Offset Printing
HSW Print will take the UKs first Speedmaster CX 102
Thursday 20. May 2010 - A Welsh company will take the first Speedmaster CX 102 sold in the UK. Brothers Malcolm and David Hackman of HSW Print placed a £1.8m order for the new press, a five-colour with coater, yesterday at Ipex.
The CX 102 is a mid range B1 press which sits between the CD 102 and XL 105 technology, a 16,500sph model featuring a new robust and vibration-resilient side frame. Having its world premiere at the show, it has turned heads and generated orders but HSW Print is the first UK printer to buy. Its press will be delivered in September.
Currently HSW Print has 17 B1 units, a ten-, five- and two-colour press. The company has retained efficiency by continually investing in up to date equipment and its four year old five-colour was due for replacement. The brothers considered the XL 105 but opted instead for the CX 102 because it would allow them to retain a common plate size and production flexibility.
“Plates are taken from the Suprasetter and delivered to whichever press makes sense and which fits the schedule at the time,” says Malcolm Hackman. “If we opted for the larger XL 105 plate size we would lose flexibility and it is a more expensive machine. The CX 102 ticks all the boxes.”
The company has been very pleased with the CD 102 it replaces, describing it as “faultless; it is well engineered, has superb controls and is very efficient”. For this reason and the rapid response service and support levels, Heidelberg retains pole position when the Hackmans come to select new equipment.
“Everyone is agreed that the last few years have been exceptionally hard and many companies have fallen by the wayside. Thankfully HSW Print is doing better than most. However, it’s a matter of not taking your eye off the ball and keeping all aspects of the business under constant review. Although the work is there the market is becoming more and more competitive and this state of affairs is likely to continue for some time to come. Under these circumstances our options for continued success are limited. As a company we don’t think down-sizing is the correct path to take so we look to continually improve our efficiencies. This investment is in line with that philosophy. We are convinced that the purchase of this Heidelberg equipment will give us the edge in the market place that will contribute to HSW Print maintaining its pole position in the UK print industry”, says Malcolm Hackman.
Some staff from HW Print – a company which produces books, catalogues and brochures – will visit Ipex this weekend, travelling at the companys expense to see the show and to view the technology they will soon have in their portfolio.
In readiness for this production boost, the company replaced a Topsetter with a Suprasetter last year increasing hourly output from ten to 30 plates, and three new folders – a combination, continuous feeder and a pallet loading model to give maximum flexibility. The investment is funded by SocGen.
Gernot Keller, B1 product executive, says: “The CX 102 is available in the same flexible configurations as the straight XL 105, even with double coaters. It offers higher production speeds relevant to packaging and label printers but the fast make-ready option Inpress Control for the commercial printer. This makes it attractive to both the commercial and packaging printer.”