On an initial 12-month contract that started around three months ago, consumables including inks, chemistry, blankets and wash rolls are being supplied for the Sherborne, Dorset-based company’s Komori LS-529 H-UV litho press, which was installed in 2014. Central to the consumables package is K-Ink, which is exclusively designed for Komori’s H-UV system.
Remous Print managing director Alan Bunter, whose father Graham Bunter established the £2.2m-turnover business in 1980, said the press continues to suit the company’s environmental credentials as it runs alcohol-free and does not emit ozone.
“When Komori approached us to ask if we’d be interested in K-Supply it made perfect sense because they are a great company to deal with and I knew it would work.
“The quality of the print coming off now is just fantastic, it’s second to none. The ink goes a lot further, there’s no issues with scumming, and it works well with the processless plates. It really brings colours to life and even heavy black is really vibrant, which surpasses our expectations.
“Our press minders think it’s great because everything is perfect every time. Makeready times are less and there are no challenges really.”
He added: “We have a good relationship with Komori and open our doors for demonstrations for other printing companies who want to see what Komori presses can do.
“This is not particularly price-driven, it’s about having the right product for the right machine and being able to deliver the right quality every time.”
The company had previously been using Toyo inks, which it will continue to use for pantones.
The 25-staff business has also just started building a new ‘Smart’ factory, a near-£1m investment which it said will consolidate its operations from the three separate sites it currently works from under one roof on a new business park in Sherborne.
“We’ve been trying to get this plot of land near us for five or six years and it finally went through on planning last November. We are aiming to move in around September/October this year,” said Bunter.
“Currently we have our main production site with our litho and finishing, another site with our digital and wide-format, and a third site which is used for picking, packing and fulfilment.
“The new factory will be a two-storey building that has a full-width mezzanine with offices and warehousing upstairs. Downstairs will have a reception and disabled toilets but the rest of it will be production and we will design the workflows based around our niche markets.”
The factory will have a total floor space of 1,115sqm, around double the space of the company’s current three sites combined.
Remous Print produces items including books, magazines, greetings cards and packaging for clients operating in private education and publishing as well as various niche markets. As well as the Komori litho press, the business operates two Ricoh digital production printers, Roland DG wide-format machinery and a raft of Horizon finishing kit.
