Traditionally a repro house, Burman made the transition to print in the mid 1990s and became a beta test site with the 74Karat in 2000.

The company is now running on a treble shift pattern with its existing machine and needs the new 74Karat press, due to be delivered in April, to keep pace with demand.

Burmans managing director Michael Burman said: I have always thought it a great way to produce print the combination of dry offset and the Gravuflow inking system is first class.

We have completed steep learning curves since we first took on the press and todays results are the evidence.

Burmans first moved into digital print after buying an early generation Indigo press in 1994 and now runs an up-to-date HP Indigo 3000 press. It handles the repro and print for more than 40 magazine titles, including Country Life, Guardian Weekend and Horse & Hound.

The first 74Karat at the company is reported to be handling 10 plate changes a shift. It works using a combination of waterless offset printing with digital workflow, with on-press imaging, and high levels of automation.

A complete job change takes 15 minutes and the press runs at more than 10,000 sheets per hour. The Gravuflow keyless inking system is designed to cut makereadies and waste to a minimum.

KBAs product manager for DI technology Marcus Goerlitz said there were now 12 Karat machines installed in the UK, split between the b2 74 series and the A3+ 46 series.

Both machines will be demonstrated at Drupa.

by Tony Brown