Print Solutions
BCQ Group is to make its LE-UV technology debut with a new Speedmaster XL 75-5 LE-UV model from Heidelberg. It is a press which will give the company a much needed uplift in print capacity and, equipped with Inpress Control 2 automatic colour adjustment and Autoplate Pro, it will be a huge increase in efficiency over the Speedmaster SM 74-6 it replaces.
‘We want this press because we handle a high volume of uncoated stocks and the need to meet the demand for ever faster turnarounds; it will complement our existing conventional XL 75s. The LE-UV also opens up new markets in packaging and the ability to print whites and on substrates we would have traditionally avoided. It is no longer ok to say you have to wait for the sheets to dry,’ said Chris Knowles, managing director.
BCQ’s press is delivered to the Buckingham plant next month. Chris says whether future press purchases are digital, conventional, or LE-UV will be decided at the time; he is keeping an open mind.
‘We do a lot of spot colour work and Inpress Control 2 combined with the instant drying of the LE-UV will give us the ability to achieve ‘what you see is what you get’ colour results. It is an impressive tool for automatically controlling register and colour, and the operational speed speaks for itself,’ said Chris.
In the last two years BCQ Group has taken one of the first Promatrix 106 die cutters in the UK and the final Stitchmaster ST 500 supplied by Heidelberg UK. It beefed up its JDF workflows to include all post press equipment (with Postpress Manager) and installed and linked in a Tharstern MIS system. With the new press investment, it will have 14 B2 printing units in operation, along with digital, wide format, mailing and warehousing spread over four sites.
The company holds ISO 12647-2 colour certification along with a stack of others including ISO 9001, 14001, 18001, 27001, 22301 and FSC chain of custody.
