Over the past few months the mailing house, which is based in Seaham, Durham, has replaced its existing presses with a range of Canon continuous-feed, cut-sheet and multi-function devices to enable it to strengthen its position in the direct mail and transactional print markets.
As part of the buy, the firm has become the first European installation site for the Océ ColorStream 3900 Zs twin-line continuous-feed printer, part of the new 3000 Z range, which was launched at Hunkeler Innovationdays in Switzerland last week.
The machine, which is integrated with a Hunkeler roll-to-cut sheet stacker and dynamic perforator, has a 33% smaller footprint than the ColorStream 3900 but features the same quality and productivity.
Metromail managing director Alan Purvis said: “As a business we are not afraid to take on new challenges. I firmly believe that if you do things the way you always have, you will only ever achieve mediocre results.
“We aspire to far more than that, and we believe our partnership with Canon is another step forward in our goal of becoming the most efficient and profitable business in our industry.”
The business has also recently bought an Océ VarioStream 8760 continuous-feed printer and mono machines including four Océ VarioPrint 6320’s, two Océ VarioPrint 6160’s and an Océ VarioPrint 6250.
Other purchases have included two Canon imagePress C7011 colour cut-sheet presses, four Canon imageRunner 5250 multi-function devices and software including Océ Prisma architecture, including Trueproof software for pre-press, and the MyMail Hybrid mail system.
“What led us to Canon was the level of engagement and understanding from every level of the business, from the sales team and consultants right up to the head of Canon’s Commercial Print Group,” said Purvis.
“With the speed, quality, production and investment costs of digital inkjet now at the right levels, it is the perfect time to take the next step to enhance our production processes and operate even more profitably.
“Moreover, the strength and flexibility of the Prisma workflow will be an important factor in achieving enhanced efficiencies – complementing our own in-house developed MIS and workflow system.”
Metromail, which was founded in 1988, has over 200 staff. The business, which operates from a purpose-built 13,000sqm factory, has invested over £13m in capital equipment over the past eight years.
