London-based print business Fontain has revealed that its latest investment has quadrupled its litho printing capacity. The RMGT Ryobi 928 LED-UV eight-colour perfector is now installed and in production at the company’s SE16 premises, having been purchased through UK distributor Apex Digital Graphics.
Commenting on the new addition, Huw Harcombe, Director at Fontain (above, centre) said: “We had been following the development of LED-UV presses for some time, and had viewed the RMGT product on a number of occasions. Seeing the eight colour in action at last year’s IPEX show sealed the deal for us. Now that it is installed and running I have to say that the incredible productivity of the machine has confirmed our expectations.”
The RMGT SRA1 4/4 perfector press has replaced a five-colour Heidelberg XL75 B2-format machine configured to perfect 2/3. Fontain runs a 24 hour / five day shift pattern, producing a wide range of commercial print, but with a strong focus on full-colour brochures and booklets.
“Because we are now able to print 16-page A4 sections, and dry the print as it is produced, the press has speeded up overall production as well as giving us more printing capacity,” added Huw.
LED-UV curing units incorporated into the press configuration provide for near instant drying of the sheet, enabling immediate progression of the work to the finishing department. The press has also been equipped with technotrans ink.line systems to maximise efficiency of ink management.
Apex has also fitted a Lithec colour management system to the press. “In operation it’s basically very similar to a leading competitors colour management solution, but at a significantly lower price.” The Lithec colour management system integrates with RMGT’s PDS-E SpectroDrive inline printing quality control enabling the operator to monitor and maintain the quality of the printed sheet throughout the run.
Fontain reviewed LED-UV supplies from different companies before settling on Toyo inks and chemistry. “They have had more experience with LED-UV and we found that their inks provided a better combination with the press,” explained Huw.
In addition to litho printing the 30+ team at Fontain also produce digital print using HP Indigo, Ricoh, Océ, and Canon equipment.
Commenting on yet another LED-UV order for Apex Digital Graphics, Neil Handforth, Sales & Marketing Director for the company, said: “It is highly significant that an increasing number of the UK’s leading exponents of digital and litho are turning to RMGT Ryobi LED-UV presses, combining the immediacy and cleanliness of digital with the quality of litho printing, across a massive stock range, and at high speeds. Add into that low power consumption of both the dryer and the press and it is very much a win-win decision.”
With regard to the Lithec colour management system, Neil Handforth added: “This is the first Lithec unit that we have installed. It provides for complete image control on the press for guaranteed optimum results. The system provides measurement and control of spectral, LAB and density values, as well as grey balance on an LAB-basis. It integrates very well with RMGT’s PDS-E SpectroDrive inline printing quality control.”
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 (16-page sections when perfecting), 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 (0.4 mm on a perfecting press).
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 manufactured in Europe and is available from most major ink suppliers. The last three years or so have seen a growing commercial acceptance of LED-UV in the UK and Europe, following on from widespread success in Japan. Apex has now installed more than 20 LED-UV presses in the UK. The environmental benefits of the technology and the significant cost savings through reduced power consumption are but two of the outstanding benefits of the equipment. Adding LED-UV also eliminates the need for powder spray, and as no ozone is produced in the curing process there is no requirement for extraction ducting. The productivity and stunning quality (particularly on uncoated stocks) of the technology are self-evident when the system is viewed in action.
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