Streamline seeks ‘world class’ status with Heidelberg investment

Print Solutions

Customers of Streamline Press will benefit from faster deliveries, best in class colour, consistent top quality and cost competitiveness as a result of its investment in a ‘Push to Stop’ Speedmaster XL 106-5+L press.

‘Customers are at the forefront of our minds when we invest in equipment,’ said Mark Lockley, managing director of the Leicester company. ‘This press reduces our make ready times and waste and improves our overall productivity so is right for the short to medium runs we are expected to turn around at pace.’

Streamline is replacing two B1 presses, both five colour Speedmasters with coaters, with one Push to Stop press to give a net productivity increase of 20%.

To date the company has used Image Control, a robust off line spectral measurement device, to service the two presses but experience with Inpress Control on the Speedmaster XL 75-5 that was installed by sister company Baxters two years ago has proved convincingly that in line measurement reduces set up times and keeps colour control to the tightest parameters on the run and from run to run.

‘Push to Stop’ edges the industry towards autonomous printing. Equipped with Inpress Control 2, Autoplate XL 2, Prinect Intellistart 2 and Intelliguide the latest generation Speedmaster press can start and process a queue of jobs in a controlled and productive manner. The role of the operator changes. He is now left to monitor the press, intervening only when, for instance, he needs to change the running order to meet a changed deadline or to take advantage of a common paper between jobs. Once alerted, the press will recalculate the settings and get on with the work.

‘We visited Elle Media Group and were impressed by their results but we also got great tips on implementation that will help us be better prepared for the press and the cultural change,’ said Alan Squire, operations director. ‘It is not only in the pressroom that the mindset must change so that the flow of work from proof to press is very slick and quick. We have working parties looking at every aspect of the business to see what we can do even better. There is genuine excitement about this investment throughout the team.

‘This Speedmaster will give us great data feedback and transparency. I will attend a High Performance training course at Heidelberg to ensure we can interpret the data accurately and effectively and use the findings to make good business decisions. We want to ensure we are truly world class and operating at maximum efficiency.’

The new Speedmaster XL 106 with five colour units and a coater plus so much more will be delivered in February.