The company is due to take delivery of the automated combination Stahlfolder KH 82 in May while the Duplo DC-745 was installed last week. Late last year the firm switched a Speedmaster SM 74-5 to a Speedmaster XL 75-5+L to increase its offset capacity.
The press investment marked the Exeter company’s debut in coating and the addition of Inpress Control spectral colour and register measurement to slash makeready times.
“We have already seen a marked change in set up and operating speeds and agreed to adopt the same methodology in folding,” said operations director Kevin Loram.
The business looked at a range of alternatives, including MBO devices, but found that the Stahlfolder best fit its requirements. The machine will replace a KD 78 section folder, which will be part exchanged.
“We wanted a machine that was more automated and when we analysed the operating costs of swapping out the KD 78 for the KH 82 it was a no brainer,” said Loram.
“We will be able to select a programme and makeready in 10 to 15 minutes, half the current time. We will move from round pile to pallet feeder to cut operator fatigue and improve productivity.”
The firm invested in the Duplo DC-745 multi-finisher to reduce bottlenecks in its bindery. Loram said that a lot of the work coming off the company's two Xerox iGens was being put through the firm's offset bindery and 60-70% of this volume will now be able to go through the DC-745.
"This machine will improve efficiency and make sure the work from the XL 75 goes through the bindery quickly," said Loram.
Besides the XL 75 and the two iGens (an iGen 4 and an iGen 150), Pollards also runs a five-colour B3 Heidelberg press, a Heidelberg GTO, two Roland VersaCamm wide-format machines and other in-house finishing systems including PUR binding, stitching and collating.
The business offers creative and design studios, digital and offset printing, finishing and fulfilment for specialist publishing and aviation sector services, blue chip companies, the healthcare industry and end users.
With 60 staff and a turnover of around £4.5m, Pollards is one of the oldest printers in the UK and has been owned by the same family since 1781.
