The two new machines were delivered in April and will enable Baker's team, recently increased to 78 with the addition of a raft of “young, fresh talent”, to broaden its skills base.
Brentwood, Essex-based Baker Labels produces a broad range of self-adhesive labels, but the Print Bureau arm is specifically focused on high-quality, short-run jobs.
Managing director Steve Baker said: “The decision to buy both machines was pretty simple – saw it, liked it, bought it. Their delivery comes ahead of a lot of new announcements that we will be shouting about as they come through.
“Hopefully the Roland and Matrix will assist our customers with the very problematic, very short-run jobs that have to be supplied sometimes at a loss. Plus, we can offer quality proofs without purchasing the full tooling.
“We just love printing and there is always something new to learn, another technique or some advance in technology that excites us and inspires us. We've got vast experience in our team but have added young, fresh talent in recent months that have lots to learn.”
Roland DG’s VersaUV LEF-300 is the manufacturer’s largest entry in its VersaUV LEF family with a 770mm print width, four printheads and two long-life, low-temperature UV-LED lamps to speed up the curing process. Provided to Baker by Alton-based Roland supplier PrintMax for under £30,000, it can process three-dimensional items up to 100mm thick.
Vivid's Matrix 370 laminator, making up the further £10,000 of Baker’s investment in a deal from Welwyn Garden City's Smart Print, boasts lamination, foiling and spot-UV capabilities that will enable Baker to produce one-off bespoke jobs and print proofs in a matter of minutes. It runs at speeds up to 10m/min with a maximum width of 375mm.
Baker’s investment in new machinery comes as it completes work expanding its premises by nearly 930sqm in what is expected to be a £500,000 initiative following a year of significant growth. Over 2017, Baker saw its turnover rise by around 20% from £7.6m to £9.2m.
The firm’s base originally covered just less than 2,600sqm and has grown to 3,730sqm now the new unit is complete.
