Rosehill invests front to back with Heidelberg

Print Solutions

Rosehill Press is undertaking a major re-investment as it has reached capacity on its existing SM 74.

Following recent investments in its digital and UV web departments, it felt the time was right to bulk up the litho department too.

The Rotherham company has turned to Heidelberg for a front to back investment which includes a Speedmaster XL 75-5+L, a B2 five colour and coater press featuring Inpress Control 2 spectral measurement; a Polar 78 Pro guillotine; a Ti 52 folder; and Prinect workflow upgrades. The complete package will be installed and running in the next eight weeks.

‘We pride ourselves on our speed and efficiency but we were reaching a point where we were having to refuse orders because of capacity or lead times,’ said Christian Chadwick, operations director at Rosehill Press. ‘The decision to purchase the Speedmaster XL 75 was based on the speedy make ready times, automation efficiency in colour and inking and the ability with Prinect workflows to link in to our MIS system.’

The seven year old Speedmaster SM 74 has done sterling work over seven years but will now be replaced by the more productive XL 75. Inpress Control 2 (the faster, least waste on press colour management tool) and ink cartridges significantly increase its firepower and will give Rosehill a significant lift in productivity.

‘Buying this calibre of press without investing in these add ons for a few thousand pounds more would be like buying a top of the range Mercedes without Turbo Injection or alloy wheels,’ added Christian. ‘At the same time as investing in equipment, we have taken steps to automate all our workflows and integrate them with our MIS. Sometimes it can take longer to take an order and get the job to press than it does to print, finish and deliver it. To help streamline this process we are investing in workflow software and the upgraded Prinect elements will help us increase the processing speed. Once all the software is installed and the workflows built, we are expecting a 75% decrease in the time taken from order to print. Who knows, we might one day become a ‘drive-thru’ printer!’

Rosehill will also introduce barcode tracking on all jobs throughout the manufacturing process. That means that every job will be traceable to the plant and operator in real time. That eliminates manual logging and further increases efficiency.

Anticipating a greater pressure on the finishing department as a result of these investments, the company decided to supplement its existing plant list. The Polar 78 Pro will give Rosehill a third guillotine and the Stahlfolder Ti52 buckle machine will be its fourth folder. It is also adding a second saddle-stitcher, and plans are in place to replace their current 15yr old semi-automatic combination folders with a fully automatic and JDF enabled Stahlfolder BH56.

‘The finishing department currently only operates on a single shift, giving the scope for additional shifts as work levels demand. Additionally with this investment in kit we will have the capacity to more than treble the workload in this department,’ Christian continued.

‘Ultimately all this investment is geared towards giving our customers the print they want when they want it and at extremely competitive prices,’ he added.