The Crest machine can take a printed reel and slit it along the X and Y axes to produce finished posters or banners.

This latest investment followed the installation of a new HP Scitex FB 10000 digital press, which replaced two HP FB 7600s at the Tyne and Wear company in October. It is capable of running an average of 100 beds per hr (1.6x3.2m per bed).

An Elitron Kombo Tav +500, via supplier Atech, was also part of the investment. It replaces a much slower DCM, and allows staff to cut without sending out for a die, which can take between 24 and 48 hours to be produced and delivered. 

It features two independent cutting heads and a cutting speed up to 106m/min per cutting head.

Simpson Group also has a Durst Rho 312R high-speed roll-to-roll printer, capable of printing up to 240sqm/hr. Printed reels can be taken from the Durst and finished on the Crest.

Pre-press and planning manager Anthony Dixon said the new kit was much faster and the HP10000 allowed Simpson Group to keep up with short-run demand from existing clients, who increasingly wanted targeted or localised campaigns for POS in stores.

“Historically we haven’t been set up for the short runs. This should help us target new clients that before we wouldn’t entertain. Now we’ve got the technology in,” he said.

The investment also enables the company to keep previously outsourced work in-house, which allows better consistency for clients.

The company is based in Washington with a sales office in Langley, and has a £12m turnover and employs 120 staff.  It also has a smaller Durst Rho P10, flatbed and reel-fed printer, ideal for small orders and producing samples and mock-ups and a Ricoh C901 and Zund Sample plotting table for small-format work and small-volume orders respectively.