Komori continues its break-neck success, taking the region’s offset market by storm as local dealer Ferrostaal signs off yet another Lithrone 840P, bringing the grand total up to eight presses sold in just over a year. The latest GL eight-colour perfector touches down at Whirlwind Print in Melbourne this month, fully kitted with Komori’s revolutionary offset on demand and H-UV technology.
Since it was founded in 1996, Whirlwind has consistently invested in new technology to keep ahead of industry trends. The GL 840P will replace an old LS 540 with coater that Whirlwind picked up in 2008, making it only the sixth in the region to offer Komori’s H-UV ozone-free quick-drying technology. According to Andrew Cester, managing director, Whirlwind, the upgrade will better equip them for increased short-run volumes and growing web-to-print business.
“We’re expecting over 100% productivity gain. Immediately we’re working double the speed with one pass perfecting, instead two pass with the 540. But then you also more than halve your make-readies, and it also gives you better economies of scale for gang printing. There’s no gutters down the middle of the sheet, you don’t need to compromise the imposition, you can use smaller sheet sizes, there’s no set off,” said Cester.
- Komori GL 840P H-UV - taking Whirlwind by storm
On top of faster turnarounds, the GL 840P has also allowed Whirlwind to increase their substrate range and reduce running costs. Cester and his team first laid eyes on their new Komori back in 2012 at drupa and immediately recognised it was the way forward for the business. For Cester the decision to invest was plain and simple.
“To service our customers faster, with better quality,” he says.
“We were already looking for something along those lines, and there it was. After drupa we were invited over to Komori in Japan to see the technology in action and that more or less confirmed it for us.”
In line with its recent charge in the local market, under Ferrostaal Australia, Komori is dedicated to bringing its H-UV technology to all parts of the industry. Developed by Komori over the course of five years, in association with Toyo Inks and Baldwin, the H-UV system allows for printing on most substrates with instantaneous drying. According to Rayne Simpson, general manager, Ferrostaal ANZ, the GL 840P H-UV is the perfect match for Whirlwind’s business model.
“The offset print volumes are still there, it’s just the dynamics that have changed. You need a faster job turnaround because in our market we are looking at a lot of shorter-runs. Komori has seen this globally,” says Simpson.
This is what Simpson calls Komori’s “offset on demand” principle, around which this new technology has been designed.
“Komori’s focus is not about speed, it’s about job turnaround speed. With most jobs these days, before you get the press up to 10,000 sph it’s finished, so there’s no need to run at maximum speeds of 15,000 sph even though the presses are capable if and when the run lengths increase,” he says.
The GL 840P is aimed at streamlining that increasingly crucial turnaround time, automatically changing all eight plates in less than 45 seconds, reducing make-readies to as low as 20 sheets. Combined with the H-UV fast drying, Simpson insists the GL 840P is ideal for any short-run market.
Whirlwind Print follows hot on the heels of a growing number of high-profile Australian and New Zealdn printers that have thrown their money down on the Komori H-UV band-wagon, including Centurion Print (NZ), CMYKhub, Rawson Graphics and Scott Print, recently ordering two presses. Globally, H-UV presses new account for nearly 75% of Komori’s press sales.
Simpson adds, “Of the last nine presses sold in the region by Ferrostaal, six will have the latest H-UV technology. It’s a global revolution and a new opportunity for the offset community.”