Finishing & Screen Printing

NORTH SOMERSET DISTRICT COUNCIL LOOKS TO BUILD NEW REVENUE STREAMS WITH INSTALLATION OF TOTAL PF-P330 FOLDER

Thursday 31. July 2008 - North Somerset District Council's print department is looking to expand its local customer base following the recent installation of a TOTAL PF-P330 suction-fed folding machine from Total Print Finishing Services (Total PFS).

The new PF-P330, along with other recent print equipment investments, has significantly strengthened the council’s print equipment portfolio. This will now enable it to confidently compete with commercial operations in the supply of print to other local public services.

Says Andy Turner, Print Manager, North Somerset District Council: “We made the decision to expand our customer base following the gradual lifting of the red tape that has previously prohibited us from competing for commercial projects. We are now about to start offering our services to other members of the local public sector, for example the NHS, in a practice known as ‘shared services’.

“However, to operate effectively in this commercial fashion requires a high level of productivity and reliability, especially when you consider that the natural extension of shared services could be that we eventually find ourselves supplying print to members of the local private sector too so we needed to ensure we had equipment to support our aspirations. The addition of the PF-P330 and other recent purchases means we are in a great position to a help us exploit these new market opportunities open to us and gives us the confidence to know we can complete on a level playing field in terms of technology, speed and efficiency.”

The TOTAL PF-P330 suction-fed folding machine is compatible with paper sizes from 127 x 127mm up to 254 x 432mm and has a maximum speed of 12, 000 sheets per hour. It features a digital counter and a programmable memory which can store up to ten custom fold settings. The PF-P330’s suction feed system also makes it ideal for the finishing of digitally printed and glossy stock as it avoids the ‘scuffing’ effect commonly associated with friction fed systems.

Continues Andy: “Stock comes off our digital presses with a lot of static, which complicates folding. To help us address this, Total PFS visited us with a number of demo machines so we could test each one under actual working conditions. It was the PF-P330 which shone under these conditions. We now print around 100,000 colour copies per month and 20 to 25 percent of that is finished on the PF-P330. It copes exceptionally well with the static and I’m sure it could deal with any increase in volume.”

Clive Richardson, joint-managing director, Total PFS: “The PF-P330 is incredibly user-friendly and reliable. Its small footprint also makes it ideal for a production environment like North Somerset District Council, which, like many across the industry, has moved away from inhouse litho production in recent years, towards a digital print on demand operation. Features such as the automatic setting of fold plates have reduced previously time consuming operations down to the touch of a button, which is a major advantage when producing short production, quick turnaround jobs.”

The print department at North Somerset District Council is a hard-wokring print production hub throughout the year, with demand peaking at the end of each financial year and during election time; when the pressure is on to produce all related print including polling cards and electoral roll information. As the Print Manager at North Somerset District Council, Andy Turner manages of a range of print production and finishing equipment including a Xerox Docutech 6135 black and white press, a Xerox Docucolour 6060 full colour press and equipment for stapling, drilling, pad making, laminating and fast back and comb binding.

Concludes Andy: “We’ve dealt with Total PFS many times in the past and have always been impressed with the level of knowledge and service provided by the team. We’re very pleased with our new folding machine and the consultative approach that was taken by Total to ensure we had the right machine for the job. When you are running such a time-critical business its important to know you have a supplier you can rely on to support you when you need it.”