Vale hails arrival of UK’s first LE-UV Speedmaster CX75

Print Solutions

Vale Press will be the first UK company to take delivery of a new Speedmaster CX 75 LE-UV B2 press that Heidelberg UK is showing at its open house on 21 and 22 February 2018.

‘Space was the key issue for us,’ said Tom Stowe, managing director. ‘Having LE-UV means we have dry sheets off the end of the press which eliminates the need for the fifth varnishing unit and the CX has a smaller footprint than the XL 75 so this investment made sense. We are replacing a five colour Speedmaster SX 74 with the new four colour CX 75.’

Vale Press owns several units on the same site but the one that currently houses its Speedmaster XL 75-5 is being extended to create an adjacent paper store. This will allow the company to install the Speedmaster CX75 next to the XL75 (which it purchased last year at drupa) and the company’s two Suprasetters will also be moved to be adjacent, improving the physical workflow for B2 production. That will be completed well ahead of the press installation in February.

In terms of digital workflow Vale already has Pressroom Manager and Analyze Point so will be confident of the speed of set up and colour consistency. The Speedmaster XL 75 has Inpress Control but this is not available for the CX 75 so it has opted for EasyControl, an on line spectral measurement device which reads and recalls Pantone colours.

‘The CX 75 has the same mechanics as the XL 75 and the double impression cylinder means it can handle boards. The LE-UV inks, which like all of our consumables will be supplied by Heidelberg, are more expensive but against that we are able to purchase one less printing unit and eliminate the powder and varnish costs. Plus there is no waiting time so we can work and turn or send to finishing fast and without any fear of marking,’ added Tom.

The Speedmaster CX 75 LE-UV will be used for short run, fast turnaround work and the more challenging materials such as heavy boards, greaseproof paper or vinyls some of which it has previously had to subcontract. It is also a service it can offer others; about 70% of its work is trade work and it also handles fine art and commercial work.

Start up waste on its Speedmaster XL75 is 20 sheets and Heidelberg says the CX waste will be under 60 sheets so both are quick to sellable sheet production. Vale likes the fact the CX will operate at full speed even on 600 micron boards.

‘This is the press we have been waiting for! We have discussed this sort of specification for years and now it is going to become a reality. The LE-UV aspect is really exciting and being an early adopter of the CX 75 works for us because we trust the great back up and support we get from Heidelberg,’ Tom said.

Finance for this latest investment was provided by HSBC. The £5 million turnover company also has a B3 Speedmaster and wide format and small digital presses. Its finishing includes laminating, spot UV, gluing and die cutting and it is looking at extending into mailing too.

It is a family business with brother Edward (sales director) and Oliver (operations director) working alongside Tom Stowe.