Trade printer Heroprint has boosted its offset capacity with the addition of a new HUV10 colour Komori 40” press in Sydney and a 40” Komori 5 colour in Perth. The new 10 colour press installed at the Sydney plant is the only one of its type in Australia.
“The press has just been commissioned and is already producing very exciting results," said Sydney-based Heroprint CEO Alex Coulson. The two extra units signal the start of a new trend in UV presses and make spot colour or varnish available to Hero clients, he said. "Uncoated stocks can be cut instantly and varnish and spot colour offer a whole new option."
"The last 3 years have been big for us and have confirmed our belief that many clients want the coating option. We have ramped up capacity to fill the need and we've stuck with Komori all the way - we love the quality."
Coulson said the amount of book work 'has gone through the roof' and that extra capacity was essential to maintain the expansion rate. "Clients expect quality offset with delivery deadlines imitating digital printing," he said. "We have reduced offset delivery times dramatically and it has paid dividends. Careful planning, especially in offset pre-press, can result in big time savings. Expectations are higher but I reckon the staff quite enjoy the challenge. It’s a get it in and get it out mentality - top quality of course!"
Heroprint's digital department has also seen expansion with the addition late last year of a new Indigo 7800, the flagship of the SRA3 sizing. The family-owned company will soon be adding extra capacity with the addition of an on-line booklet maker. Previously, digital booklets had been produced in the Melbourne plant and freighted overnight. With the new digital bookmaker in Sydney, turnarounds can be reduced in some cases by 24 hours.
“Digital multipage booklets have a next day expectation and we now have booklet and long sheet production in our Sydney, Melbourne and Perth plants,” said Coulson. "The long sheet enables four page A4’s to be folded on the short edge and we are getting plenty of call for it. Whatever is different, designers go for. It’s hard to fault the quality and you often have to look hard to tell the difference between offset and digital. It’s just the quantities that determine how to print each particular job."
Coulson is expecting a busy year ahead. "In a few weeks we will be increasing our stock range quite dramatically in both the coated and uncoated stocks. The volume is there to produce product on more stocks economically, so we will be expanding the range."