CTP - Computer to Plate

Web2print producer turns to Heidelberg to boost its plate-making capacity

Friday 06. December 2013 - Route1print.co.uk has added to its CtP firepower with a Suprasetter A75 from Heidelberg, its second CtP device. Route1print.co.uk is the trade, web2print arm of Bluetree Design & Print.

The main driver for this investment was a rapid increase in the number of orders for booklets Route1Print.co.uk has seen over the last two months.
“Since investing in a booklet-maker, the response that we have had from our trade customers has been phenomenal. We are really carving out a niche for ourselves as the people to turn to for fast turnaround, short run, high quality booklets,” says Jack Willmott, channel manager for Route1Print.co.uk
Launched nine months ago, the brand has created a significant increase in business for the company and, as a result, the demand for plates has risen, leading the company to turn to Heidelberg to help them manage the increase in capacity.
It is 18 months since the company diversified from digital print (it uses IGen 4s) into litho with a Speedmaster SM 52 Anicolor. Subsequently it has moved into the B2 format. Its Web2print system is developed in-house and fully automates the order to dispatch process. Their competitive edge comes from using standard formats to optimise the ganging up of jobs per plate.
“We have seen a week on week increase in volumes and now our average B3 run is just over 1,000 and in B2 is about 2,500 to 3,000 with digital mopping up the shorter runs,” says Adam Carnell, managing director. “We realised that we could further optimise our hub by adding a second CtP system, enabling us to get our plates out faster. Over 50% of our turnover now comes from web2prrint and we expect this to reach 70% over the next financial year.”
Although the company’s other CtP device is a Screen model Route1print.co.uk has opted for the Suprasetter this time round because of its compact size and impressive output speed.
The majority of this company’s is business to business and the only marked seasonal fluctuation is a drop off around Christmas. But overall business is booming for the Rotherham company.