News
Avalon in Action with Five-Colour manroland
Avalon Print, Northampton, a B2-format short to medium-run printer, has installed its new five-colour ROLAND 500 press equipped with dedicated coater and manroland's ColorPilot system, and is delighted with the change.
"The press has settled in very quickly, and is now producing work 24 hours, seven days a week," said Avalon managing director Darren Briers. "The levels of automation on the new press are the most impressive feature," he added. "We have dramatically reduced the amount of make-ready time when switching between jobs, and that simply means that we can print more."
"Whilst we have been fans of manroland for many years, we certainly looked at what other suppliers had to offer," confirmed Darren. "It was a close run thing for sure, but manroland came up with the best configuration - the right press for the right price.
"The new machine is certainly proving to be a great bonus for our operators - it is very easy to use, and manroland's double-diameter impression cylinders and transferter system means that there is no marking of the sheet. We are now working towards a JDF-based workflow, with manroland's printnet linking into our Creo platesetting system. The addition of the ColorPilot system also ensures that we are able to manage our colour consistency accurately throughout the run," he added.
ColorPilot measures a complete print control strip from the printed sheet, attends to automatic calibration, and displays any deviations on the screen, all in less than 14 seconds. Correction of the ink slide positions takes just another four seconds because all of the printing units are regulated simultaneously.
The press also incorporates a dedicated coater. "The dedicated coater means that we can offer customers an enhanced range of finishes to their work, and also allows us to handle the sheets quickly once they are printed. Customer feedback regarding the quality of the printed sheet and the coating has been excellent.
"We were also impressed by the ROLAND 500's ability to handle heavier weight stocks - up to 1mm thick. This opens up additional business opportunities for us," added Darren.
"This investment was designed to help us to stay ahead of the competition," said Darren Briers. "Trading is still hard, but it is essential to keep investing in the very latest and best equipment in order to produce jobs in the most economical way."
The company produces a wide range of business-to-business marketing materials, including specialist brochures. Darren said: "We believe that we are right to stay in the B2 sector. We provide high-quality, fast-turnaround B2 colour printing, and we have built an excellent reputation for ourselves within that market. We are viewed as the printer of choice by many of our customers for the quality of work that we produce, and this latest press can only enhance that reputation. We know that we are not the cheapest printer in this area, but customers see us as an insurance policy for their print, and that has to be a great position for us."
Commenting on the order, Gary Doman, Sales Director for Sheetfed and Finishing products at manroland GB, said: "We are delighted, of course, to have assisted Avalon with its latest investment. The ROLAND 500 is proving particularly popular at the moment with commercial printers here in the UK. It is a machine that offers excellent print quality, and also a range of add-on features that provide for real-world benefits.
To visit their website click here
Avalon in Action with Five-Colour manroland
Avalon Print, Northampton, a B2-format short to medium-run printer, has installed its new five-colour ROLAND 500 press equipped with dedicated coater and manroland's ColorPilot system, and is delighted with the change."The press has settled in very quickly, and is now producing work 24 hours, seven days a week," said Avalon managing director Darren Briers. "The levels of automation on the new press are the most impressive feature," he added. "We have dramatically reduced the amount of make-ready time when switching between jobs, and that simply means that we can print more."
"Whilst we have been fans of manroland for many years, we certainly looked at what other suppliers had to offer," confirmed Darren. "It was a close run thing for sure, but manroland came up with the best configuration - the right press for the right price.
"The new machine is certainly proving to be a great bonus for our operators - it is very easy to use, and manroland's double-diameter impression cylinders and transferter system means that there is no marking of the sheet. We are now working towards a JDF-based workflow, with manroland's printnet linking into our Creo platesetting system. The addition of the ColorPilot system also ensures that we are able to manage our colour consistency accurately throughout the run," he added.
ColorPilot measures a complete print control strip from the printed sheet, attends to automatic calibration, and displays any deviations on the screen, all in less than 14 seconds. Correction of the ink slide positions takes just another four seconds because all of the printing units are regulated simultaneously.
The press also incorporates a dedicated coater. "The dedicated coater means that we can offer customers an enhanced range of finishes to their work, and also allows us to handle the sheets quickly once they are printed. Customer feedback regarding the quality of the printed sheet and the coating has been excellent."We were also impressed by the ROLAND 500's ability to handle heavier weight stocks - up to 1mm thick. This opens up additional business opportunities for us," added Darren.
"This investment was designed to help us to stay ahead of the competition," said Darren Briers. "Trading is still hard, but it is essential to keep investing in the very latest and best equipment in order to produce jobs in the most economical way."
The company produces a wide range of business-to-business marketing materials, including specialist brochures. Darren said: "We believe that we are right to stay in the B2 sector. We provide high-quality, fast-turnaround B2 colour printing, and we have built an excellent reputation for ourselves within that market. We are viewed as the printer of choice by many of our customers for the quality of work that we produce, and this latest press can only enhance that reputation. We know that we are not the cheapest printer in this area, but customers see us as an insurance policy for their print, and that has to be a great position for us."
Commenting on the order, Gary Doman, Sales Director for Sheetfed and Finishing products at manroland GB, said: "We are delighted, of course, to have assisted Avalon with its latest investment. The ROLAND 500 is proving particularly popular at the moment with commercial printers here in the UK. It is a machine that offers excellent print quality, and also a range of add-on features that provide for real-world benefits.
To visit their website click here
