Both machines, which were bought from Intelligent Finishing Systems (IFS), have been installed at the Surbiton-based firm’s 372sqm premises over the past few months.

The business was previously using a Horizon BQ470 PUR binder, which has been part exchanged.

Alphaset production director Tim Sheppard said the BQ270, which has a cycle speed of 500cph, is more suited to the firm’s workflow, following recent changes to its operations.

“We do a couple of jobs every month perfect bound but it wasn’t enough to warrant having a PUR binder because every 10 days we had to purge a bit of the glue out and it was just hassle, hence why we bought the EVA machine.

“The BQ270 is easy to run and quick to set up and has made us more flexible.”

Alphaset, which has six employees, had as many as 40 staff a few years ago but lost a large chunk of its work when jobs that it printed for airlines, including flight paths and landing procedures, were migrated to iPads.

“It was a massive drop. The commercial side was growing in the background so the plan is for that to continue,” said Sheppard.

“We’ve just redone our website two months ago and that’s already bought in two or three new customers. The sales team are also pushing out there more and word of mouth is spreading through customers.”

The increase in general commercial work has also prompted the investment in an automated Foliant Vega 400A.

The device, which has replaced a small hand-fed machine, is capable of 18mpm and suitable for digital or litho short to medium run lengths.

“We had a smaller hand-fed system but our volumes were increasing. In some cases lamination was offered as part of a value added service while in others customers were requesting lamination more frequently,” said Sheppard.

“In the short time we’ve had the laminator we’ve already put 38,000 sheets through it.”

Sheppard said return on investment on the Foliant Vega 400A is expected in under a year.

“We no longer have to put work out and that saves us on outsourcing costs. We can also turn orders around much faster. It is easy to use and you can let it run longer jobs. There are no bottlenecks in this area at all.”

Alphaset also operates a Xerox Color 1000 and a Xerox Versant 2100 and offers other in-house finishing services including folding, bookletmaking and cutting. The company works with a range of local and national businesses.