The installation of an HP Indigo 10000 at Hardings Print Solutions has been so successful that the Feltham company is contemplating a second.
First comes additional finishing kit to cope with the expansion from the HP Indigo 5500 the company has used until adding the< B2 format HP Indigo 10000. “It’s not just a case of buying a machine,” says managing director James José, “we need finishing equipment as well.”
The company, specialist in retail work, has been experiencing an increase in demand for personalised print. “We have seen a huge increase a number of key areas of the business, including notable increase in variable data and imagery for point of sale prints and direct mail,” he adds.
Before the arrival of the new machine, Hardings was placing much of this work. It will be able to keep this in-house, helping cut production times as well as retaining profits. “We are already generating quite a lot of interest because of it. We were told that we were generating more clicks than anyone else in the country immediately after installation,” he says.
The company will also be using the press for larger format property brochures and fine art books.
The task is now to raise the profile of the printer which can supply litho work and has flatbed inkjet as well as the Indigos. A move to new 120q m premises in June paved the way for the arrival of the press.
“We are starting to see growth, using full colour variable data and other means to be more innovative, hoping to build up that side of the business,” Jose continues. He joined the company earlier this year from Eclipse and had been at Aldersons before the stint in the midlands.
The next immediate step will be to bolster the finishing side. It has already put a B2 guillotine in place and is adding laminating, creasing and folding for the larger sheet “and we are looking at lay flat binding”.
“These are exciting times for this business. We have an average age of 38-40 years, all from skilled backgrounds in the industry,” he adds. “We can see anotherHP Indigo 10000 coming soon.”
Hardings has installed an HP Indigo 10000 B2 digital press, an investment that will put the Feltham company on the map and introduces it to an elite club of UK printers with this technology.
