St Ives book arm Clays is setting up a new purpose-built jacket and cover printing facility at its Bungay, Suffolk site.


Due to be completed by July this year, the facility will house two new five-colour Komori Lithrone 528EMs, which will arrive next month, as well as new cover and jacket finishing equipment.


Komori will also be responsible for refurbishing the companys four existing A2 Lithrones to work alongside the new machines.


Clays managing director Patrick Martell said the firm needed the new speedier press with faster makeready times due to increased demand, especially for shorter runs.


The machines will be fully automated with CIP3 links to Clays Barco imagesetter and its Sanderson MIS system.


Late last year St Ives was forced to shelve plans to relocate Clays to a greenfield site at a disused airfield in nearby Flixton due to problems with planning permission (PrintWeek, 13 October 2000). The site was found to be home to a rare species of newt.


The group revealed then that it planned to re-invest in the Bungay plant and moved its multimedia fulfilment operation from Bungay to Romford to make way for the new kit.


Story by Lauretta Roberts