Based in Camden, London, C&D has taken on two new machines to accommodate additional customers and demand – with a Ricoh Pro C7100X digital press installed last week and a five-colour Heidelberg B2 Speedmaster SM 74 delivered in January to take the place of a B3 Speedmaster SM 52.
Portland's senior shareholders have elected to retire and the remaining two-strong team is due to move in at C&D on Friday (23 March). To accommodate the new kit and personnel, C&D has bought a 139sqm unit next door to its own 465sqm premises to increase its floor space. The new unit has also given C&D the ability to create a walk-in shop front in order to increase local awareness.
“Camden is a very expensive place to have your business, so we have been cramming everything into our single unit under a railway arch,” said managing director Charlie Anderson. “It made it tough for our staff to operate the machines. The new unit gives us more room to spread out – our new Heidelberg is already installed there.
“While there are still a few bits of cosmetic work to do on the new unit, our new shop front is a way to tell people that we are here and hopefully invite in more business.”
C&D’s new Ricoh has been on the firm’s radar since last summer. While Portland ran an older Xerox press at its Clerkenwell home, Anderson decided he wanted a “clean sheet with the latest toner technology” and elected to invest in the Pro C7100X.
Supplied by Welwyn Garden City-based distributor Smart Print, the five-colour C7100X prints at speeds of up to 90ppm with a maximum resolution of 1,200x4,800dpi. It offers support for textured media, envelopes, cling film and transparent media, taking sheets up to 700mm and weight of 360gsm.
Anderson said: “While Portland’s customers fall within the same remit as ours, the new Ricoh gives us mass versatility to expand upon that. We will be running all of Portland’s clients’ work through the machine and it fits the bill for what they needed perfectly.”
The Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 74 was introduced to add B2 capabilities to the firm’s output, as C&D was previously having to outsource B2 work. This led to “unsatisfactory results”, according to Anderson.
The SM 74 began operation this month and the SM 52 will be moved out in the near future.
C&D’s output line-up is completed by an HP Indigo 5500. It also has a selection of finishing capabilities, assisted by platens from Heidelberg and Kluge.
The firm hopes to complete work on its revamped premises by May, when it plans to host open days for customers and prospectives.
With the addition of the Portland team at the end of the week, C&D will employ 12 members of staff. The firm turns over £1.2m.
