The Dorset printing business currently runs a six-colour B2 Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 74 with inline coater, and has augmented this with the installation of the four-colour LED-UV Speedmaster CS 92 that had been a demonstration press in Heidelberg’s Brentford showroom.
“Business is going very well and we wanted to expand our offering and be more competitive for bigger jobs – the sort of work where we might be doing the covers, but the text pages would go elsewhere,” explained Dayfold sales director Mark Smith.
“We looked at larger press formats and preferred SRA1 to B1.”
The firm focuses on creative work for designer clients using special stocks and multiple finishing processes, including foiling, embossing and die-cutting, alongside a raft of binding techniques. It also runs HP Indigo digital presses.
The new Speedmaster has been upgraded so it can handle stock up to 1mm thick.
“We do a lot of foiling and printing onto foil, and we will be able to use the UV press to do that much faster,” Smith said. “We are planning loads of tests.”
Dayfold is using Heidelberg’s colour matching system across the two presses and also plans to use the manufacturer’s hybrid screening technology.
“We like to bring ideas to our customers. We are not chasing prices and volume, we are selling the benefits of print – you’ve got to give people benefits,” he added.
Dayfold reorganised its factory to make space for the new press, moving its office binding business into a separate unit that it took on last year and creating a mezzanine floor at its Verwood site to create more room, taking the site to just under 2,140sqm.
The SRA1 Speedmaster is up and running and Dayfold has already printed some work for former Emtone customers. Emtone went into voluntary liquidation earlier this month.
Heidelberg frontline area sales representative Richard Dix added: "Dayfold needed some capacity in a short space of time. They were interested in the SRA1 sheet size and the specification suited their needs, especially with the LED-UV drying that they were particularly interested in.
"I know that they were talking to other competitors but we're the incumbent and we have a very loyal and long-lasting relationship with Dayfold that we were very keen to continue. And it wasn't just about the press, it was a relationship sale where we also wanted to tie in consumables and support, ongoing into the future."
The overall Dayfold business employs around 50 people and has sales of £6m.
Last year the firm acquired Bournemouth-based B2 printer Xadon.
