CTP Digital in Edmonton has invested in a new Duplo DC-646 Pro slitter-cutter-creaser to replace an eight-year-old DC-645 "workhorse". 

Managing director Kostas Chrysandrea said the new multi-finisher, which was installed at the end of April, gave the company the flexibility to put through any business card size without changing the card module, saving money and time, and allowing for greater competitiveness on short runs.

“We are a trade digital printer and our business is growing – we’re taking on more work and more clients,” he said.

“We’re getting more and more demands for different sized cards, for example 89x50mm or 50x91mm.

“We used to have to send out for dies to do this work but no longer need to. It’s quicker and it’s a bit more user-friendly."

CTP part-exchanged the old Duplo and spent £50,000 on the upgrade.

“The old Duplo was great for eight years, it was a work horse - the only thing it couldn’t do was fold.”

That meant creasing on the Duplo and folding by hand, which the company found an inexact science. So CTP has also invested £22,000 in a Multigraf Touchline CF375 creaser-folder as well as a Multigraf BM-300 banding machine.

“What used to take an hour now takes 10 minutes; it makes everything a lot easier,” said Chrysandrea.

He added: “Up until recently there was nothing on the market that could crease and fold together. Grammages of 100, 130 or 170gsm would crack on a conventional folder as well.”

The firm is also currently trialing a FKS PrintBind KB-4000 PUR compact binder.

CTP Digital has two full-time finishers, two press operators and two production staff on the digital side. A further two work full-time on B1 offset presses. The £2m-turnover company has been running for 15 years and runs two Kodak NexPresses, a 2000 and 2500SE.