Steve Ennew Joins MPL to Expand European Growth

RMGT Mitsubishi UK distributor MPL Ltd has announced that Steve Ennew has joined the team as of the beginning of April to bolster the technical sales capabilities of the business across its European distribution outlets.

With some 30 years of industry experience, including a previous position with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as European demonstrator and, more recently, six years at German press manufacturer KBA, Steve brings with him a wealth of industry knowledge and experience.

Commenting on his new appointment as Technical Sales Manager at MPL, Steve said: “The reliability, low cost of ownership, and the superb print quality of the RMGT Mitsubishi products is something that has always impressed me, so it is a delight to be working with them again. The ease with which the presses can settle into a business is testament to the build quality and the ethos of the brand.

“Originally coming into the print industry as a press minder, I have always been able to see the benefits that a reliable, high quality press can bring to a business. I know that the RMGT product is the right choice for many of the print businesses in the UK and Ireland for very many reasons – its part of my job to go out and convince printing companies that they need to consider these benefits to help take their businesses into the future.”

Commenting on the appointment, Mark Stribley, Joint Managing Director of MPL Ltd, said: “Steve’s industry knowledge and industry experience will be invaluable to us as we continue to take RMGT Mitsubishi presses forward across Europe. He will be working closely with our service team to ensure existing customers as well as new customers optimise the performance of their investment, as well as looking to further “preach the gospel” regarding the importance of press reliability – something that many printers in the UK are not fully appreciating or understanding.”

About M Partners

In 2010 M Partners took on the management of both sales and service for RMGT Litho Presses in the UK and Ireland. This relationship has since grown to encompass responsibility for technical service across the whole of Europe for the now re-named RMGT business. M Partners also manage spare parts storage and distribution for the former Mitsubishi branded machines across Europe.

This representation joins established products such as GUK folding and inserting equipment, primarily focused towards the pharmaceutical packaging sector. More recently the business has expanded into the digital market place following an announcement regarding exclusive distribution of large format printing equipment from Korean manufacturer DGI, and an agreement to re-sell Canon equipment, with a special focus on the unique proofing capabilities of those products.

M Partners offers manufacturers considerable marketing and business expertise across both the printing and packaging sectors and provides high-quality national coverage for sales, support and technical service.

The Joint Managing Directors established M Partners Ltd in 2006 after gaining many years of industry experience in senior management roles at a major press manufacturer and used equipment dealer. They were responsible for corporate and product marketing for pre-press, press, post-press and service, plus operational control for digital, consumables and used equipment divisions.

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Precision Printing to Add Third LED-UV Press

Following its investment in two RMGT Ryobi Series 9 LED-UV presses last year, The Precision Printing Company Ltd, Barking, the multi-award winning business offering creative print solutions produced with state-of-the-art technology, has announced an order for a third machine: a second eight-colour perfector, to be installed in its new Thames Gateway factory.

The August / September move – just two miles from its existing site – will expand the business from 3,500 square meters to 5,000 square meters. The new Ryobi 928P SRA1 LED-UV sheet-fed machine will be installed at the new site to provide for business continuity whilst existing equipment is moved.

The machine ordered is similar to the existing perfector: an eight-colour convertible perfecting press for 8-up A4 format print production. Two LED-UV curing units are incorporated into this configuration – one situated over the perfecting device and the other at the delivery end of the machine, enabling one-pass instant curing perfecting. The press will also be equipped with Smart-RPC fully automatic simultaneous plate changing, dramatically reducing make-ready times for job changes.

This will also be the first press in the UK to be fitted with the new PQS-D colour control and inspection system. Shown for the first time in Europe at Drupa, and utilising inline CCTV camera technology, the PQS-D inline printing quality control enables the operator to monitor printing quality on both sides of the printed sheet in terms of both colour density and comparison to the pass sheet.

If a defect, such as a hickey, is identified, the operator is alerted on the control panel via a visual display and warning tone. A tab is inserted into the delivery stack until the defect is cleared, when a further tab is inserted.

The initial perfector was supported by a Ryobi 925 – a five-colour straight press also equipped with LED-UV curing and an inline spectrophotometer. Plates for the two presses were provided by two Cron CtP systems, all purchased from Apex Digital Graphics, Hemel Hempstead.

The two Cron 36-64GX UV-P units offer a combined capability of producing over 80 SRA1 plates per hour. The systems have been imaging onto Cron’s Blackwood UV plates.

Group Chief Operating Officer of Precision Printing, Andy Skarpellis, commenting on the latest press order, said: “The Ryobi / Apex relationship has gone from strength-to-strength and the market we are now pursuing allows us to produce uncoated work same day into London which was unachievable with conventional machines. It mirrors our digital platform beautifully and allows us to utilise the cross platform much closer than before.”

Adding further comment about the investment in LED-UV equipment, Chief Executive Officer, Gary Peeling, said: “It has revitalised the litho side of the business. It gives us the immediacy and simplicity of operation that we get from digital.

“If we are going to have a successful offset business we won’t do it by doing the same thing we have done for the last twenty years, so we are going new and modern and looking forward to the opportunities greatly.

“We are working hard to make using more printing simple for our customers. LED-UV allows us to produce wonderful looking results on uncoated substrates, which are increasingly popular. To compete, printing needs to be fast and simple. It is often the difference between printing or not from the customer perspective. This modern press technology allows that.”

Trade Printing

When talking about the work being produced on the RMGT equipment Andy Skarpellis referenced both hybrid digital/litho work and the trade work generated by the company’s WhereTheTradeBuys.co.uk website: “The output quality of the Ryobi machines is excellent of course, and with the LED-UV feature we can produce a finish to match our Indigo digital output, allowing us to produce combination litho/digital print products for customers. This means that we can combine personalised sections within long run publications at an economical price.

“For our trade printing business, the new presses mean that we are able to offer same day delivery for volume offset print orders into London, or overnight delivery, even if they are produced on uncoated stock – something that we could only do with short run digital requirements before.”

Gary Peeling added: “Our London location is an advantage in supporting the capital, but it comes at a cost – a problem that Tokyo printers share! These presses are compact and the UV drying also removes all “work in progress” from the shopfloor. We could print 500 runs and deliver today digitally; now we can offer 50,000 as well.”

Commenting on the order for Apex Digital Graphics, Neil Handforth, Sales & Marketing Director for the company, said: “This is a very significant order for Apex and for RMGT because it has come from such a high profile and well respected print business as Precision Printing. It is a great testimony to the performance of the eight- and five-colour presses, which have shown to be a powerful litho package for the work being produced by the company. Having proved to themselves that LED-UV is a game changer for litho production, we are more than delighted to make preparations for a third RMGT machine to be installed.”

Press Detail

RMGT’s increasingly popular 920 Series features a maximum paper size of 920 x 640 mm, enabling the eight-up printing of A4 size pages, as well as A1 size posters. The versatility of the press extends to stock thickness, with the 920 Series being capable of handling paper ranging from 0.04 mm onion-skin to heavy 0.6 mm card stock.

The LED-UV curing system was pioneered by Ryobi, with the company unveiling its first such product at Drupa in 2008. Developments in ink technology and manufacture have now caught up with the huge potential offered by LED-based UV drying equipment. LED-UV ink is now available from a host of major ink suppliers. This year is seeing a growing commercial acceptance of LED-UV in the UK, where it will follow Japan and a number of European countries. The environmental benefits of the technology and the significant cost savings through reduced power consumption are the two outstanding benefits of the equipment. Adding LED-UV also eliminates the need for powder spray, and removes ozone from the process, with the required ducting for extraction – another significant cost element. The stunning productivity and quality of the technique are self-evident when the system is viewed in action.

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Come Fly Away! Print 2 Finish Event, Hendon

Morgana Systems invite you to join them at Print 2 Finish at the RAF Museum, Hendon, on 17th and 18th May for a hands-on look at the future of the printing business.

In a 24/7 online world, the future of print is evolving and becoming increasingly challenging. To meet customer demands and grow your print business you need integrated print applications that enable you to offer fresh products or services. Print 2 Finish gives you the opportunity to connect with like-minded organisations and industry leading suppliers of Production Print Technology, including Morgana, Konica Minolta, Vivid and EFI.

All attendees to the event will get free entry to the museum and a 4D theatre experience of the world famous Red Arrows aerobatic team, or alternatively enjoy a Eurofighter Simulator ride with either the Red Arrows – a thrilling flight with Red 7, or the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Join Morgana at the RAF Museum in Hendon and see how together we can help your business grow!

About Morgana Systems Limited

Morgana Systems Limited provides an unrivalled range of digital finishing products from the simplest, entry-level creasing units through to highly sophisticated multi-functional systems offering a range of finishing capabilities in a single unit. Since its acquisition by Plockmatic in 2013 the product portfolio has been extended with a wide range of booklet making systems to meet every production requirement.

Beginning with the launch of the revolutionary AutoCreaser in 2000, Morgana Systems has led the way in developing new and innovative solutions to cope with the special requirements of the digital printer. Morgana products that have achieved worldwide success during this time include the AutoCreaser, the DigiFold combination creaser and folder, the DocuMaster total finishing system, and several specialist folders.

Morgana’s purpose built factory in Milton Keynes produces more than 4,000 finishing products each year, with over 80% of these destined for the company’s rapidly growing export markets.

Full details of Morgana’s product line-up can be found at: http://morgana.co.uk/

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