Spectrum Flair Group has made the move to CTP as part of a 400,000 revamp of its repro facilities.


The Northampton firm has installed a CreoScitex Lotem 800V with Brisque front-end and Lastra plate line, which feeds its two Heidelberg webs and its four B1 sheetfed presses.


It has also taken a CreoScitex IrisWide proofer, additional RAID storage and networking and has upgraded its Macs.


"We're fine-tuning our entire front-end, including customer services," said group managing director Gary Kiernan.


This latest investment follows an earlier spend on pre-press at the beginning of 2000, which included a Dolev imagesetter.


Kiernan said the imagesetter would eventually be replaced by a second Lotem, but the firm still receives 25% of its work as film.


"We're educating customers about giving us the correct files," he said. "But at the moment they want a bit of both [film and CTP]."


The firm has recently recruited Craig Hill to manage its enhanced repro facility. He joins from the Manson Group. And Barry Harding has joined as sales director of Spectrum Flair Press. He was previously sales manager at Kettering's GreenShires and reports to group sales director Warren Brew.


Spectrum's Lotem is the 12th sold by CreoScitex agent Premier Integrated Solutions in High Wycombe.


Story by Lauretta Roberts