The Portsmouth-based family-run print and mailing specialist, which turns over close to £20m, said the period had been the most testing in its 37-year history.
“Covid, industry-wide paper shortages, petrol and energy price hikes, plus the Royal Mail strikes - it hasn’t been easy,” said managing director Gareth Roberts.
But he added he was “cautiously optimistic about the future” and that the new kit will enable the business to make long-term savings on its energy consumption and repair costs, while improving production capacity and quality.”
The XL 75 is an additional, new press for the company that it said will also enable it to balance production more cost efficiently to meet the print specifications it’s being asked for.
Bought direct from Heidelberg, the installation of the press is currently being completed while the new Autobond Mini 76 laminator – which will boost lamination capacity and reliability – was installed at the end of November.
As a Heidelberg house running seven B2 Speedmasters from the manufacturer including 10-colour and eight-colour perfectors and a straight five-colour press, Bishops did not look at machines from other suppliers and said it needs kit “that is robust and able to cope with the volume of work we put through it; in our experience, Heidelberg is the best option for us”.
The company's digital capability includes an HP Indigo 12000 B2 digital press, an Indigo 7800 B3 machine, an HP Latex 360 wide-format printer and various finishing kit. Additional digital print and finishing kit is also available via its sister company The Mailing People, including Xerox Nuvera and Versant machines plus Videojet and Astrojet inkjet printers and an AMS M1 colour envelope printer.
Over the next few months Roberts will be evaluating the company’s mix of work.
“Whatever we do, we’re committed to growing and investing in the right equipment and people, so that we remain competitive, agile, and responsive to marketing conditions,” he said.
Established in 1985, Bishops’ 180 staff serve a customer base that supports a wide range of sectors spanning the UK. The company’s main premises is 7,900sqm while it has 13,000sqm space in total including The Mailing People site.
