The stitching line replaces two ageing Muller Martinis, and as a result works director John Whitehead said the firm's make-readies have been slashed thanks to Amrys.

"We're running six big presses, including a recently installed B1 five-colour with coater, so we wanted a stitcher that could work reliably round the clock." The new press is a Heidelberg CD102, which replaced a four-colour and two-colour that were at Ideal Printers.

Halstan, the specialist printer of sheet music, journals and scientific books, bought Uxbridge-based B1 commercial firm Ideal Printers last November. "We needed to diversify around some of our core markets," said Halstan chairman Chris Smith.

"Acquiring them and bringing them to Amersham, enables us to fill in one or two of the gaps in our portfolio of equipment, as well as spreading overheads to contain costs and keep our prices competitive."

Halstan had full CTP, something that was lacking at Ideal. It was also strong on finishing, where Ideal was strong in B1 colour. "We needed that facility because there's more colour creeping into publishing," said Smith.

Halstan transferred all willing staff from Ideal to its large factory, recently leasing the unit next door to extend storage, and release production space.

Even though the merged companies use the same production facilities their identities will remain distinct. "Both have good names and we will trade on those," said Smith.

The firms now employ 100 staff and have a total turnover approaching 8m. "We're a very good fit, and it's working very well," added Smith.

Story by Darryl Danielli