The machine, which cost around £1.5m, replaced an HP Indigo WS6600 in July in a bid to further streamline production.
The digital arm of flexo packaging specialist Ultimate Packaging became the first company in the world to sign for the machine at Drupa 2012, installing it in 2014.
Ultimate director Chris Tonge likened Ultimate’s Grimsby premises since installation to a “giant showroom” and said the two machines working alongside each other had led to a “fantastic environment”. He said production had been streamlined as all finishing is now going through the main flexo factory.
Tonge said: “The 6600 was the start point but it was never really suitable for digital packaging. Now everything is based on different substrates but at all the same widths and finishing processes, so it makes finishing massively easier.
“It gives us twice the capacity and lots more designs we can print across using variable data. The ability to do short runs and ability to do variable data is massive, it’s what Indigos are all about. We’re doing anything from a few hundred metres to 20,000 metres so these jobs can range.”
The 762mm-wide press is capable of speeds of 42m/min in EPM (enhanced-productivity mode), 32m/min in four-colour mode or 25m/min in five-colour mode. It prints at maximum high-definition imaging (HDI) resolution of 2,438dpi and takes a range of substrates between 10μm and 150μm thick, sized between 400mm and 762mm.
Tonge added that Ultimate had searched the market, including looking at Landa’s web presses.
“For web-fed it becomes a replacement at 200m/min. Whenever it’s ready we could move our skills over to doing it faster. It will be interesting to see how it goes with the first betas and when it’s really commercially ready,” he added.
The two machines are currently operating on 12-hour shift patterns, five days a week, but are likely to move up to 24/7 in the early part of next year, and four additional staff will soon be moved over to the digital division, recruited both internally and externally. The group is also looking to invest in a new flexo press in the next six months.
Ultimate is now aiming to take on more personalisation jobs akin to the work it did with Nestlé’ earlier this year and a number of new campaigns it has worked on will go to market before Christmas.
260-staff Ultimate Packaging turns over around £46m, £2m of which comes from the digital division.
“Turnover is small compared to flexo but obviously the margins are a lot more attractive,” added Tonge.
