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Describe your company
We specialise in selling ad space on the back of transport tickets and on till receipts. We also produce tickets.

Why did you choose this particular machine?
We chose Screen because the size suits us. We’re predominantly doing web work from 250-500mm wide, so if we’d gone for a larger machine we wouldn’t have been using it all the time. Another reason we went with Screen is its Trueflow workflow package, which enables us to do what we want to do much quicker.

Did you look at any other similar machines?
We looked at Esko. Again it’s a good system, but it doesn’t have the Trueflow workflow.

Why did you make the purchase?
It replaced an AccuSet, which was about 15 years out of date. We didn’t want to replace the AccuSet with another imagesetter, we wanted something that would take the business forward and the Screen system could lead us into digital print. Everything is going that way and we will eventually go digital as well.

What features do you particularly like?
It’s ease of use. Before we had lots of people in a room doing lots of step and repeat work, but the machine has completely taken out all of the donkey work.

Is there anything that you dislike?
I’m being really picky here, but the machine has to be housed in a climatically controlled room, whereas our previous machine didn’t need to be. Also, it’s a fairly big beast with a big footprint. Finally, you’re constricted if you want to swap around plate manufacturers as they have to configure the machine for the plates that you use.

How fast is it?
It takes about one hour to make a plate depending on the size. For a six-up layout, it would previously have taken us about four hours.

How reliable is it?
The guys who were operating it had a few teething problems at the start, but it’s online, so Screen’s engineers were able to resolve the issues straight away.

What’s the quality like?
It’s good. The build quality is also superb.

How easy is it to use?
It is very easy to use. You can train somebody up in five hours.

How much time or money has it saved?
We used to have three people working on the repro side, but now we’ve got one, maybe one and a half people on there, which means the others are free to do other jobs.

Has it won you any new work?
Yes it has. We’ve gone around to clients and they’ve asked us if we can handle a certain level of work that they might put through the door and thanks to the new machine we can.

Would you say that it offers value for money?
Absolutely. Within two years it will have paid for itself.

Were there any difficulties experienced during the installation or after?
One month before the machine was due to arrive, an engineer surveyed our site. It was an extremely thorough process and, as a result, the installation went to plan.

What about the pre- and after-sale service?
It’s been fantastic.

Who do you think the machine is right for?
Any business with its own artwork department that creates its own plates.

Would you recommend it?
Yes – and I would buy another one.

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Conclusion
User’s verdict    
Speed 4.5
Quality 5.5
Reliability 5.5
Value for money 4.5

Supplier’s response     
Brian Filler, managing director of Screen UK, says: "Most precision output devices benefit from being housed in a dust-free and temperature-controlled environment. However, we have many installations of such kit throughout the UK that do not meet our recommended conditions and in general they still perform excellently."
Price On application
Contact Screen UK 01908 848500