MGS: Pre-Press Growth in a Recession

Darren Eliot, MD of MGS

Marlowe Graphic Services Ltd (MGS), Leighton Buzzard, the UK’s leading independent pre-press service and maintenance company, has recorded significant growth in its business during the recent recessionary months.

Darren Eliot, Managing Director of MGS, said: “We have been delighted with the additional business that has been coming our way in recent months. Whilst all suppliers have recognised that companies are shying away from making significant investments in new equipment, the flip side to that coin is that they are having to spend money on maintaining or improving their current pre-press set-up, and that’s where MGS comes in.”

The company works with customers in all sectors, including major newspaper and magazine businesses, right through to commercial print operations.

“The justification in making a £60 or £70,000 “new equipment” purchase is certainly difficult for many companies – whether that is justifying the need to a bank or to fellow directors. Upgrading existing platemaking equipment to work with a new plate technology, or adding new software to make a workflow more efficient, are significantly less expensive routes, far easier to justify, and usually highly productive.

“Pre-owned equipment, upgraded or updated by MGS, is also a popular purchase right now. We recently supplied a CtP solution to an envelope printing company that have themselves recently seen an increase in demand. We examined their current requirements and also received their thoughts regarding projected growth over the next few years. We presented them with a solution that will more than accommodate them today, but more importantly will be able to grow with them. We also demonstrated a route for them to move to a processless solution with the equipment we supplied once the plates become readily available. This solution, including an up-to-date RIP, installation and warranty was put in for less than £10k.

“People contact MGS because they know that we will not try to sell them something that they don’t need. If they want to retain their existing equipment, we can support them. If they want to upgrade their existing solution, we can offer them alternatives. If they do want a complete new systems, we can also offer impartial advice on both pre-owned and new solutions,” added Darren Eliot.

The company expects to announce the appointment of two further service technicians in the near future in order to handle the additional demand currently being experienced.

About the Marlowe Graphic Services

Marlowe Graphic Services are the UK’s premier independent pre-press specialist, providing service, parts and technical support for a wide range of graphic arts equipment. The company’s service offering is unique in that not only does it supply, integrated and service third-party equipment but it also has its own team of in-house software and hardware specialists, which means that if a solution doesn’t exist MGS will simply make it!

Customers range from multi-national magazine and newspaper publishers, to fine-art printers, book printers and general commercial print suppliers. In short, print businesses of all shapes and sizes, being looked after by MGS’s team of factory-trained engineers, covering the whole of the UK.

The MGS web site has been designed to complement the range of individual services that the company currently offers, all uniquely supported by MGS’s own staff. Customers like the MGS approach, as they are not making important purchasing decisions via a faceless computer, or even worse, an overseas call centre. They know that if they are stuck MGS has the means to “un-stick” them.

For further information on Marlowe Graphic Services visit the www.marlowe.co.uk web site, or call 0870 777 0920.

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Reflections Joins International Print Finisher Group

Luke Hastings, Managing Director of Reflections

Reflections, the largest speciality print finisher in the south of England, has accepted an invitation to join the prestigious International Print Finisher Group (IPFG) following its latest conference held in May 2009, which took place in Mallorca.

Membership of the International Print Finisher Group consists exclusively of specialist trade finishing companies from across the globe. Sixteen countries are represented, including members from USA, Brazil and Australia, as well as from a host of European countries. The organisation staged its first meeting in 1972 and has met regularly since then.

Predominantly membership of IPFG is limited to one company from each country, though for exceptionally busy countries, such as Germany and UK, more than one member can be invited. The group meets for a conference every two years, with meetings staged in a different member country on each occasion, with business meetings in the intervening year which are timed to coincide with Drupa and IPEX.

Luke Hastings, Managing Director of Reflections, said: “We are delighted to have been invited to become a member of the IPFG. Our initial “get-to-know-you” meeting in Mallorca was hugely beneficial, and we have already established some excellent contacts across the world. The concept of getting together with similar types of businesses from a wide range of countries means that we can all exchange ideas and product knowledge for the good of each other.”

The agenda for the Mallorca meeting including such topics as the current global economic situation; challenges posed by the current environmental focus, including a focus on more environmentally friendly product; and finishing for the digital print sector.

IPEX will provide the venue for the next business meeting of the IPFG, which the next conference, scheduled for 2011, will take place in Vienna.

Further details on the history of the International Print Finisher Group can be found at www.ipfg.org

About Reflections

Reflections the largest speciality print finisher in the south of England, with three core production centres in London, Essex and Kent. The services provided by Reflections to the print trade include: laminating, overall UV varnishing, spot UV, foil blocking, die-cutting and creasing along with many other more specialised effects.

The wide range of speciality finishes available from Reflections include MicroMotion, a unique screen printing process that provides colour shifts and subtle sparkling of the image when the final print is angled by the viewer. Suitable for application to virtually any stock, MicroMotion is just one of the patented special finishes available from Reflections.

The company provides the highest level of quality alongside a fast and reliable service to meet the needs of today’s modern print environment.

For further views of Reflections visit the www.reflections.co.uk web site, or call 0208 305 6333.

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Hine Labels: Digital and Flexo Quality Match

Hine Labels Ltd, Rotherham, Yorkshire, in conjunction with Punch Graphix UK, held an open house event on Wednesday, May 20^th featuring the UK’s first Xeikon 3000 digital label press.

Under the banner “Digital and Flexo, a Perfect Match” the event focused on the compatibility of digital with traditional flexo printing. Tests produced during the open day demonstrated the ability of Hine Labels to produce identical print quality from both processes, which Bill Hine, Managing Director of Hine Labels, sees as critical in order for digital to take an ever more significant proportion of the label printing market.

“Our business comes mainly from trade customers. They generally don’t have a preference with regard to the printing process that we use. What they want is high quality, colour consistent labels in the shortest possible production time. However, we have to face the fact that run lengths are decreasing across many of our markets, and this is what tends to determine which print process we use for a given job. The further enhancements in both image quality and production speed for the Xeikon 3000 meant that it was the next logical step for us, and, in our market, this press provides the ideal digital companion to our flexo printing equipment,” said Bill Hine.

Hine Labels utilise EskoArtwork’s Backstage software to process artwork for both digital and flexo production, as well as an Esko CDI platemaker for flexo plate creation. The system allows customer files to be prepared in advance of selecting which process will produce the final job. “This means that we do not have to make a decision whether a job will be printed digitally or via flexo until the last minute,” said Bill Hine. “Certainly the quality that we can achieve with our Xeikon 3000 is a very good match to the labels produced via the flexographic process, so the decision as to how to produce a given job is down to other factors, such as run length or how quickly the customer needs the job, or a part of the job.”

Xeikon 3000 produces images at 1200 dots per inch, with four bits per spot, to ensure the highest possible colour quality, and offers an increased imaging width of 322mm, against the 307mm imaging width of the Xeikon 330 machine. All machines are based on a 330mm substrate width. Xeikon 3000 web-based press has a top speed of 31.5 feet of label production per minute, and a monthly duty cycle of 1,500,000 feet. The five colour engine provides for the four standard process colours plus a choice of spot colour, special security toner for anti-counterfeiting applications, or an opaque white for the “no label” look on transparent material. The press is capable of handling an unrivalled range of substrates including self-adhesive films, co-extruded films, unsupported films, paper, transparent and opaque foils, and paperboard. The environmentally friendly dry toner electrophotography imaging process enables the use of conventional substrates without the need for coating or pre-treatment.

Commenting on the Hine Labels event, Greg Neesham, Sales Director for Punch Graphix UK, said: “We were especially pleased to be able to show off Hine Labels new Xeikon 3000 to a wider audience. Visitor numbers on the day were excellent, and many label producers were particularly excited to see the match we were able to show them between digital and flexo label printing. Digital systems have made huge advances in recent years, and most traditional label printers now realise that they need to have some digital offering for their markets.”

For further information on Punch Graphix and Xeikon e-mail infouk@punchgraphix.com or visit the www.xeikon.com web site. For more details on Hine Labels call 01709 369 222.

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Hi-Tech Print Solutions Company Goes Global

Tony O'Neill, Managing Director of Mediatoolbox

Bedfordshire-based Mediatoolbox, a company providing innovative software solutions for the digital printing and graphics art industries, has just signed an agreement that will give it significant global exposure – with help from UK Trade & Investment.

Tony O’Neill set up Mediatoolbox in May 2005 having spotted the potential benefits that the internet could bring to the world of digital printing.  Working with a team of software developers based in Berlin, he has created a set of browser-based applications that gives traditional digital printers the means to increase their sales while cutting their costs.

Tony explained: “I realised there was a real opportunity to harness the power of the internet by developing software solutions that would make trading easier for printers and their clients. By using our range of solutions they can give their clients a faster and more efficient service, while at the same time significantly cutting costs and – because this is all web-based – they can also radically re-think their traditional sales territory.”

Right from the start, Tony’s vision was that the company would be international. His own sales background has previously taken him all over Europe so he was well aware of the potential for trading overseas.

However, as this was his first lone business venture he still felt the need for some specialist advice in tackling international markets. One of his first ports of call was UK Trade & Investment. Having contacted them via their website, he was delighted when International Trade Adviser, Martin Keepfer got in touch. Since then Martin has worked closely with Tony, having regular review and planning meetings and providing practical help in the form of grants and finding translators.

In 2007 Tony attended a graphics art exhibition in Barcelona as a guest of Punch Graphix and was advised by UK Trade and Investment to translate his brochure into both Spanish and Catalan – which for both commercial and historical reasons was very important to the local graphic arts business community. Tony explained: “I could immediately see that this advice was absolutely spot on. Our sales prospects were impressed by our professionalism and our respect for local business ethics and traditions.”

The deal with Punch Graphix means that Mediatoolbox’s software solutions will be installed in Punch Graphix’s worldwide demonstration suite in Lier, Belgium, and will be demonstrated alongside Xeikon’s range of printing presses. Tony said: “It’s taken a lot of hard work to get us to this point but we are genuinely excited at the worldwide exposure to potential customers this deal will give us. I have a lot to thank UKTI for. They have given me a huge amount of practical help and Martin has been incredibly enthusiastic and committed throughout.”

“Mediatoolbox has been an exemplary client,” said Martin Keepfer, International Trade Adviser. “I have worked with founder Tony O’Neill since early 2006, almost from the start-up stage. By making use of the full range of UKTI services along the way, the company has now established itself in a number of foreign markets.  In particular our Market Visit Support and Tradeshow Access Programme have helped Tony exhibit his range of printing software solutions in a number of markets that otherwise may not have been economically accessible to him. “

For more information about Mediatoolbox go to www.media-toolbox.com. For more information about Punch Graphix and Xeikon go to http://www.punchgraphix.com

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First Move into Digital for Leeds-based Jade Press

Jade Press Ltd, Leeds, has made its first move into digital print production with the installation of an HP Indigo press 3500. The new system was purchased from the UK’s only authorised Business Partner for HP Indigo products, Digital People UK Ltd, Chessington, Surrey.

Commenting on the decision to move into digital, Darren Shepherd, Managing Director of Jade Press, said: “It adds another dimension to our business. It was important to us, however, not to compromise on quality. Digital certainly has its advantages in terms of its ability to handle short runs, and personalised print, but often it is easy to spot a digitally produced sheet because of the quality.

“We chose the HP Indigo press because it was able to produce quality comparable to offset-litho. We have already produced a piece of promotional material for ourselves printed litho on one side and digital on the other to allow customers to see for themselves how accurately we can produce an image using either technology.

“Many businesses are reducing run lengths, and we therefore believe that there could be no better time to get into digital than right now. We also believe that it is a good time for print buyers to exploit the benefits of personalised print – something that you cannot even hope to produce via traditional print techniques.” Jade Press runs two B2-format Komori Lithrone presses for its litho printed work.

The move into digital has allowed Jade to fully explore the benefits of web-to-print, which it handles through its Tharstern system. “Some £2 million of our business is contracted work with such organisations as local councils and hotel chains. Their individual operations can now log into our system, make their own adjustments to the generic print materials that they require, and then order their own specific requirements in terms of quantity. Digital output is a huge advantage in this area, as many of the individual run lengths are small, but the jobs are required very quickly. Customers have already found this solution to be a real winner for them,” confirmed Darren Shepherd.

As part of the purchase from Digital People, the Jade Press order included Morgana finishing equipment. “The Morgana equipment was purchased to provide creasing, folding and stitching capabilities for the shorter runs typically produced by digital, but in fact we have already used the equipment for several jobs that were produced on our litho presses.”

Established in 1973, Jade Press has built a reputation for quality, reliability, honesty and integrity – all the values that a family owned business can ensure are continued to be delivered. The company works in partnership with UK and international clients, providing the best solutions for their general commercial printing requirements. Print advice is based on a wealth of experience from a dedicated team capable of delivering a wide range of solutions.

The HP Indigo press 3500 provides for printing up to seven-colours at up to 4,000 A4 full-colour pages per hour (printed two-up), or up to 16,000 single-colour A4 pages per hour (two-up). The 812 x 812 dots-per-inch resolution is suitable for the reproduction of screened images of up to 230 lines-per-inch.

Commenting on the installation for Digital People, Jerry Widdowson, Chairman, said: “Jade Press is a high-quality litho printer that can see real opportunity by expanding into the digital printing sector. With the installation of the HP Indigo press 3500 they are providing customers with the same litho quality that they have come to expect from Jade, but with the added benefits that only digital can offer, such as fast and economical short-run production, and the potential of variable data production.”

For further information on Jade Press call 0113 248 0929 or visit the www.jadeprint.com web site.

For further details about Digital People call 0845 130 1445 or visit the www.thedigitalpeople.com web site.

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