Micropress will be the first UK user of the Heidelberg Jetfire 50 when the inkjet press arrives at its Reydon factor in January.
The press is an OEM version of Canon’s iX3200 which Micropress has operated for two years. That machine can run inline to a Tecnau Book Ready, producing blocks for PUR binding. The Heidelberg machine will deliver sheets that will be finished in a Horizon StitchLiner.
While Micropress is a dedicated user of Heidelberg’s litho press technology, including the UK’s first plate to unit press and the Jetfire 50 will replace a Versafire toner press, opting for Heidelberg’s inkjet press was no foregone conclusion.
The Suffolk printer says it considered a second Canon machine as well as the growing choice of B2 sheetfed inkjet presses. “All the finishing equipment in the digital department is geared to SRA3,” says joint managing director Jamie Cross. “Next time around we’ll be looking harder at B2.”
Heidelberg will also supply Prinect Touch Free, its automated scheduling tool, which considers a number of attributes of a job to batch work and to schedule jobs across litho and inkjet presses. Micropress however also has its own solution linked to its MIS, to Prinect and other software tools and any decision to integrate the new Heidelberg application will need to fit in with this.
The second inkjet press will provide a substantial boost to capacity in digital printing which Mircopress plans to use for a revamped online portal. The plate to unit Heidelberg paves the way to shorter run prints and is a technology used by German online print giants. The Jetfire adds to this capability at the point that Press Print is being prepared for launch.
“We’ve been developing Press Print for a year now,” says joint managing director Rob Cross. “It’s a big step forward for us – a new channel that makes it easier for customers to order what they need, when they need it. While we expect some of our existing clients to use it, our main goal is to attract new types of customers who want professional quality print, fast and online.”
