Bristol-based Apple Litho, and Scottish Panda Print in Dunfermline
go digital adding Linoprint presses from Heidelberger
Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) to their pressrooms.
Digital becomes core to Apple Litho's printing portfolio
A local Government contract has spurred Apple Litho to invest
in a Heidelberg Linoprint C 901 digital press. Already armed with
around 2.3 million Euro of litho kit, this quality colour printer
wanted to offer its customers an additional service for very short
run and variable data printing contracts. "We explored the market
and looked at equipment available, but Heidelberg offered a
competitive price without any of the smoke and mirrors on running
costs," says Louis Bracey, managing director and founder of the 33
year old company. "We needed a machine that was beyond the basic
entry system, but we didn't require the very high-end plus line
either. With people asking for smaller and smaller quantities of
print and with digital quality getting better and better it was the
right time and the Linoprint C 901 was the right machine."
Panda Print adds a Linoprint C 751 to its digital line up
Panda Print has replaced one of its digital colour lines with
a Heidelberg Linoprint C 751. The company has sourced its litho
machines from Heidelberg for some years and when it viewed the C
751 it was convinced it was right for its market. "It was the best
option," says Mark Wilson, production director and member of the
family business. "It offered the quality for the type and volume of
job we handle and was in the right price bracket. We run a number
of Heidelberg litho machines and for us a real advantage will be
that in the future we will be able to connect this machine to
Prinect so prepress can allocate work quickly and easily to the
best machine for the job."
Apple Litho's is revitalising its web site and refreshing the
signage around its central Bristol location. It will promote
its comprehensive services, using Apple Colour and Apple Digital as
trading names for Apple Litho. The personal and one off work that
the company might previously have shunned can now be handled. Apple
Litho envisages much of the digital work coming from existing users
although it also believes having personalisation could open up new
opportunities as well.
The Linoprint C 901 will be housed in prepress and staff
there will run it, passing it through to the established finishing
department for cutting, folding and/or stitching and despatch. This
department also handles work from the company's two B2 presses, a
Speedmaster XL 75-5-P and a Speedmaster CD 74-4 from Heidelberg. It
will operate on a 6am to 2pm and 2pm to 10am shift system, five
days a week.
"Since our company was formed we have seen the printing
industry compressed and depressed. Thankfully we are doing well.
Presses today produce double the volume of print and at the same
time we have seen the rise of competition from the Internet.
However, one of our customers, handling industrial branded
clothing, moved away from catalogues to online selling but has
returned to catalogues finding it a better sales medium. So I do
still have confidence in the future of print. It is still going to
be needed in many guises, including stationery and prestige
promotional work," says Louis Bracey.
At Panda Print the choice between digital and litho is decided
on a case by case basis, the company's estimators advising each
client on the comparative costs and agreeing which route to take.
It says that work above 1,000 A4 sheets would certainly go on a
litho machine but sometimes the choice is more complex than simply
run length.
"We get good service from Heidelberg and, to enable us to
commission this press with least disruption, they installed it for
us over the Christmas-New Year break so we are now up and running,"
says Mark Wilson.
Panda Print takes most of its work from within Scotland and
it handles a very broad range of jobs for both business and
consumer customers. The digital presses, which operate of a
flexible day shift, handle a wide and varied range of work.
Figure 1: The Scottish company Panda Print opted for a
Linoprint C 751, which offers outstanding image quality and an
exceptional range of functions.
Figure 2: A local Government contract has spurred Apple
Litho to invest in a Heidelberg Linoprint C 901 digital press. The
central Bristol location is adjacent to a canal.
For further information about the company and image material,
please visit the Press Lounge of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG at
www.heidelberg.com.
For further information, please contact:
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Corporate Public Relations
Silke Wolf
Phone: +49 (0)6221 92-5061
Fax: +49 (0)6221 92-5069
E-Mail:
silke.wolf@heidelberg.com