The investment forms part of an expansion in digital printing of marketing collateral and POS materials for brands including Wickes and Tesco.
The iGen5 120 press, which was supplied by Advanced Business Equipment, was commissioned at the Wimborne, Dorset-based firm's 7,432sqm premises two weeks ago. It is being used for ticketing, leaflets and POS work for retail clients.
The company did not disclose the cost of the machine but Xerox has said that prices for the iGen5 120's bigger brother, the iGen5 150, start from £520,000. SPS said it has invested more than £2.7m on new equipment over the past year and also recently opened a new 2,323sqm warehouse, which has expanded its logistics department.
The iGen5, which was launched in July, is the first in Xerox's dry-toner iGen range to offer a fifth colour option alongside CMYK: orange, green or blue.
The press is available in three versions: the 90ppm iGen5 90, the 120ppm iGen5 120 and the 150ppm iGen5 150.
The device has a resolution of 2,400dpi, a maximum sheet size of 364x660mm and can handle coated, uncoated, textured and speciality stocks of 50-350gsm.
“Our clients are some of the UK’s biggest brands, which means it’s essential we can produce work exactly to their guidelines,” said SPS Group director Toby Martin.
“The iGen5 allows perfect colour matching meaning high quality on brand work every time. This will enable us to broaden our range of services and grow our business.
“We wanted the extra colour and accuracy. Brand colours are critical for our retail clients. The iGen5 has a fast RIP, which helps on jobs where timing is important.”
Xerox offers a free online Gamut Extension Tool to check whether a particular spot colour will benefit from a fifth colour.
The iGen5 is customisable to meet page volume, application type and colour needs at fast press uptime.
The machine will be used with the company's online digital asset management and workflow system, Mauve.
According to SPS, Mauve enables clients to access asset libraries, control stock, make approvals and create artwork and saves them time and money.
The iGen5 has replaced an iGen4, which has been part-exchanged. The new press will run alongside two HP Scitex 11000s, which have been recently upgraded from Scitex FB10000s, as well as a five-colour Manroland 185 and an eight-colour Heidelberg B1 machine.
The business, which has also recently installed a new Agfa Acorta cutting table, also operates a Thieme two-colour screen press, Polar and Guowang guillotines, a Lamina FA Blackline automatic sheet laminator and a Redline RL2100 semi-automatic die-cutter.
SPS Group employs around 160 staff and makes a turnover of around £15m but Martin believes his company now has the machinery to hit the £20m mark.
He said: “We bought the latest model to keep ahead of the game. We are looking at taking what we do with retail into other vertical markets, but it's a work in progress.”
