Applied Laser Engineering delivered the 4.5m laser system to the company’s Dukinfield, Cheshire plant earlier in the month.

The anilox roller manufacturer brought in the £450,000 system to boost productivity in response to increased demand. Cheshire Anilox Technology mainly produces anilox rollers for use in flexographic presses but demand from Heidelberg and KBA litho machines has increased orders recently.

Cheshire Anilox Technology technical sales director Sonia Arcos said: "Litho presses used to use anilox rollers only for priming and varnishing but the release of the Anicolour, which uses eight anilox rollers, and the KBA 74 has meant that we have had higher demand from the offset market."

She expects that the manufacturers have opted for anilox rollers in the mentioned machines as it is easier to control the amount of ink being used and hence proves to be a cost effective method of printing.

Arcos predicted that the new system will boost capacity by 30% and enable the company to create "limitless" bespoke cell designs on the ceramic rollers.

The R&D team is currently testing different designs to offer to customers with different release requirements using the Custom Pulse applications which allows for bespoke cell design.

The installation is the final part in a £1.5m overhaul for the company over the past 18 months. The company spent £750,000 on a Triplex Pro 200 system for coating rollers before engraving and has enclosed its coating plant for health and safety reasons.