The device, which cost around £28,000, was installed at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich-based firm’s 929sqm premises in November.
TG Print & Design managing director Dave Duhig said: “We had been considering the benefits of bringing PUR binding in-house for some time.
“We have an excellent relationship with the team at Morgana, and it offered us a trial of the DigiBook 200, suggesting that this machine would be more than capable of handling the work that we needed to produce, with the quality of bind that we were looking for.
“The trial was a great success; in fact it was so good that we picked up two new trade jobs because of it.”
The DigiBook 200 handles spine lengths of 110-320mm and a maximum book thickness of 50mm. It features more automation than the entry-level DigiBook 150 and can bind up to 200 books per hour. Retractable spine milling means that the machine can easily switch between soft- and hard-cover binding.
“In addition to winning new trade work, the DigiBook means that we are saving money on placing PUR work out ourselves, and keeping a much tighter hold on production schedules,” said Duhig.
“The fact that we can now produce PUR binding at a more cost-effective price means that we have been able to tempt a number of customers to try it; they then become hooked on the quality of bind they get back.”
The DigiBook 200 joins a range of other Morgana equipment at the firm, including an AutoCreaser and a DigiFold Pro.
The business operates a Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 75 plus a raft of digital print kit comprising three Konica Minolta 6000’s, two MGI Meteor DP 8700’s and a LumeJet S200. It also runs EFI and HP Latex and Designjet wide-format machines.
The company has already completed short-run work with the DigiBook 200 including the production of advance copies and proof copies of publications.
“It makes a big difference to how customers view you as a supplier when you turn up with a couple of finished books rather than a whole bundle of loose sheets,” said Duhig.
TG Print & Design, which was established in 2000, has 12 staff and is on target to achieve a £3m turnover in its current financial year.
The business produces items including security foil tickets, banners, flyers, stationery, booklets, posters, roller banners, and canvas prints for a range of customers including galleries, banks and end-users.
