their customers expect greater flexibility with the same consistent high quality from our printing services. When we considered our next press investment, we needed a solution that could meet that pace of change while continuing to offer them products that not only match, but continue to exceed our own high standards.”
Carnell was impressed with the output samples that were available at Drupa, realising that the technology could deliver what was needed for Route1 coupled with the experience it has had with Screen. Screen Europe senior vice president sales Bui Burke says: “Route1 Print represents exactly the kind of high performance, forward thinking printing operation that the TruepressJet 560 HDX was engineered for. As the first installation in the UK, this is a strong and early validation of the press in the European commercial print market. We are proud to have them as our launch partner for this platform and look forward to supporting their business for many years to come.”
The investment is part of a larger re-equipment of the business which is underway as the business expands into labels and packaging. The TPJ560 HDX enables the company to retain its edge on competitive pricing and rapid turnaround so address more of the fat turnaround commercial print market. “The balance of improved printing quality and consistency with a printing platform that streamlines every step of production from job management to finishing is making a real impact on how efficiently we move work through production,” says Carnell. “Our operators can focus entirely on throughput and the result is marked improvements to our products without impacting cost per print.”
