London-based print business Oriental Printing has announced the purchase and installation of an RMGT Ryobi 924 LED-UV press, as supplied by UK distributor Apex Digital Graphics.
The company, located close to Tilbury Docks, specialises in the production of Chinese restaurant and take-away menus – a market that has seen rapid growth in recent years. The SRA1 format press replaces an ageing Ryobi 684 SRA2 format machine.
Joint Managing Director Wei Jiang explained the background regarding the new purchase: “We had been very happy with the reliability of the Ryobi 684 and the previous Ryobi 662 – our first press. We had set out to look for a good second hand SRA1 or B2 press. We were offered a second hand Heidelberg by a local dealer only to find the press would not fit our factory which brought us back to our preferred option, an SRA1 Ryobi.”
Wei and his business partner, brother Quan, visited the IPEX show last year and saw the RMGT 928 LED-UV press in action on the Apex Digital Graphics stand. This was a game changer for Wei as the instant drying and associated elimination of spray powder would take away what was an everyday pain for this fast turnaround company.
After several months of discussions with Apex and a customer visit to a local RMGT user, a deal was struck for a new RMGT Ryobi 924 LED-UV. Following delivery, installation, and training the press was producing work in May 2018.
Wei was very impressed with the Apex installation team and the operator training given. “We had been running Ryobi equipment for the last ten years, so some of the basic operating system was familiar to us, but our young operator learnt a great deal from the in-depth training.”
With regard to the immediate benefits of the new press, Wei added: “On longer runs the spray powder would always cause an issue on the second side with frequent stops to clean blankets. My finisher is also happy as he does not have to deal with spray powder on the folding equipment and he has nice clean hands as the ink is cured dry with no residual ink rubbing off during handling”.
“The speed of throughput is amazing, firstly because runs have come down by half due to the press format, and secondly once printed, work can be immediately cut and folded, resulting in more room to manoeuvre around the factory. Even jobs with the heaviest of coverage can be finished immediately.”
Due to the Spectro-Jet colour management fitted to the press Wei says that print quality and on the run quality control are exceptional. To back this up customers have already noticed the difference and made calls to him to compliment him on the output of the new press.
With the extra capacity available Oriental Printing are looking to branch out to offer a wider range of work and have already secured some new magazine business.
Wei and his team are looking to become more efficient and profitable with the 8-up capability of the SRA1 format.
Commenting on yet another LED-UV order for Apex Digital Graphics, Neil Handforth, Sales & Marketing Director for the company, said: “We are of course delighted to be able to further expand the printing capability of long standing Ryobi user Oriental Printing. As with many print businesses, seeing the RMGT Ryobi 920 Series in action convinced them immediately of the great potential of these machines. Eight-up A4 printing on a press with a footprint no larger than a B2 machine, immediately dry sheets at the delivery end, lower power consumption throughout, no spray powder to contend with either on press or in post-press, significantly less work in progress taking up space on the shop floor, and RMGT’s well documented reliability: that all adds up to a winning formula for so many printers.”
RMGT’s increasingly popular 920 Series features a maximum paper size of 920 x 640 mm, enabling 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 in conjunction with Panasonic, 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 or heat 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.
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 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.ukweb site.
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