Leading print producer ProCo, Sheffield, has announced details of the purchase of a second RMGT (Ryobi) 920 LED-UV press. Installation of the Ryobi 924 LED-UV press is already underway after the company signed an order with Apex Digital Graphics, the official RMGT Ryobi press distributor for the UK in formats up to SRA1, on the final day of this year’s Ipex show.
The first press, a Ryobi 925 LED-UV press, was installed in August of this year. The latest order is for a four-colour version of the same machine, but with an extended delivery and higher-powered LED’s – particularly beneficial for the printing of plastic substrates. Both presses can print 8-up A4 pages to view. An LED-UV curing unit is incorporated into the configuration for near instant drying of the sheet, enabling immediate back-up or progression of the work to the finishing department. PDS-E SpectroDrive inline printing quality control enables the operator to monitor and maintain the quality of the printed sheet throughout the run.
Commenting on the purchase decision, Jon Bailey, CEO at ProCo, said: “The first Ryobi machine, which we have been using for several months now, has allowed us to think totally differently about litho printing at our Sheffield site. The SRA1 format means we can be significantly more competitive on a wider range of work and we’re seeing some very positive early signs about the impact it can have on our business. By offering our clients superior turnarounds, different formats, and competitive pricing we’re opening up lots of new avenues for us and we’re excited about bringing another press into the facility.”
At the time of the installation of the first Ryobi press, Graeme Parry, Production Director at ProCo, said: “While litho is still very much a key part of our offering, we needed to explore how we could maintain it as a viable part of our business, and the new press will help us do that.”
The press has already won the company new business. “The installation of the first press has given ProCo the ability to be more competitive on longer run work. Previously, due to the smaller B2 / SRA2 format, the time frame to deliver, and of course the machine hourly rate, meant that sometimes we had to make compromises to meet customer requirements. The installation of the second press will give us additional capacity so we can continue to meet our customers’ demands for both the short and longer run jobs,” added Graeme Parry.
“With the common sheet format across both machines it will make planning a lot simpler, and give us the ability to switch work between machines when needed.”
With regard to the potential for printing onto plastic substrates, Mr Bailey added: “Being able to print onto plastics within litho is a brilliant addition to our capability. This will now open up new opportunities for us – we currently have some of this type of work going through our large format department, but we will now have the firepower to look at work that requires volume production on plastic substrates.”
The commissioning of the new press commenced in late November and it will be fully operational before Christmas.
“We’ve seen growth within litho over the last quarter and we’re looking forward to be able to push the boundaries in terms of volume of jobs, and of course the impressions, we produce in 2018,” added Jon Bailey.
Commenting on the order for Apex Digital Graphics, Neil Handforth, Sales & Marketing Director for the company, said: “It is a great pleasure to once again add further press firepower to an existing LED-UV user, and another leading UK print provider. The ProCo team have had several months exposure to the benefits of the Ryobi LED-UV system, and have found the productivity of the machine far surpassing their previous B2 litho equipment. Adding the second machine will both enhance their production capability and open up possibilities of taking on even more new business.”
ProCo works with customers to help them achieve amazing results for their marketing projects by using the latest litho and digital print technologies, combined with what it describes as digital wizardry to make it all happen. ProCo employs over 140 staff at its Sheffield and Stansted sites, and runs several HP Indigo digital units across both sites, with currently one Ryobi 925 LED-UV press, one manroland B2 litho press, an Agfa Jeti Tauro 2.5m Hybrid and an Agfa Anapurna 3.2m roll-to-roll engine. The company produces commercial printing with a focus on direct mail and personalisation, as well as building bespoke workflows for clients. It has ten in-house programmers working on such tasks.
Apex Digital Graphics Limited is a specialist in the supply and service of pre-press and press equipment. Apex is the official UK distributor for the RMGT Ryobi range of printing presses through to SRA1 format and Cron metal-based platesetters. Apex also distributes the Konica Minolta range of digital printing equipment. The company offers national service coverage, and a one-stop shop for print consumables featuring next day delivery. Apex Digital Graphics can be contacted on 01442 235 236 or via the www.apexdigital.co.uk web site.
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