In March the Birmingham-based company took delivery of two Xerox Iridesse eight-colour digital presses, supplied by Xeretec, and this was followed by investment in a new Kodak platesetter in April and, most recently, a VeloBlade digital die-cutting machine from Vivid Laminating Technologies last month.
The business said the “real magic” of the Iridesse machines is in the addition of gold, silver, opaque white and clear inks to the business, which will enable it to offer “endless design possibilities” for creative agencies and in-house marketing departments.
Clarkeprint director Nigel Clarke told Printweek: “We looked at all of the major dry toner options and felt that the Iridesse offered not only the best non-CMYK options but also superb heavy solid four-colour quality on uncoated board, which some of the other machines struggled with.
“Productivity through the summer has been amazing; faster running speeds, significantly less maintenance and very few engineer callouts meant we finished a large project two weeks ahead of schedule, without the need for significant overtime or night shifts, which would have been the norm in previous years.”
The Kodak platesetter was taken on to improve efficiency in the company’s litho department while the VeloBlade will enable it to offer faster turnarounds and greater flexibility in short run packaging production and die-cut print.
Clarkeprint has also spent time this year refurbishing both its factory and office spaces, integrating a better workflow between departments and creating more space for its growing large-format operation. It has also improved its employee amenities to support collaboration and idea sharing among its team.
Clarkeprint employs 37 staff across two Birmingham sites totalling around 2,800sqm space.
Serving a broad range of commercial sectors, creative agencies and education clients, the business also operates two B2 Sakurai litho presses – a four-colour perfector and a five-colour, a Mimaki UCJV300-160 wide-format printer and a comprehensive range of finishing kit.
