King’s new rule is one-pass print

People thought him mad for investing in a new Speedmaster SM 74 eight-colour perfector press, but Chris King of CJ King & Co is well known for going against the trend.

The first Heidelberg SM74-8-P installed in 2011 replaces a number of older, smaller presses at CJ King’s Perth site

Chris King (pictured), managing director of CJ King & Co says people thought it was mad investing in a high-end machine like this,” but you have to work with the latest technology to ensure you are maximising your opportunities and are able to respond quickly to market demands.

“Trying to continue to do business in the same way we’ve done it before when we know the market has shifted is counter productive. There’s no point soldiering on with outdated gear because that won’t improve your bottom line”.

He says even though it was a very expensive machine to purchase with the economy at the moment, “we decided to go against the trend, which is what CJ King is well known for doing.

“With this multi-million investment, just under three million, we are bucking the trend a little and looking forward to the future. The new press gives us a step up, as it enables us to be more competitive with a faster turnaround and better quality than ever before.

“We decided to go for the best press we could possibly get to enable us to produce the high quality work we are known for and to meet increased turnaround times. We are working to a 48-hour turnaround (on most jobs), so it makes sense to employ the right technology to allow you to print competitively.”

Alastair Hadley, general manager of sales & marketing at Heidelberg says people are looking at doing more with less, exploring all options. “We will see more of that in the future with people replacing multiple small presses for one-pass productivity.”

Currently there are eight SM74-8-Ps and one SM74-10-P installed throughout Australia.