The company considered other alternatives, but for John the Versant 4100, the improved version of the 2100/3100 models, could not be beaten.

‘The new 4100 included all the favourites that made the 2100 a winner for us, multiple feeding, inline GBC punching, full capacity stacker and complete booklet making with fore edge trimming and document finishing,’ said Brailsford. ‘Along with the latest high speed Fiery control centre coupled with our automated workflow, improved print image and long sheet capability, the 4100 ticked every box.’

Andrew Crane, sales specialist from Graphic Communications Operations at Xerox UK did not have to try too hard to sell his machine to JBP. ‘John already had his mind made up, the 2100 had been an excellent production machine for this extremely busy printshop. Brailsford Printers have been Xerox customers for almost 20 years and installed a new Iridesse Press back in 2021 with enormous success in producing a huge range of speciality print with embellishments and continues to increase volumes every month, the Versant 4100 Production Press works very well alongside the Iridesse. His employees were up and running with the 4100 the very next day after installation. The set up at Brailsford Printers is the future of print shops, they are super-efficient with minimal touch points, using the most advanced technology and experienced employees that take pride and care in every job printed. John is a great ambassador for our product range.’

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Founded in 1991, The Delta Group, which includes Delta Creative and Delta Display, create visual communications for UK brands in retail, out of home, events, entertainment, drinks and health and beauty.

Described as ‘heavy-duty printers,’ the Agfa Jeti Tauro H3300 can handle large workloads, multiple-shift operations and 24/7 printing. The UV LED curing and low ink usage of its Greenguard inks are said to offer ecological benefits that help print businesses lower their carbon footprints. Both the HS and UHS models within Delta support six colours plus white and primer.

According to the COO of Delta Display, Martin Shipp, who has been with the business for 25 years, the Agfa investment offers the business increased flexibility and agility.

Mr Shipp commented, ‘We did look at other print suppliers, but when we analysed everything – the cost per square metre, reliability, quality, source of inks and supply chain – the Agfa presses were the right decision for our business.

‘We’ve been running the machines now for a few months and we’re happy with their ability to improve speed without impacting on the quality. We are also very impressed with the ability of the machine to print white at speed. The Tauros can print white at 250-400sqm/hr, they can print larger format than our silk screen printers, offering 3.3m widths, and they are more cost-effective than our silk screen machines. The new Tauros are certainly delivering on our expectations.’

The Agfa Tauro HS LED machine was delivered in September 2023 and the Tauro UHS LED machine was installed in January 2024. At this time, the company’s original Tauro HS was decommissioned and moved to the company’s Biggin Hill facility where it has replaced an Inca S40i printer.

Mr Shipp concluded, ‘Our market and customer demand are forever changing and the Agfa Tauro engines are keeping us agile and helping us to flex and deliver. In retail, for example, we can now personalise the POS we send out to stores, it’s no longer a one-size-fits-all solution. Today a POS campaign may require 20 items delivered to each store quickly and all delivered with bespoke sizes and messaging. The Agfa machines are coping beautifully with this type of work.’

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Titchfield Group supplies a wide range of products from digital LED screens to consultancy for landlords accessing the out of home (OOH) advertising market.

The presses acquired were roll-fed and hybrid printers ranging between 1.6–5m in width from HP, Durst and EFI.  

The new Titchfield Media now operates from a 67,000sqft facility with 30 staff members led by managing director Adrian Hallett, described to have the capacity and capability to be a major player in the OOH and premium retail print and event sectors.

As a print supplier, Titchfield Group with Titchfield Media, is now positioned to benefit from the growth forecast for the global and UK OOH market plus other sectors. 

Titchfield founder Nigel Brunt said, ‘The former team from Gardners are now perfectly positioned to deploy their accumulated experience of over 650 years of industry knowledge and their unrivalled technical resources. 

‘This is an exciting development, not just for Titchfield Group and the print and OOH industries but the wider economy of this part of Wales.’

Mr Hallett commented, ‘Top quality print is now more important than ever for a number of industries and here in Cardiff we have the people skills and kit to provide this at competitive prices.

‘Now with the backing and support of Nigel and his team at Titchfield Group we have the financial stability to make a real and lasting impact in the marketplace.’

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HMDS’s current Xeikon 9800, located in Jacksonville, will be joined by a new Xeikon SX30000, and a second Xeikon SX30000 will be installed in HMDS’ Pittsburgh facility. ‘We’ve used Xeikon digital presses with exceptional results for more than a decade. As our business steadily grows, it was an easy decision to upgrade our current Xeikon presses to their top-of-the-line Xeikon SX30000,’ commented Ihar Liashko, director of strategic operations, at HM Document Solutions.

The fast and efficient Xeikon SX30000 can deliver as many as 2545 colour 4/4 printed B2 sheets an hour (equivalent to 428ppm A4), and is claimed to have lower setup costs than conventional technologies. Offering a wide range of substrate choice, it can print on uncoated papers, digital coated papers in silk, gloss or matte, and standard offset papers up to 350gsm and synthetic media. The Xeikon SX30000 uses the new Sirius toner, which is produced in a plant powered by 100% green energy. The print is fully de-inkable in existing waste streams.

‘We are happy to play a part in HM Document Solutions’ continued success,’ said Donna Covannon, director of marketing at Xeikon America. ‘A growing number of commercial print providers are acquiring the Xeikon SX30000, attracted by its many unique features.’   

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One of the two new options, the Fiery MIC-4160 DFE, drives Konica Minolta AccurioPress 6120, 6136m and 6136P printers and processes jobs ‘30% faster’ compared to the previous generation DFE. The Fiery MIC-4170 DFE delivers a significant speed boost and processes jobs 41% faster than the MIC-4160, and is claimed to run 86% faster than the previous generation Fiery DFE.

In addition to bringing higher productivity to AccurioPress 6120/6136/6136P, the new Fiery MIC-4170 DFE also supports the new Konica Minolta AccurioPress 6272P tandem engine printer. The MIC-4170, built on the Fiery NX Pro platform running Fiery FS500 Pro software, eliminates workflow bottlenecks that could prevent users from continuously running at the AccurioPress 6272P’s maximum speeds.

‘The ability for AccurioPress customers to adapt to changing market requirements and develop new, profitable revenue streams is being further enabled by our partnership with Fiery,’ said Ines Wennemann, senior product manager production printing, Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe. ‘Advanced automation, fewer human touchpoints and higher productivity with tangible effects and less waste helps operations ignite print possibilities by becoming more streamlined and efficient. Maximising workflow also dramatically enhances capacity and supports production agility and responsiveness.’

‘These new, highly functional DFEs help to differentiate Konica Minolta AccurioPresses from other monochrome printers in the market,’ said John Henze, Fiery’s vice president of sales and marketing. ‘Without Fiery DFE technology, users miss out on the advanced processing power of Fiery FS500 Pro – our core software platform which enables users to always run their digital printers at top speeds. Plus, other DFEs do not offer the exclusive intelligent automation power of Fiery JobExpert, which saves time by ensuring correct settings for accurate printing the first time, every time.’

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‘The level of investment that the management has allowed, shows the confidence they have in the new direction and strategy that the University is going through,’ commented Ollie Renshaw, business and systems manager, print and mail service, University of Leeds. ‘Underneath every decision that they make, the University has always put the experience of the students at the very top. With the new digital strategy taking hold, we are bringing our print production facilities in line with all the multi-functional devices (MFDs) in each department. We at print and mail want to be the best at what we can do, the University has a three-year plan for us, and the director of campus innovation is excited to see all our new developments.’

Mr Renshaw continued, ‘From Konica Minolta, we purchased the AccurioPress C12000 – the first in our sector in the UK – the AccurioPress C7100 and two AccurioPress 6120s. All are powered by Konica Minolta’s print controllers with AccurioPro Flux Ultimate workflow. The setup gives us flexibility as well as the capacity to keep up with extremely heavy periods of work.’

Jon Hiscock, head of production and industrial print at Konica Minolta UK said, ‘The package provided to the print and mail centre at the University of Leeds represents the latest in Konica Minolta production print technology, automation tools and workflow integration. We are pleased to work in partnership with Duplo UK to deliver the University a future proof solution that once optimised will enable it to meet its strategic goals and deliver a best-in-class student experience.’

For Duplo, this includes the UK’s first installation of the DC-648 multi-finisher, the flagship iSaddle 5.0, the PFi Blade B2 and the DuBinder DPB-500 binder.

‘The Duplo machines are just fabulous. My operators think the automation and ease of use on the DC-648 is second to none. Normal jobs are all set up and the print is just fed through, taking the stress and hours upon hours of manual work away. We have so many different jobs coming through that this machine is a lifesaver. The iSaddle 5.0 was a much more in-depth learning experience, it gives us so much more options to give to the students and staff, and it’s easy to set up and run. Students can buy a coffee and the job is usually ready before they’re finished!’ Mr Renshaw continued, ‘I’m really excited about the PFi Blade though. That is definitely something we want to expand upon. It allows us to make print sexy again when Covid decimated our volumes. Duplo has sent us their sample jobs and we’ve been playing around with the machine. It allows our event products to be much more exciting.’

Wendy Hogg, regional sales manager for Duplo UK said, ‘The combination of Konica Minolta’s high-speed presses along with Duplo’s offline finishing means that print and mail can produce more jobs, much faster, more sustainably with minimal waste, and much cheaper than ever before. The University has a very strong corporate strategy and it’s amazing to see that the student experience is still 100% at the core of everything they do. It allows print and mail to make coming to the University of Leeds as special as it can be. When you look at the production facility, it’s clean, it’s hi-tech and there are screens everywhere. It really impresses students when they see it, and it challenges their expectations of what print can be.’

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The Konica Minolta AccurioPress C14000e prints at 140ppm in A4 and is 40% faster than any other toner-based device from Konica Minolta. Together with the C12000e, a second model in the series that has a speed of 120ppm, the flagship production presses were Konica Minolta’s first foray into the high-volume toner printing segment, which has seen growth rates return to virtually pre-pandemic levels.

The improvements to the AccurioPress C14000/C12000 Series follow customer feedback as Konica Minolta aims to grow its position within high production printing markets for colour toner machines.

The new features of the updated models include enhancements to colour and imaging, productivity, management and connection upgrades through the EFI Fiery Controller Version 2.1; the latest firmware with software additions and improvements including Konica Minolta’s IQ-501 AQA (auto quality adjustment), Rip, media sensor and PrintManager enhancements. These are complemented by an  expansion of paper weights, banner paper support and general improved usability, and a wide range of automated finishing options to create ready-made print products.

Malcolm Smith, category manager professional print at Konica Minolta Business Solutions (UK) commented, ‘The C14000e/C12000e presses represent another significant success story for Konica Minolta. The enhancements to the presses are helping customers to expand and streamline their businesses. This is achieved through advanced automation, fewer human touchpoints and higher productivity with tangible effects and less waste. Working closely in partnership, we are continuously helping our customers to rethink possibilities in a constantly evolving world, creating new and exciting opportunities.’

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The addition of AccurioPress C7090, AccurioPress 6120 and AccurioPress C12000 (including the IQ-501 Intelligent Quality Care unit) models, plus an additional Duplo 350 booklet maker, has increased Hickling & Squires’ capacity, along with rapid response support and servicing to match its growing sales and evolving customer needs.

The output quality, increased uptime, and speedy service response from Konica Minolta is said to have improved job turnaround time and helped protect customer trust. The technical benefits include auto-duplexing of long sheets of up to 900mm on the AccurioPress C7090, productivity of up to 7900 A4 pages per hour on the AccurioPress 6120, and automation for image position, registration, and colour control from the AccurioPress C12000 and IQ-501 combination.

Jamie Gilbert, production director at Hickling & Squires commented, ‘Being able to process larger sheets has been a massive benefit to us. Also, the provision of duplex (before we had always had to produce single-sided) means the register is perfect and is ideal for producing high-quality A4 booklets.’

‘The main use for these new solutions is print, fold, and stitch products and we supply a lot of work for the gaming sector, along with education sector customers such as universities and colleges,’ commented Mr Gilbert. ‘We ship across the country and aim to have a 24-hour turnaround in our digital print room, so these presses are well placed to support us in fulfilling these jobs to meet expectations. The service has been fantastic. If we need any help the Konica Minolta service team are with us in two to three hours, and we are very happy with the support we now get.’

Looking to the future, Hickling & Squires is turning its attention to further expansion possibilities. ‘We have invested in our litho for years but currently don’t have the physical capacity to expand it further; however the digital side of operations is typically a smaller footprint, so we are always looking to invest in that area to bring it forward and up to speed.’

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Printed Easy offers a broad selection of general commercial products, including bound documents and brochures and roll labels. When Jon Lancaster took over Falkland Press as it then was in 2005, he pushed the family-owned business to expand into online printing whilst driving a raft of production efficiencies through its in-house software development, and rebranded the business in 2018.

According to Mr Lancaster, the company started to pay attention to the Scodix Ultra 6000 Press when the team saw the format and quality, ‘The B1 format and new polymers allow low cost-per-sheet which competes with conventional UV on a flat finish, whilst SHD brings us breakthrough quality in terms of sharpness and detai,. he commented.’

Printed Easy intends to use the Scodix Ultra 6000 to add both raised and flat UV and foil to every general commercial product, both bound and unbound, in its range, with many options currently being designed. The integration of the Ultra 6000 into Printed Easy’s automated production is the next step to continue the mantra of ‘bringing offline print to the web-to-print market.’ The software automation and the automatic registration system that Scodix offers was a significant attraction this.

‘We’re excited that with the Scodix Ultra 6000, Printed Easy will fulfil even more of its customers’ expectations with a large range of embellishment options, along with dynamic pricing across all its products, run lengths and custom sizes. I feel everything is set to meet their high demands for production economics,’ commented Franz Repp, president of EMEA for Scodix.

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Built on the existing ImagePress line, the V1000 was said at launch to improve quality, consistency, media flexibility and productivity for an extended range of commercial work. Customers appear to agree: print service and design provider Medienhaven in Bremen, Germany, invested in the V1000 with the optional Sensing Unit. Managing director Peer Rüdiger explained, ‘We often use different finishing equipment when producing packaging applications so prints need to align perfectly for die-cutting. We chose the ImagePress V1000 because it has very high registration accuracy and can help support our wider processes.

‘We’ve been extremely happy with the quality of the ImagePress V1000 and how it has allowed us to produce luxurious applications on thicker substrates. The colour stability is much better than our previous press and we’ve been very excited by the matte-finish – this is quite unusual for a toner press.’

Commercial printer CopyCat near Oslo installed three V1000s. Geir Thorbjørnsen, co-founder and general manager, commented ‘When we saw test prints from the ImagePress V1000 we were impressed with the matte finish and offset-like quality. With the addition of the Sensing Unit, on-the-fly colour adjustments and front-to-back registration, we can ensure that output quality is consistent throughout the entire print run. Our other key investment factors were the higher speed of the press, reduced energy consumption, and the option to produce duplex banners, which will enable us to expand our offering in this area.’

Jennifer Kolloczek, European planning, marketing and innovation senior director, production print at Canon Europe said, ‘We’re delighted to see so many printers across EMEA growing their businesses with the imagepress V1000. We know that commercial and in-house printers face shortening timelines and more diverse briefs. This product was designed to exceed customer expectations from a toner press, providing reliability and flexibility to meet the demands of today’s print buyers. The positive feedback from so many customers proves that improvements in productivity, flexibility and automation can unlock commercial opportunities and stimulate new levels of success.’

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