ProPrint, which specialises in fast turnaround jobs, installed the six-colour plus coater B1 press to catch up with the rise in demand post-pandemic. 

The firm’s other printer, its five-year-old Komori Lithrone G40, had struggled to keep up with the company’s growth.

Nigel Tollman, ProPrint’s managing director, told Printweek: “Our old machine was virtually at full capacity, so there was very little downtime.

“Our USP is all about speed and service, and we were starting to lose that, we were becoming a ‘me too’ business, which is not something we want to become. 

“Our lead times were geting extended and customers were obviously not expecting that from us - so we needed to do something to react to that, which is why we purchased.”

The investment, worth £1.8m, has already seen results for ProPrint: the company has seen a net increase of 40% in sheets produced per hour since the installation, according to Tollman.

Given the firm’s history with Komori, Tollman said it made sense to go to the manufacturer for the new machine.

“We went to Komori five years ago when we put the other machine in, and they did everything it said on the tin there - and some - which is why we stayed with them [...] we didn’t see any reason not to reward them with the next press.”

Given the new press’ features, such as a single operating screen rather than two, its fully automated delivery pallet swapping system and transferable interdeck UV lamps, it took several weeks to get the operators up to speed before it “hit the ground running”.

“It was just a case of finding where all the new buttons were, really,” added Tollman.

The ProPrint Group employs 146 staff across three sites, which total 7,700sqm, and has an annual turnover of £20m.