But back in 2008, Gloucester-based Severnprint didn’t just make the list, it was handed the enviable position of number 14. It was a fitting tribute to a company that has worked tirelessly on its eco performance, being one of the first five print companies in the UK to achieve ISO 14001 and one of the first six to become FSC Chain of Custody certified. It uses vegetable inks, its vans are fuelled by LPG and 65% of the paper it purchases is recyclable. The £4m-turnover company was also one of the first commercial customers of Ecotricity and uses electricity generated from gas from the nearby landfill site. Unsurprisingly, there are more eco awards on its walls than just the Sunday Times accolade.
That’s not to say the firm has neglected other areas of its business – its fingers have not shifted completely from inky to green. The company was an early adopter of digital technology and now owns three Océ CS650 digital presses, one VP2110 and one CPS900, along with six litho presses.
"We invested in digital equipment about six years ago when it became obvious that there was a trend for shorter and shorter runs," explains Nigel Pealing, production director and co-owner of Severnprint along with his brothers David and Simon.
In addition, the company has been investing in equipment designed to expand the range of services it can offer customers: recent purchases include a latex-based wide-format machine, a Pitstop digital creasing device, a CAS38 folding machine and a Duplo binder. All this is designed to fit in with its eco ethos, but one purchase may make some people’s eyebrow’s raise: a D&K Jupiter Europa B2 thermal laminator, which was installed last November.
Green reasoning
While installing a laminator might seem an unlikely move for a commercial printer that prides itself on being green, Pealing believes that the investment does fit with its environmental ethos.
"Before we installed the laminator we had to outsource the work to a company based 50 miles away," he explains. "Driving the work to and from that company had an environmental impact and having our own laminator enables us to steer our clients towards using biodegradable film."
This environmental approach has certainly paid dividends, winning the company repeat business from green charities and campaign organisations including Greenpeace, The Soil Association and Friends of the Earth.
Installing the Europa laminator has also enabled the firm to significantly reduce the lead times required for certain jobs for those companies and its other clients.
"Before it would take up to two days to turn a job around because we had to send the job to be laminated and wait for it to come back. Buying the laminator gives us more control," adds Pealing.
Severnprint purchased its laminator from distributor Encore, after previously purchasing its creasing machine and folding machine from the supplier.
Pealing says: "We had been looking for a laminator for several years and we chose the Europa because it fitted the bill in size and ease of use; it didn’t require staff training and the feed is easy to changeover."
The Jupiter Europa B2 laminator comes with a touchscreen for easy operator interface and all controls for the machine are PLC-driven. It can produce up to 2000 B3 sheets per hour and comes with an in-feed decurling roller to allow the constant feeding of stock.
"We went for an extensive demo for most of a day and took some of our work along and thought that it worked very nicely," says Pealing. "We ran a couple of hundred sheets and it was all fine. We did look at other machines but we found that either the price wasn’t right or it was too manual and wouldn’t cater for the majority of our work. This laminator fits the profile for 80% of our work and it can laminate 10 sheets or 3,000"
Pealing was also impressed with the ease with which the laminator was installed at Severnprint’s plant.
"It’s a flexible, mobile machine that plugs in easily and is centralised within the factory," he says. "It uses a bit of compressed air, but nothing our air system can’t handle. All we needed to start using the machine was one training day and a follow up training day at a later date."
"It does exactly what it is supposed to do," continues Pealing. "It is quite simple to change the roll and there is less wastage than I expected. We use it for one or two jobs per day. It would be nice if it ran slightly faster, but overall we’re very pleased."
Pealing says he is also very happy with the customer service he has received from Encore and would not hesitate to use the supplier again. "There is always someone there to help," he adds.
In the 10 months since the machine was installed, Severnprint has experienced just one minor problem with a sticky solenoid, which the company says was easily rectified with a replacement. The laminator is under warranty until the end of November.
Mike Biggs, managing director of Encore says that the Jupiter Europa has been a popular choice with its customers as its range of features combined with its low pricing has enabled it to fill a gap in the market.
He says: "This laminator stands out because of its price. The list price for the Jupiter Europa is £23,000 whereas other similar models cost £30,000 plus. It’s unique in terms of what you get for the price. It has a deep pile feeder with a back separation feeder-head, features that you usually find on bigger machines. D&K has sold more than 80 this year and their entire production is trying to keep pace with demand. We’re delighted with it, it’s reliable and a great price."
New opportunities
Severnprint believes its decision to invest in the laminator has helped drive new business to the company and also further its environmental objectives.
Pealing explains: "The digital side of our business is continually growing and our recent installations allow us to offer the full range of services including binding and laminating, which we can do for as little as one copy or for larger runs. And we are also able to give our customers the choice of using biodegradable film.
"Previously when we outsourced the laminating there was always the temptation to get more sheets laminated than we required, but now we laminate only what we need," he adds.
However, there is one more general aspect of laminating that Pealing would like to see change to enable the company to further improve its sustainable outlook.
"Recycling paper that has been laminated can be difficult, even if you use biodegradable film because it can contaminate the virgin materials in the paper and cause them to break down prematurely. It’s a very complicated issue. We would really like to use a cellulose laminating material, which comes from trees and contains natural starch, however it is 10 times the price of the other types of film so it’s not practical. If we could use cellulose for everything I would be very happy. When and if the price of cellulose comes down that will be our solution."
SPECIFICATIONS
Max speed
Up to 15m/minute
Recommended stock range
115-350gsm
Max sheet size
30x720mm
Min sheet size
205x297mm
Temperature range
95-120°C
Film range
25–42 microns
Price
£23,000
Contact
Encore 01582 562518 www.encoremachinery.co.uk
Company profile
Set up by Ken Pealing in 1977, Severnprint is now run by his three sons Simon, Nigel and David. The digital and litho printer, which has a turnover of £4m, has a wide range of clients from both the charity and private sectors and counts organisations such as Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace among its regular customers. Recent years have seen the company move into digital and wide-format printing and finishing and it has invested in a range of kit designed to grow the services it can offer, including a Pitstop digital creasing device, a CAS38 folding machine Duplo binder and a D&K Jupiter Europa B2 thermal laminator. The company also owns three Océ CS650 digital presses, one VP2110 and one CPS900, along with six litho presses.
Why I bought it...
The company wanted to bring laminating in-house to shorten lead times and to cut out a 50-mile round trip required for outsourcing the work. "Before it would take up to two days to turnaround a job because we had to send the job to be laminated and wait for it to come back," says Nigel Pealing, production director and co-owner of Severnprint.
How it has performed...
"It does exactly what it is supposed to do," says Pealing. "It is quite simple to change the roll and there is less wastage than I expected. We use it for between one and two jobs per day. It would be nice if it ran slightly faster, but overall we are very pleased with it. "
