The five-colour XL 75 plus coater, which will be configured with Inpress controls and Pressroom Manager workflow, will be installed in mid June and will replace a six-colour SM 74 and an older five-colour SM 74.
The deal was financed by Close Brothers Asset Finance.
“The older Speedmaster needed replacing really, so I looked at every single option of what to replace it with, because I needed more capacity but I don’t have a lot of space. Initially I looked at taking another unit and perhaps going down the used eight- or 10-colour route, but after talking to people in the trade that use the XL 75 and have successfully replaced two presses with one, that was the route I ended up taking,” said MPC managing director Tony Crook.
Crook said that the high-speed, Inpress controls and fast makereadies on the XL 75 were important factors in the purchase as he will have more capacity with one press than he did with two.
“Makereadies will be more than twice as fast as our current machines, and Inpress is phenomenal – it will change our business entirely,” he said.
The XL 75 will run alongside the commercial printer’s HP Indigo 5500.
Even though the press will replace two machines, Crook said there would be no job cuts and that staff would simply be redeployed at the £3.5m business.
Crook signed for the press at Heidelberg’s 20/20 Vision open house in Brentford during Ipex last week.
“I’m not usually one for going to shows, but 20/20 was a good event with everything under one roof. I was impressed with Ipex too though, we had some good discussions at both events,” said Crook.
While some Ipex exhibitors were critical of Heidelberg for hosting an event at the same time as Ipex, Heidelberg UK managing director Gerard Heanue said the press manufacturer’s event, which secured £9m worth of business across its two days, was actually a boost for the Excel show.
More than 450 printers attended 20/20 last Thursday and Friday, with 200 buyers, publishers and brand owners attending a Winter & Company event the day before.
“People went to Ipex before or after our event, and a lot said they hadn't intended to go to Ipex, but having our 20/20 event at the same time made it worthwhile. Plus the VIP dinner in the evening meant a lot of people who had travelled long distances went to Ipex the day afterwards,” said Heanue.
He was also quick to point out that Heidelberg benefited from people planning to visit Ipex extending their stay to visit the 20/20 event, stating that the events were “symbiotic”.
However, speaking about whether the press manufacturer might consider a return to Ipex in 2018, while he said it wasn’t necessarily ruled out, he added: “Our own event worked so well it would be hard to justify going to Ipex to present less equipment than we can present in the showroom here in Brentford.”
