The circa £30,000 machine was supplied by Intelligent Finishing Systems (IFS) and installed at the firm’s 420sqm Banbury premises around three months ago.
KMS Litho owner Mark Willis said the firm had been sending all of its lamination out prior to investing in a Matrix system from Vivid Laminating Technologies a few years ago.
While this device, which has been retained, could handle the firm’s smaller-format lamination, it still needed to outsource B2 finishing.
“Everything we were laminating was going out to trade and we were getting more and more of it, so we decided to bring it in-house and do it ourselves,” said Willis.
The company also looked at alternatives supplied by Friedheim International but ultimately chose the 25m/min Foliant, partly due to the machine’s Heidelberg connection.
“The fact that the feeder heads were from Heidelberg was a big plus. We were also very impressed with IFS as an organisation and the knowledgeability of the team,” said Willis.
“Within two days we were up and running and putting live work through it and we haven’t had any issues since.”
He added the Inprinting Unit supplied with the laminator was another significant benefit.
This device is said to make foiling and spot varnish fast and affordable for short-run and personalised print. It runs a wide range of colours including gold, silver, red and green, as well as a clear gloss for spot varnish, and is suitable for end-uses ranging from corporate stationery to POS and book covers.
“Foiling will allow us to offer a new value-added service. It is something we are still exploring. I think it will have a place in short-run digital work such as invitations and we are looking forward to developing that,” said Willis, who expects the new kit to pay for itself in around 18 to 24 months.
Established in 1993, KMS Litho serves clients all over the UK, producing a wide range of print including flyers, leaflets, folders, brochures, invitations, menus, business cards, letterheads and catalogues.
It also specialises in the reproduction of fine art giclée prints, which Willis said is a service popular with artists and photographers in the local area.
With a turnover of £1.1m, the 14-staff business runs two Heidelberg Speedmaster litho presses – a B2 SM 74 and a B3 SM 52 – as well as a Versafire CV digital printer and Epson wide-format kit. Last year the company bought a Fastbind perfect binder and casemaker.
