The firm has built a new 1,600sqm extension at its Reydon, Suffolk site to house its new short-run printing division, and construction work is now largely complete.
After an extensive assessment process, Micropress has invested in a Canon VarioPrint iX3200 sheetfed inkjet press that will be delivered in January, and is set to be running 24/6 by February – with the option to flex up production if required.
Joint managing director Rob Cross said: “After six months of construction, the new site is just about complete, the floor is down and the building is watertight. There is still some work to do on the internals but most importantly we have done enough so that we are ready to take delivery of some new equipment arriving in January.”
Cross said “it was a hard decision on who to partner with as we were presented with some excellent options”.
“However, we were really impressed with the iX and we are looking forward to working with Canon”.
Cross told Printweek that “reliability, quality and the commercials” had been key to the investment decision, which involved an in-depth purchasing exercise.
“It’s a new area for us in terms of inkjet and there are some very good solutions out there,” he added.
The B3-format iX3200 prints onto a wide range of standard offset media from 60gsm-350gsm uncoated, and 90-350gsm coated, at 9,000-plus SRA3 iph.
It is Micropress’ first Canon device, as well as its first production inkjet.
Stuart Rising, head of commercial print at Canon UK & Ireland, said: “We are delighted that Micropress have chosen Canon as their partner for inkjet and look forward to working with the team closely in future.”
With an eye on the future, Micropress also looked at continuous feed digital presses as part of the project, and Cross said that type of equipment was “firmly on our radar”.
Its digital team has already been ramped up in anticipation of the expansion, with 15 people working on the digital side.
Alongside the new digital firepower, Micropress has also beefed up its post-press setup.
A new Horizon CABS4000V computer-aided binding system with gathering line, supplied by Intelligent Finishing Systems (IFS), is set for installation in spring 2024 and will benefit the firm’s digital and short-run litho operations, delivering a “significant increase” in short-run binding capacity.
In addition, Micropress has added to its high-speed folding setup with a Stahlfolder TH82-P from Heidelberg to be delivered next month.
It joins three existing B1 folders, two of which are the high-speed variant, and two B2 folders.
The commercial, magazine and book printing specialist currently runs Xerox iGen, Nuvera and Heidelberg Versafire toner presses and these will continue to operate as the new kit ramps up and Micropress decides on its future capacity requirements.
The additional space – which takes the firm’s total site including main litho factory and paper warehouse to 9,600sqm – will also be home to a new storage and fulfilment area.
“That’s a growth area for us, for example holding brochures for clients and dealing with data pulls from their system, as well as print storage and some pick and pack,” Cross added.
“We are thrilled to announce this substantial investment, which reflects our commitment to providing printing solutions to our valued customers.”
He said that after a relatively flat November, December has been “extremely busy, and the firm will be working right up until Saturday 23 December, reopening on 27 December.
Micropress employs 182 and expects sales of £30m this year.
