Like all printers in the UK, Mortons Print has been keeping a keen eye on the digital market for some time. The Lincolnshire-based company provides contract newspaper and web offset printing, mainly consisting of tabloid, quarter-fold, broadsheet and berliner products. It’s a service the company has provided since it was established in 1878 by publisher William Kirkham Morton.

Today, the company is still independently owned, but is now part of the larger publishing and printing group Mortons of Horncastle. The print part of the business employs 94 staff, while the group has a turnover in excess of £20m. It acquired its mailing supplier, Lincolnshire Mailing, last year and since then it has been looking to expand further. And, as print production manager Dean Wilkinson explains, digital seemed the best avenue for this growth, although he was adamant that the digital option should complement, rather than compete with the company’s existing web offset and mailing offering.

"We felt the time was right to dip our toe into the digital water," says Wilkinson. "We looked at the market and found that the Xerox DocuColor 7002 came out on top – it had so many features we really liked."

These features include automated calibration with inline spectrophotometer and advanced profiling tools, as well as the ability to print on a range of stocks at impressive speeds. It all made for an "attractive package", according to Wilkinson. An added factor in the decision to go for the Xerox machine was the company’s long-standing relationship with Fujifilm, which sells a wide range of Xerox colour production devices as part of a long-standing agreement with the digital press manufacturer in the UK. The DocuColor was installed in September 2010 to enable the company to add short-run commercial products to its portfolio and so far, Wilkinson says the 70ppm, A4 engine has met Morton Print’s requirement. However, he admits that there were some early problems with the device.

"You would always expect some teething problems on any installation, but the Xerox service team responded quickly without affecting production deadlines," says Wilkinson.

And, compared with other installations – the company has installed web presses and mailroom kit in the past – the Xerox machine was "relatively straightforward".

"It was delivered to schedule, and once unloaded, was ready for production the next day," adds Wilkinson.
The service from the Fuji team "has also been excellent", he says. "From the pre-installation survey, right through to technical support in the early days, support has always been available."

Technology bridge
The firm initially received two days training, which enabled it to get up to speed on the new machine and indeed on the new technology. "All of our expertise was based around web offset printing, so we soon had a long list of questions regarding the digital process. These queries were addressed by follow-up training days a month after installation," explains Wilkinson.

Having overcome the installation phase, the press itself is now "very user-friendly", with the replacement of consumables a straightforward process. "The CX Print Server powered by the Creo RIP also enables pre-media work and imposition to be carried out with ease," he adds.

Wilkinson is equally complimentary about the quality of the print produced on the 7002. "Everyone has been impressed with the consistency and quality. It has enabled us to handle products that we would have previously outsourced."
As a result, installing the press has provided additional revenue streams from Morton Print’s existing customers.

Unsurprisingly, Kevin O’Donnell, marketing manager of high-volume colour products at Xerox UK and Ireland, agrees with Wilkinson’s assessment that the DocuColor 7002 is a cost-effective machine.

"It is a robust and reliable, mid-range digital colour engine," explains O’Donnell. One of the machine’s key attributes is its colour stability, which it achieves through Xerox Advanced Colour Quality System (ACQS). ACQS uses the inline spectrophotometer to read and adjust ‘on the fly’, as well as to automatically calibrate the engine for spot or special colours. Another key attribute according to O’Donnell is the machine’s productivity levels. The 7002’s engines don’t suffer a fall-off in speed when dealing with heavier or coated stocks or for duplex printing, claims O’Donnell, which stands it in good stead when compared with rival machines, which include the Canon 7010VP, Konica Minolta C8000 and Ricoh C901.

Faster is better
The 7002, which was launched in the
summer of 2009 in response to growing demand for higher levels of colour consistency, reliability and productivity within
the mid-range digital market, is based on the company’s SFIDA platform, which according to O’Donnell provides high levels of uptime and availability. Xerox says the machine is intended to provide users with "the confidence to attract new volumes and new revenue streams" and is targeted at graphic communications and in-plant users.

O’Donnell points out that, as well as in-plants, the machine has proved popular with printers looking to upgrade their existing Xerox presses, and also for offset users looking for a transitional product into digital.

O’Donnell claims that, together, this press and its bigger brother, the DocuColor 8002, "dominate the mid-range digital market in the UK".

"The two presses have over 75% of all installs since the 7002 was launched," he explains, citing research from Infotrends.
So how confident is he that the company will continue to build on its current rate of sales? "In a tough economic climate, clients are quite rightly more demanding," says O’Donnell. This is not just of the engine, but of the full capability of the product provided to drive efficiencies into the production environment and effectiveness on behalf on their end customer. "With the DocuColor 7002 playing a key role within the Xerox portfolio, we believe we can not just meet but in fact exceed their expectations and be a partner for growth into the future," he adds.

For Mortons Print, the historic business’s aim for the future is to continue to diversify and expand through the digital market. Wilkinson says the company hasn’t ruled out buying another press to back up its current digital offering. "Digital is the future", he believes. And, so far, based on his own experience of using the Xerox DocuColor 7002, he would recommend it to other companies. "Surprisingly, the 7002 is performing as the salesman promised. It does what it says on the tin".

SPECIFICATIONS
Top Speed A4: 4,200iph ?SRA3: 2,100iph
Max resolution 2,400dpi
Min paper size 183x183mm
Max paper size 320x488mm
Price from £80,000
Contact Xerox UK 0870 9005500

COMPANY PROFILE
Based in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, Mortons Print is part of the Mortons of Horncastle group and specialises in newspaper printing and web offset printing. The businesses, which are still independently owned, were established in 1878 when Lincolnshire publisher William Kirkham Morton bought D Cousans printing and stationery company in Horncastle Market Place, which then became Mortons of Horncastle. In 1885, Morton founded Horncastle News. Mortons of Horncastle now publishes local newspapers within Lincolnshire, while Mortons Print is a contract printer for several newspaper and periodical publishers throughout the UK. Mortons currently publishes 21 titles and, in January 2010, Mortons Print bought its mailing supplier, Lincolnshire Mailing. In addition to the Xerox machine Mortons has two Manroland Unisets, two folders, both with online stitching and mailfolding facilities, and also a Goss Universal 45 that has heatset and coldset capability, along with on and off-line stitching and trimming. Mortons also has a mailing division that offers a full mailing service along with data management.

Why I bought it…
"We felt the time was right to move into digital," says Dean Wilkinson, print production manager. "The ability to offer our customers a digital printing service complements our existing web offset and mailing customer base. Having looked at solutions from various manufacturers we decided to work with Fujifilm (a Xerox reseller in the UK) on this installation."

How it’s performed...
"We’ve never had a digital press before, and it’s performed very well. We are pleased with it. We’re used to big newsprint presses, but this press runs at the speed that the salesman promised."