Print Solutions
Beacon Printers in Penarth is installing a new guillotine. A Polar D56 Plus model replaces a 30 year old guillotine which has done such good service that managing director Dave Stafford described it as ‘inevitable’ that the company would buy another Polar.
This is not a company which is tied to one supplier. It has three makes of litho press and three digital suppliers, buying on a case by case basis. Its digital side is expanding fast and the cutting has to keep pace.
‘The new Polar features an airbed which we didn’t have before and it is more powerful with a large 18.5 inch colour screen. It uses barcode cutting programme recognition and has more memory than we had before. That said, we do not envisage any difficulty for the operator in transferring to this latest technology,’ said Dave.
There are 1998 memory positions for repeat cut sequences and the screen gives visuals to assist the operator which minimises errors. Beacon will not integrate its guillotine into a digital workflow but the potential to do so future proofs this model.
Dave came to Beacon Printers for work experience and then secured a Saturday job before being taken on as an apprentice in 1975, eventually buying the company and taking it forward as an owner-managed business. The company, which celebrates 70 years in business next year, provides not only a broad range of commercial print but also design and video services. Most of its custom is regional but it can provide a national service, too.
