Print Solutions
Dorchester journal and book printer Henry Ling is upgrading its pressroom, adding a new Speedmaster SX 102-2P and retrofitting LE-UV drying to its Speedmaster SM 102-5P.
The new Speedmaster SX102-2P is for mono work and replaces an older SM 102-2P. Managing director Helen Kennett recognises the improvement in the latest press technology and wants to benefit from the reduced make readies and higher productivity. As this will handle only single colour work the ink will not involve much drying so no UV technology was considered.
However, the business is enthusiastic about adding LE-UV to its five colour SM 102 because it will benefit its customers (these include international publishers, learned societies and art galleries) by providing faster turnarounds. Covers and colour sections will come off the press dry and can be immediately finished or bound without fear of marking. UV also gives pages an aesthetic lift.
The retrofit arranged by Heidelberg will be carried out by IST (UK). It will involve less than a week’s downtime and is a cost effective route into accelerated drying. LE-UV or Low Energy UV is an increasingly popular choice for printers seeking to accelerate their production throughput. Although LE-UV inks are more expensive there are significant benefits including reduced spray powder, less energy use, in some instances the elimination of coating, ability to print high quality on uncoated stocks (polymerisation in this process means there is no absorption of ink into the paper) and dry sheets in the delivery.
‘This investment shows our continuing faith in litho,’ said Helen Kennett, managing director. ‘We have Canon inkjet and HP Indigo technology but we need litho. Although the breakpoint between litho and digital does depend on the amount of colour and number of pages in a job, the average cost per copy breakpoint we put at 400 to 500 sheets.’
Henry Ling has been in business for over 140 years but it remains very future minded and it is equipped with a JDF enabled workflow. It is a regular investor and, despite the increased pressroom capacity that will result from this latest spend, its pre-press and finishing can handle the higher volumes anticipated.
