Temperatures were recorded at 38.1°C yesterday afternoon (Thursday 25 July) in Cambridge, while Kew Gardens in London and Writtle in Essex both withstood 37.7°C. The all-time record is still 38.5°C, which was recorded in Faversham, Kent, in August 2003.
All over the country, print companies were forced to take action with both their equipment and their employees to make sure work could still be completed in the exceptional heat.
In response to PrintWeek on LinkedIn, Heidelberg field service operator Michael Winn extended his sympathies to press operators and assistants.
“The press assistants have to load paper, supply inks and work in hot conditions in non-air conditioned press rooms,” he wrote. “I suspect some were operating in 45°C due to heat from the compressors and press dryers too.
“The ambient temperature often exceeds the set temperature of the dryers and this will have a negative effect on the drying process.
“Note for those wishing to stay cool – the air conditioning is in the pre-press department.”
Focus IMC director of offline Andrea Pisani concurred, sympathising with operators who had to contend with working in “ovens” to sort blanket, folder and paper jams in the heat.
Machinery was struggling too; David Watson wrote on Facebook that his platesetter will not operate over 29°C, but was sitting at 32°C yesterday. Williams Lea Tag production operator Steven Raime recalled the struggles of running two Xerox Sedona continuous-feed systems last year without heat extraction and expressed relief that he now operates inkjet devices.
Lindenmeyr International head of production Hayley Young said on Linkedin: “I had UV varnishing issues a few weeks back at an Italian printer of mine when they were experiencing this extreme heat, so I wondered how the UK would fare.”
True to its name, Leeds-based Resource came up with the goods to keep its workforce cool under the beating sun by drafting in an ice cream van and buying its staff some ice-cold treats, while Ricky Goodman wrote on Facebook direct from the swimming pool that his employer had sent staff home due to the temperature.
Struggles were not limited to the shop floor, either, with Quad/Graphics UK sales manager Ian Maxted suffering on the tube in London bouncing from meeting to meeting.
“I can honestly say I’ve sat in saunas that are colder than the tube is today,” he wrote on Linkedin.
PrintWeek’s own contributing editor Jo Francis was on hand with some cool-headed advice for the overheating commuter, travelling as she did in similar conditions on Wednesday (24 July) to get to the Print Futures awards in Westminster.
She said: “I travelled with two bottles of frozen mineral water in an attempt to create a portable cooling device for use on London transport. I did get a few funny looks when I placed them at temple height on either side of my head, but was past caring.”
