Komori H-UV for new UK start up

Print Solutions

White Star Printing has opened its doors with an H-UV equipped B2 Komori.

The four colour Lithrone has just been installed at the new company’s premises in Chandlers’ Ford, near Southampton, along with two Konica Minolta digital presses, Horizon finishing equipment and the EFI GamSys MIS system.

‘We are one of the industry’s very few genuinely new litho focused start ups over the last decade,’ claimed director Max Middleton. Max and business partner Dave Swann both have many years knowledge of the printing industry, Max having spent the last 18 years at Snows Business Forms, where he is still on the board, and Dave at companies in the UK and latterly in Australia.

‘We considered buying, even rescuing an existing company, but decided to write our own story rather than re-write someone else’s. We wanted to approach the market with a new style and with a new offering, because we feel there’s always room in print for a better, faster, more efficient service.

‘We have kicked off with the H-UV equipped Lithrone because it gives a host of distinct benefits to clients and to us – shortened turnaround times, improved quality, minimal stock space requirement as sheets are dried immediately, and from day one, a cleaner product and a cleaner factory with the need for spray powder completely eliminated. We have started here with a lab-like environment and with H-UV curing we can keep it that way,’ added Max.

White Star has 14 staff, including a sales team of four.

‘We are aiming for a three-quarter million turnover in our first year and to double that within our first 30 months,’ said Max. ‘Komori’s H-UV and fast make ready technologies motivated us into starting up for ourselves. We saw them at one of Komori’s H-UV technology events earlier in the year, had demonstrations at a nearby printers who have a similar H-UV Lithrone and its performance sealed the issue for us.

‘It has only just been installed and with operators who have no Komori H-UV experience, we are already making ready consistently in under 12 minutes, and the H-UV curing is allowing us to take work and turn jobs back to the feeder straight from the delivery, which is saving us a make ready and accelerating throughput to maximum speed. I am also delighted with the service I have received throughout the start up from the whole Komori sales and technical teams, which has helped us to make a truly running start.’