Inkjet & Digital Printing
Blackburns of Bolton installs HP Indigo 7000 Digital Press
Thursday 28. May 2009 - HP announced today that Blackburns of Bolton has installed an HP Indigo 7000 Digital Press to increase its capacity and complement its existing HP Indigo press 5000 and conventional capabilities.
Established more than eighty years ago, Blackburns began adding digital printing to its offering in 1995, when it installed an Indigo E-print 1000+ digital press. Since then, the company has continued to evolve into a modern print service provider (PSP) offering an all-inclusive end-to-end solution comprising design, print, finishing, storage and distribution, web-to-print services (http://www.blackburns.co.uk/), and personalised calendar production via its http://www.clicktocreate.co.uk/ website.
For Blackburns, the installation of the HP Indigo 7000 Digital Press was the next logical step in its development. Having moved from its original Indigo E-print 1000+ to an Indigo UltraStream, HP Indigo press 3050, then installing two HP Indigo press 5000s. The company is now operating one HP Indigo press 5000 and the new HP Indigo 7000 Digital Press.
“Digital print production has become an important part of our business,” said Christian Peacock, sales and marketing director. “The whole company has evolved around the concept of being a print service provider. Three years ago, we moved from facilities where production was spread over four floors. Today, we’re on one floor, with added services. Digital print has grown to become 25 percent of our volume, and an even larger part of our revenue.”
The company has also taken action in other areas, becoming an ‘Investor in People’ and working with the Manufacturing Institute to improve its own Lean Manufacturing processes, and offering NVQ training opportunities and apprenticeships. They have maintained their ISO 9001 Quality Management certification and most recently achieved Chain of Custody accreditation for FSC & PEFC sustainable materials.
“These services and activities are very much part of developing best practice, but producing high quality print when the customer wants it and at a competitive price remains the main business objective,” Peacock said. “We have recently won several significant new customers and the additional capacity from the HP Indigo 7000 will meet their requirements for fast-turnaround, short-run work and variable data printing. We will also expect to achieve lower unit costs with this technology.”
The HP Indigo 7000 Digital Press operates at speeds of 120 A4 pages per minute full colour and 240 pages per minute mono or two colours.