Geerings Print, specialists in the creation of catalogue and show-guide materials for the events market, has announced details regarding the purchase of a five-colour plus coater Ryobi 920 SRA1-format offset litho press to replace an existing B1-format machine, and two smaller presses, at its Ashford, Kent, premises.
Joint owner-directors Nick Brisley and Martin Almond first saw the SRA1-format machine in action at the Print Efficiently event, staged at the IFS showrooms in West London, in October of last year: “We actually went to Print Efficiently to keep our eye on general developments within our changing market,” said Nick Brisley. “Having seen a number of other pieces of equipment at the event, the Ryobi press caught our eye – specifically the sheet size that was being produced.”
Initial discussions regarding the benefits of SRA1 versus Geerings current B1 sheet size took place at the event. “Having thought of ourselves as a B1 printer, we quickly realised that at least 90% of the jobs that we were printing on our B1 machine were actually far more suited to the SRA1 sheet size of the Ryobi 920. We went away and did our own sums,” said Martin Almond, “and were staggered at the answers that we produced!”
The two directors own calculations pointed to potential yearly savings of some £18,000 on plate material; £8,000 to £9,000 on power consumption [working double day shifts] – which was verified by an independent electrician; a further £8,000 saving by using more sophisticated and more accurate colour adjustment on press (savings included current hard-copy proofs being created); and a staggering £36,000 saving in paper.
“Those year-on-year savings, coupled with the improved performance of the hardware overall – including the significantly faster make-ready speeds and increased sheets per hour output –convinced us. The new press will be a direct replacement for our B1-format press, but will also provide sufficient capacity to allow us to remove an ageing single-colour machine and a two-colour B2 press that no longer fits today’s full-colour demand,” added Nick. This will leave the company with the SRA1 Ryobi and a five-colour B2 perfector press.
Current machinery will remain in action until the Ryobi equipment is in place, and full operator training has taken place. “Fortunately we have the space to allow this to happen,” said Martin. “Apex have been able to provide a February installation of the machine for us, which fits in well with our calendar. With the events market being at it’s busiest through the Spring and Summer, we knew if we couldn’t install the new machine by early Spring we might well have had to leave it until the back end of the year.”
Geerings Print, with its origins as a family-owned-business stretching back more than 100 years, employs a team of 25 and underwent a management buyout some six years ago, with Nick and Martin taking overall control from March 2012. Whilst the events market plays a major part in the Kent printers success, the company also considers itself to be a general commercial colour printer as well. “There will always be a place for general commercial work here at Geerings, with our set up being well geared towards offering creative print solutions to a diverse client base,” added Martin.
About the Ryobi 920
Ryobi’s introduction of an SRA1 press caused considerable interest when it was introduced at the IPEX 2010 show in Birmingham. It provides for eight-up A4 printing at a significantly lower cost than a B1-format press.
“Many printers looking to move up from B2 format tend to focus on B1 as the next logical move, when in reality many only intend to print eight-up A4 work. A B1 press for this work is simply overkill. It would mean that the printer is running a larger, more expensive press, using oversize plates, and often oversize substrates,” said Neil Handforth, Sales and Marketing Director of Apex Digital Graphics, the UK’s official Ryobi distributor.
The Ryobi 920 Series SRA1 press offers printers the ideal solution for such a straightforward workload. It also provides a significantly more economical printing solution, and a greener option when examining the potential savings on power consumption, plate and paper waste. It is the ideal machine for printers seeking an effective solution for 900 x 640mm printing. The Ryobi 920 is already becoming firmly established across Europe in areas that would previously have only considered the B1 option.
“Savings begin with the overall cost of the machine, which effectively offers B1 productivity for near the price of a B2 machine,” said Mr Handforth. The physical size of the press itself provides a near 35% space reduction compared with a typical B1 machine, which can be important when expensive floor space needs to be considered as part of the installation of a new machine.
With regard to power consumption, the Ryobi will consume approximately 45kW per hour, whilst a typical B1 machine might expect to draw 72 kW per hour – another saving in favour of the Ryobi 920 over a typical eight-hour day of some 216kW hours. With current commercial electricity pricing for daytime working at circa 9p per kW hour, that would equate to a saving for users of the Ryobi machine in the region of £100 per five day week, or in excess of £5,000 per year.
See the Ryobi 920 in action here.
For more information on Geerings Print visit www.geeringsprint.co.uk or call 01233 633 366.
ENDS
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