Impro Printing installs H-UV Komori

Print Solutions

Belfast based printer Impro Printing has become the first in Ireland to install a five colour Komori Lithrone S29 and coater equipped with the H-UV drying system.

Ernest Culley, managing director of Impro Printing, said: ‘We had been delaying the replacement of our old Komori Lithrone 528 with coater, awaiting an innovation that would give us something extra. For us, it is all about adding value to work and keeping that in-house where possible.

‘In researching the Lithrone S529 H-UV, we evaluated the savings we could expect on make ready materials, production times, energy used, reduced downtime, reduced consumables and maintenance, comparing these against our Lithrone 528. The most significant saving was on turnaround time, with the H-UV curing providing instant drying on materials which are traditionally difficult to cure and giving us the facility to take sheets straight from the press to further processing.’

He continued, ‘We have calculated that we can expect to see an increase in productivity of around 30% through the new H-UV equipped Komori – with its significantly faster make ready times, high automation levels, a production speed of up to 16,000 sheets per hour and the addition of H-UV drying. It will give us the opportunity to offer even more creative options including drip off and high gloss finishes and will considerably increase the type of work we can do, potentially opening up new markets and hopefully add more value to all jobs in the process.’

‘We currently operate over various sectors providing high quality short and medium runs to some of Ireland’s most significant business and organisations, where high quality is always expected and deadlines are ever shortening. We hope, based on the work we currently produce, the production process will be made far more efficient by keeping the spot UV varnishing in-house, whilst also attracting new customers to the other added benefits the H-UV technology provides,’ continued Ernest.

‘We have already shown our major clients, including a number of award winning design agencies, samples of previous jobs printed on our new H-UV press for comparison and they’re really excited about the superior appearance particularly on uncoated papers as well as the additional high gloss and drip-off options.’

Gordon Grattan, production director, added: ‘Working more often with uncoated sheets where quick delivery can be a real problem, H-UV enables finishing immediately which means not only is work out the door sooner with a corresponding reduced stock space, but we can better schedule all our work in the first place. We can already see that effects such as drip off and spot varnishing show greater gloss and higher contrast and our operators report that the colour measured in the delivery is the true final colour, so they are able to judge immediately whether any further adjustment is required.

‘Given were ISO 14000 certified, the new Lithrone also has very welcome environmental credentials – from day one, a cleaner product, a cleaner factory and the complete elimination of any need for spray powder or alcohol. We are achieving make readies in under 50 sheets, noticing lower power consumption, and found already that the H-UV system requires comparatively less ink.’