The Staffordshire-based design and print company invested £35,000 in the machine, which is an addition to an existing digital fleet that includes a Xerox DocuColor 250 and a Xerox 700.
The machine was installed last month at Sherwin’s 370sqm Stoke-on-Trent premises and has been up-and-running since then. It was supplied by Xerox reseller Zerographic Systems.
Sherwin director Steven Stanley said he particularly liked the Versant’s registration capabilities, which he said were far better than previous Xerox machines.
“We started off with a Xerox 15 years ago and we’ve progressed, from a 250 to a 700, but we were struggling on having enough room on the 700 and that’s why we put in the Versant,” said Stanley.
“We like the facility to do an A4 six-page; the registration is far superior to the 700 and it has better colour consistency. It is a quicker machine but obviously having the two machines now gives us so much more capacity during the day.
“We should be able to increase the amount of work we put on the Versant, taking it off conventional presses and onto the digital presses in small runs.”
Sherwin also has a litho division, in which it runs two Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 52s, a Heidelberg MO and a Platen for cutting and creasing. On the large-format side it runs two Roland VersaExpress RF-640s, plus finishing equipment.
Launched in 2015 as a “strategic replacement” for the C75 and J75 models. The Versant runs at 80ppm and can maintain speeds on all stocks up to 350gsm, delivering image quality of 2,400dpi. It can handle a variety of media types with a compact Belt Fuser system and Xerox’s low-melt (EA) toner.
Eight-staff Sherwin, which has been in operation since 1901 but changed to its current name in 1969, offers a variety of print services, including leaflets, brochures, business cards and banners.
Stanley didn’t rule out further 2017 investment and said he may look for another member of staff for the digital division.
“We’re looking at more in print finishing in the next 12 months. We’ve got a full house of finishing equipment but we want to upgrade the stitch, fold and trim later in the year,” he added.
