Print Solutions
ProCo, based in Sheffield, has announced details of the purchase of a second RMGT (Ryobi) 920 LED-UV press. Installation of the Ryobi 924 is already underway after the company signed an order with Apex Digital Graphics, the official RMGT Ryobi press distributor for the UK in formats up to SRA1, on the final day of this year's Ipex show.
The first press, a Ryobi 925 LED-UV press, was installed in August of this year. The latest order is for a four colour version of the same machine, but with an extended delivery and higher powered LEDs – particularly beneficial for the printing of plastic substrates. Both presses can print 8-up A4 pages to view. An LED-UV curing unit is incorporated into the configuration for near instant drying of the sheet, enabling immediate back up or progression of the work to the finishing department. PDS-E SpectroDrive in line printing quality control enables the operator to monitor and maintain the quality of the printed sheet throughout the run.
Jon Bailey, CEO at ProCo, said: ‘The first Ryobi machine, which we have been using for several months now, has allowed us to think totally differently about litho printing at our Sheffield site. The SRA1 format means we can be significantly more competitive on a wider range of work and we are seeing some very positive early signs about the impact it can have on our business. By offering our clients superior turnarounds, different formats, and competitive pricing we are opening up lots of new avenues for us and we’re excited about bringing another press into the facility.’
At the time of the installation of the first Ryobi press, Graeme Parry, production director at ProCo, said: ‘While litho is still very much a key part of our offering, we needed to explore how we could maintain it as a viable part of our business, and the new press will help us do that.’
The press has already won the company new business. ‘The installation of the first press has given ProCo the ability to be more competitive on longer run work. Previously, due to the smaller B2/SRA2 format, the time frame to deliver, and of course the machine hourly rate, meant that sometimes we had to make compromises to meet customer requirements. The installation of the second press will give us additional capacity so we can continue to meet our customers’ demands for both the short and longer run jobs,’ added Graeme.
‘With the common sheet format across both machines it will make planning a lot simpler, and give us the ability to switch work between machines when needed.’
With regard to the potential for printing onto plastic substrates, Jon added: ‘Being able to print onto plastics within litho is a brilliant addition to our capability. This will now open up new opportunities for us – we currently have some of this type of work going through our large format department, but we will now have the firepower to look at work that requires volume production on plastic substrates.’
The commissioning of the new press commenced in late November and it will be fully operational before Christmas.
‘We have seen growth within litho over the last quarter and we are looking forward to be able to push the boundaries in terms of volume of jobs, and of course the impressions, we produce in 2018,’ added Jon.
Pictured (left to right): Bob Usher, managing director, Apex; Takaki Yamada, group leader, International Sales Dept, RMGT; Kohei Yatsumoto, manager, International Sales and Marketing Dept, RMGT, Jon Bailey, CEO, ProCo, and Neil Handforth, sales and marketing director, Apex.
