Speedmaster SX 74-4+L H. Makeready times of just three minutes and a consistent production speed of 15,000 sheets per hour make almost every job profitable.
Gary Goodson, Managing Director of Premier Print Group, remembers it well: “We wanted to replace two presses with a new machine that could be operated by just one operator instead of two – and naturally without any loss of productivity or quality. But what press could do this? Then we heard about the Speedmaster SX 74 and saw it at drupa. By then, we were in no doubt and we ordered a four-color SX 74 with coating unit.”
Premier Print, based in Bow in east London, produces practically all run sizes, from 250 to 50,000. Yet the core business is undoubtedly shorter runs of a wide range of magazines and brochures for customers from throughout the UK that mostly have to be produced to very tight deadlines. Premier with its 23 employees offers customers an all-round service including postpress and an in-house mailing service. The press used at Premier Print was the first Speedmaster SX 74 with AutoPlate Pro, the fully-automated plate changer system. It ensures the minimal setup times crucial for frequent job changes.
The new Speedmaster SX 74 makes Premier even more efficient in handling its portfolio, dominated as it is by fast throughput times. “The quality is fantastic and we’re incredibly flexible. This has transformed our entire business. Now we can carry out last-minute jobs in-house without any problems and handle them profitably,” says a delighted Goodson. “The coating unit allows us to send jobs to postpress completely free of marks just ten or fifteen minutes after printing. And we produce everything at a maximum speed of 15,000 sheets an hour! The Speedmaster SX 74 has truly exceeded our high expectations.”