The town of Merthyr Tydfil, nestled on the edge of the Brecon Beacons national park in the Welsh valleys, has always been industrious. It made its name as a world powerhouse of the iron industry and, when that industry declined, it picked itself back up again and took to coal mining with just as much gusto. It’s a heritage of productivity that has more than rubbed off on local magazine printer Stephens & George (S&G).

A family business since 1912, the emphasis for this company is on having the latest technology so that whatever job comes through the door, the business is geared up to provide the most efficient and highest quality service possible. Hence, when the opportunity came to make its Sitma W1150-0 automatic wrapping machine a more productive beast by hitching it up to a Domino Bitjet+ v4.5 inline digital printing system, the company did not hesitate.

"We realised that in order to maintain our market position and reputation, we would have to sharpen our offering and invest in more innovative equipment," explains Marcus Partridge, group bindery manager says of the Domino buy. 

The Sitma line polywraps magazines and separates them into postal areas, enabling S&G’s clients to save money on its postal costs. It had been installed for around a year before the Bitjet purchase and managing director Andrew Jones stresses that alone it did have a substantial effect on the business, giving the ability to handle shorter runs due to the faster makeready. S&G’s average run length is about 7,000 copies, around 5,000 of which are mailed.

Sitma operator Aaron Partridge adds: "It also enabled us to pick up a lot more work, as it is ideal for more complicated jobs; we have some magazines with lots of inserts and it is perfect for them."

This is not a company that rests on its laurels, however, and it took the plunge with the Bitjet to boost productivity and better equip itself for an increasingly challenging market.

"We were aware of the system already, as Domino was an existing supplier. So when we realised we needed to boost out Sitma line, we got in contact," explains Jones.

Quick makeready
The Domino Bitjet+ is a versatile high-speed, in-line digital printing system that enables personalisation including addressing, numbering, barcodes and graphics. The use of fast drying inks enables printing on a wide range of substrates including coated paper, plastic and film. While S&G bought it for their wrapping machine, Domino says it is also used on folders, inserters, rewinders, plastic cards, sheetfed and web presses, mailing lines and label presses.

Semi-automatic start-up and a powerful ink heater means that makeready is kept to around 10 minutes. It can operate independently without a separate data controller for simple data file printing applications, or where there are multiple printers, or line control requirements, the Domino Editor GT, as well as a number of other industry standard controllers, has standard TCP/IP and serial interfaces for the Bitjet+ printer.

Jones reveals that installation of the system was relatively straightforward, although some training was needed to get the operators up to speed with how to get the best out of it.

"The Bitjet was easily incorporated into the existing line and so installation was hassle-free and was completed in five days with few problems," says Jones.

Over the past 32 years, magazine work has steadily increased at the company to the point where it now accounts for 85% of its £20m turnover. High-profile clients include Haymarket Publishing, but it also provides finishing and commercial print for clients across many sectors.

It is for the magazine work, however, that the Domino Bitjet investment was made. The company says the addition of the printing system has really brought the Sitma machine into its own. It has enabled S&G to print logos and addresses at speed and it can also print directly onto the polywrap, so cover sheets can be done away with if the client wishes.

Jones says: "If the customer wants to we can move away from pre-printed polywrap. Because of the Sitma and Bitjet combination we can bag and print the address all in one pass. Obviously, that will cut cost to them, but it also cuts down on waste as well. The A4 cover sheet is nothing but waste, the first thing a reader does is throw that in the bin."

S&G is using the technology, which can print text as well as bitmap graphics, barcodes and 2D (including QR) codes, on around 400 magazine titles. The Bitjet can print at speeds up to 16.2m per second and at resolutions of up to 240dpi, producing variable data addresses and postage marks. The speed increase has meant the company has trebled the capacity of its address printing, according to Marcus Partridge.

"From a capacity perspective, it’s in a different league; prior to the Bitjet, we had the means to handle around 6,000 packages an hour, but can now manage 18,000," he reveals.

Vlad Sljapic, Domino digital printing solutions sales director (Europe), says this capacity improvement is crucial in the modern magazine print environment. He adds, though, that the Bitjet can make a difference in numerous other areas as well, especially with the increasing use of 2D barcodes and QR codes that appear to be sweeping the magazines sector.

Changing needs
"The magazine industry is changing, with a continuously growing requirement for variable text, bitmap graphics and 2D barcodes," he explains. "The Bitjet+ 4.5 is ideal for these requirements as it integrates with minimum disruption into printing and print finishing processes. With inks that adhere to most substrates without the need for assisted drying, Bitjet+ 4.5 has a proven track record on improving publisher’s mailing operation by delivering tangible benefits in flexibility, increased capacity and contribution to overall cost-savings."

As for what comes next, Partridge would like to add a strapper to the stacker for the Sitma, as he believes this would really complete the transformation of the line that the Domino Bitjet initiated. He says a strapper would mean the machine could run faster as the magazines would need less handling.

"Each area is separated and pushed out of the stacker, we then strap it and put them in bags. I have seen strappers in the stackers, that way there would be no need to handle the magazines at all," he says.

For S&G, then, the Domino investment transformed an existing bit of kit into something even more powerful, demonstrating that to improve productivity you don’t need to go out and buy whole new chunks of metal. In this case, the integration of the Bitjet+ was enough to take the printer’s magazine work to a spectacularly more productive level of working.

SPECIFICATIONS
Speed up to 16.2m/s
Resolution from 100dpi to 240dpi
Price
New, from £45,000 (price dependant on applications requiring print and control options)
Contact
Domino UK 01954 782551 www.domino-printing.com/

COMPANY PROFILE
S&G will be 100 years old next year and is currently in its fourth generation of family ownership. Managing director Andrew Jones’s grandfather bought it from his father-in-law in 1946, bringing it into Jones family where it has remained ever since. Over the past 32 years, magazine work has grown to account for more than 85% of the firm’s turnover, with around £1m a year coming from finishing and £3m from commercial work. Over the past three years, S&G has undertaken a complete revamp of its machinery, culminating in the Sitma installation. It upgraded its presses and perfect binding departments as well as adding the Sitma and Bitjet technology. It has a turnover of £20m.

Why I bought it…
"We realised that in order to maintain our market position and reputation, we would have to sharpen our offering and invest in more innovative equipment," says Marcus Partridge, group bindery manager, of the Domino buy.

How it has performed…
Jones says the combination of the two technologies has cut waste and costs at the company, and enabled it to cope better with shorter magazine run lengths.