We have been looking at developments on the digital side, and the next logical step was to go digital on the litho side, said ELR finance manager, Rod Slack.

Slack said that the Edenbridge-based firm saw the acquisition of the press as the next avenue it had to go down, having looked at many short-run presses on the market.

We wanted something with more of a niche market option to keep us ahead of our competitors in the field, said Slack.

Managing director Paul Bridger was first introduced to the Karat concept back in 1996 and the company saw the 74 Karat at Drupa 2000. But it did not make the decision to acquire the press until just before Christmas last year.

ELR plans to use the 74 Karat to produce point-of-sale material and cartons to demonstrate the press ability to print onto a wide range of substrates.

A marketing campaign is also being planned to stimulate interest in the new machine.

ELR started out with a Xeikon 32D and added a Xeikon 50D some 18 months later, but switched to Xerox last year with the purchase of a DocuColor 130 and two 2060s.

The company is now trying to sell its Xeikon DCP50D following a recent finance deal with Xerox on the Xeikon-based DocuColor 130 machine.

Its not that there is anything wrong with the DCP50D, but with the Karat coming in we decided to offload it, said Slack

ELR employs 26 people and has a turnover in the region of 2m.

Story by Andy Scott