The new Speedmaster replaces an outgoing Speedmaster CD 74, which the Witney, Oxfordshire-based outfit had been operating for the past nine years.
It will be delivered in January and was signed for at Drupa.
Fine Print managing director Dan Bakewell said: “Fundamentally this is just a press exchange. The CD has reached the end of its life and we are using this opportunity to reap the benefits of LE-UV.
“The three years we’ve had the existing XL 75 have just been fantastic really, in terms of productivity and ease of use and the Inpress Control. It’s just such an efficient machine.
“We went to Drupa and had a look at the alternatives really just as a bit of a sanity check but we came away thinking that for us this is the right machine.”
The Speedmaster prints at a maximum speed of 18,000sph and takes maximum sheet size of 530x750mm. It has Wallscreen XL and Intellistart 2 software, which combines with the Inpress Control for improved automation.
Bakewell said the team at Fine Print had been discussing the move into LE-UV for a couple of years now and that it will have a huge effect on productivity for the company that produces mainly short-run work in the pharmaceutical industry.
He said: “There’s the LE and LED question but for us the LE-UV was the right option from a cost perspective. We primarily print very short-run jobs so the ink costs were not a major factor.
“One of the benefits is the quality of print onto uncoated paper, less absorption and more vibrancy coming off the sheet. Internally, there are huge productivity benefits for us. The sheets come off the press bone dry so we can start the finishing process immediately.”
With the purchase of the new Speedmaster, the 65-staff outfit will not be looking to recruit any more employees or change shift patterns, although Bakewell conceded he may need to bring in new staff if additional pressures from extra work have an effect on the bindery department.
The £5m-turnover company operates from 2,300sqm premises. Other than the Speedmasters, it runs an HP Indigo 7800, a large-format Swiss Q Print printer and a full range of finishing kit.
In 2014, Fine Print was hailed as a success by its local MP and former prime minister David Cameron.
