Cascade Group has replaced an old, increasingly unreliable, digital press with a Konica Minolta C1085 as the central device for its digital production unit in London SE1.
The print group runs four sites to serve customers in central London and has switched from standalone retail businesses to a hub and spoke model with the street front operations supported by central production facilities in Southwark in recent years. The decision to invest in the Bizhub Press C1085 was part of this strategy, providing the necessary performance to support the on the spot production of simple jobs each office can handle with the ability to take on longer and more complex work.
As well as the digital unit offering high quality cut sheet colour through the Konica Minolta press, Cascade runs a litho unit, which it reckons to be one of the only litho units left in central London. The digital arm also produces large format print for displays and banners.
Production director Richard Adler says this provides the versatility to meet the variety of customer requirements it encounters: “We opened a new office in Westminster this summer to support the growing demand for high quality, quick turnaround product combined with exceptional customer service, and have plans in place to open even more local offices across central London over the next ten years.”
The pressure was on to find a better solution as the contract for the existing colour digital press was nearing its end and engineer visits were increasing in frequency. Adler spoke to Konica Minolta because its experience at one of the local sites with a smaller machine had been good. “KM scores highly on value for money, reliability and quality of output,” he says.
The C1085 is expected to handle business cards to high quality brochures, flyers and stickers for customers from SME businesses to large multinationals. “Relationship building is extremely important to Cascade Group both with clients and suppliers alike,” says Adler. “Konica Minolta has worked with us to ensure an excellent working relationship and over the past couple of years, have been able to provide the right equipment at the right price, enabling us to give our clients the excellent service and quality that they are used to.”
As well as print, the group offers design services, including website design through Cascade Studio which operates from its Holborn premises.
Cascade has invested in a new Konica Minolta to handle longer volume digital print alongside litho in a central production hub in Southwark as the group begins a wider expansion strategy.
